If secular people, who have heard us insist that we discard the sūtras preached during the forty years or so before the Lotus Sūtra appeared, question why must one discard such sūtras when they continue to be popular, simply tell them that the scaffolds used to build a tower should be demolished when the tower is completed. This simile shows the heart of interpretation stated in the second fascicle of the Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sūtra: “If the great teaching of the Lotus Sūtra is expounded now, the expedient teachings preached before the Lotus Sūtra will become extinct.” The word ‘myō’ implies ‘extinction’ meaning that the sūtras prior to the Lotus Sūtra will vanish quickly once the Lotus Sūtra is expounded. The same can be said of the word ‘abandon’ in the “Expedients” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra which says, “I have ‘abandoned’ all expedient teachings,” and ‘disappear’ as stated by Grand Master Chia-hsiang, “when the sun rises, stars disappear.” It is true that various sūtras preached prior to the Lotus Sūtra, once completed, can be thrown away because those sūtras are like scaffolds to build a tower. However, in some cases the scaffolds can be kept to use again when the tower needs repairing. This is the way of preaching by various Buddhas in the past, present, and future.

Hōmon Mōsaru-beki-yō no Koto, The Way to Refute the Evil Teaching, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Biography and Desciples, Volume 5, Page 144