The Lotus Sūtra consists of two parts: the theoretical section (first half) and the essential section (latter half). The difference between them is as clear as water and fire or heaven and earth. It is greater than the difference between the pre-Lotus sūtras and the Lotus Sūtra. …

Now, regarding the difference between the essential and theoretical sections, the lord-preacher of the former is the Eternal Buddha who had been the Buddha since the eternal past while that of the latter is the historical Buddha attaining Buddhahood in this life at Buddhagayā. The difference between the two is as clear as between a 100-year-old man and an infant. Not only the lord-preacher but also His disciples are as different as water and fire. How much more so is it the case with the Buddha land between the “four lands” preached in the theoretical section and the “land of eternal tranquil light” of the essential section! The difference is beyond expression. Those who mix up the two, the theoretical and essential sections, are like those who cannot differentiate fire from water.

Toki Nyūdō-dono Go-henji: Chibyō-shō, A Response to Lay Priest Lord Toki: Treatise on Healing Sickness, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 252-253