QUESTION: Suppose ordinary people, priests or lay persons, uphold, read and write or let others read and write the entire Lotus Sūtra without understanding its meaning. Or perhaps they focus on just one of its fascicles, or the four important chapters (chapters 2, 14, 16 and 25), or even just the verse at the end of the “Life Span of the Buddha” chapter without fully appreciating the depth of the sūtra. Suppose there are people who, though they do not read and write the sūtra themselves, show respect by pressing their palms together in the form of gasshō, bow in front of it, offer incense and flowers to it. Or suppose there are people who, though they do not practice these things themselves, are happy seeing others perform such practices, and rejoice that this sūtra is spreading all over the country. Can such people, due to their own merit of having practiced a little, avoid committing worldly sins and be reborn in the realms of human and heavenly beings just as Hinayana sages on the first stage of sainthood are always reborn in the realms of humans and gods without falling into the three evil realms (hell, realm of hungry souls and that of beasts and birds)? Can they in the end perceive the Lotus Sūtra or be reborn in the Pure Lands all over the universe or become Buddhas with their present bodies? I would like to hear about this in detail.
ANSWER: Though my understanding of the sūtra is not profound, as I contemplate the spirit of the Lotus Sūtra and the Nirvana Sūtra, as well as their interpretations by T’ien-t’ai and Miao-lê, it seems to me that those who possess even the slightest belief in the Lotus Sūtra without holding any enmity against its teaching will not fall into the evil realms even if they commit evil deeds.
However, suppose such people believe in the “evil friend,” the one who understands only the provisional teachings, pretending to be wise and saying in an amicable manner that the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra is unsuitable for them. If such people then abandon their faith in the Lotus Sūtra, convert themselves to other teachings, and never return to the Lotus Sūtra for the duration of their lives, they may end up falling into the evil realms.
Shō Hokke Daimoku-shō, Treastise on Chanting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 1-2