Considering the fact that all of the other schools regard the Buddha as the honzon, the reason why the Tendai school alone regards the Lotus Sūtra as the honzon must be very significant.

QUESTION: What is that significant reason? Also, which is superior, the Buddha or the sūtra?

ANSWER: The honzon is always that which is the ultimate concern. For instance, Confucius regards the Three Emperors and the Five Sovereigns as the Most Venerable (honzon). As Buddhists, we should regard Śākyamuni Buddha as the honzon.

QUESTION: If so, why do you regard the daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra and not Śākyamuni Buddha as the honzon?

ANSWER: As we see from the sūtra citations and their interpretations quoted above, even Śākyamuni Buddha and Grand Master T’ien-t’ai regarded the Lotus Sūtra as the honzon. This is not my own biased view. That’s why I, Nichiren, though I live in the age of the last Dharma, regard the Lotus Sūtra as the honzon, just like Śākyamuni Buddha and Grand Master T’ien-t’ai did. This is because the Lotus Sūtra is both father and mother to Śākyamuni Buddha and it is also the true intention of all Buddhas. Śākyamuni Buddha and the Great Sun Buddha and each and every Buddha in the worlds throughout the universe are all born from the Lotus Sūtra. This is why we regard the Lotus Sūtra, viewed as the father and mother of all Buddhas, as the honzon.

Honzon Mondō Shō, Questions and Answers on the Honzon, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 261