In revealing the single path to enlightenment replacing the three kinds of teaching for bodhisattvas, śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha (kaisan kenitsu) in the second chapter on “Expedients” of the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha briefly expressed the “3,000 in one thought” doctrine held in His bosom. Since it was the first time for the Buddha to reveal the truth, it sounded to His disciples as faint as the voice of a nightingale heard by the half-asleep or the moon rising half way over a mountain covered by a thin cloud. Surprised by the words of the Buddha, Śāripūtra and other disciples called on the gods, dragon-gods, and great bodhisattvas, and together they petitioned the Buddha: “Gods and dragon-gods as numerous as sands of the Ganges River, 80,000 bodhisattvas trying to attain Buddhahood, and Wheel-turning Noble Kings in ten thousands, hundred millions of lands all respectfully held hands together in gasshō and wished to hear the perfect teaching.” In other words they requested Him to preach the doctrine that they had never heard of during His preaching in more than forty years of the pre-Lotus sūtras, expounding four of the Five Flavors and three of the Four Teachings.

Kaimoku-shō, Open Your Eyes to the Lotus Teaching, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 66

In a word, you cannot find hell anywhere aside from your own mind. It exists in your bosom. I will preach to you this very important teaching the best I can, so please listen carefully. It is just as Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī preached the secret teaching of attainment of Buddhahood immediately with the present body for a daughter of the Dragon King in chapter 12 of the Lotus Sutra.

Endeavor to strengthen your faith after listening to this important teaching. He who endeavors to strengthen his faith after listening to the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra is a true seeker of Buddhahood. Grand Master T’ien-t’ai says: “Indigo becomes deep blue even though it is created from indigo leaves.” This means that if dyed blue over and over, indigo blue will become deeper than its original color. Practicing the Lotus Sūtra is the same. By practicing the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra over and over, you will be a true follower. Practice is the best master.

Ueno-dono Goke-ama Go-henji, A Response to the Nun, Widow of Lord Ueno, Nyonin Gosho, Letters Addressed to Female Followers, Page 48-50

When the Buddha at the age of seventy-two preached the Sūtra of Infinite Meaning on Mt. Sacred Eagle in Magadha, India, He discredited all the sūtras, major as well as minor sūtras, expounded in the preceding forty years or so by declaring, “No truth has been revealed for some forty years.” Upon hearing it, great bodhisattvas as well as gods and people were all shocked and wished to know the true teaching. Although a shred of truth seems to have been revealed in the Sūtra of Infinite Meaning, the truth itself was not yet revealed. It was as though the moon was about to appear over the mountains in the east; its rays shone through the mountains in the west, but nobody could see the moon yet.

Kaimoku-shō, Open Your Eyes to the Lotus Teaching, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 66

When Śākyamuni Buddha was about to pass away, He lamented, “I will die soon. My only worry concerns King Ajātaśatru.” Upon hearing this, Kashōdōji Bodhisattva asked the Buddha, “The compassion of the Buddha should extend equally to all. Your life should be considered precious for the sake of all living beings. Why do You only think of King Ajātaśatru?” The Buddha answered, “Suppose a couple has seven children, one of whom falls ill. Although the children are equal in the hearts of the parents, they worry most about the sick child.”

Grand Master T’ien-t’ai interprets the above scriptural passage in his Great Concentration and Insight, “As the Buddha answered: ‘Although the love of parents for their seven children is not biased, they worry especially about the sick one,’ thus even if parents have many children they pay special attention to the one who is ill.”

All living beings are children of the Buddha. Among them, the sinful ones who kill their parents or become enemies of Buddhism are like the sick child. As the Buddha approached death, he worried that “Ajātaśatru was the King of the Magadha Kingdom. He killed King Bimbisāra, who was My great supporter; thus becoming an enemy of the Buddha. As a result, heavenly beings abandoned him, a crisis among the sun and moon arose, the god of the earth shook in anger; the people turned against the Buddha Dharma, and foreign troops approached to attack the Magadha Kingdom. All of this happened because the king followed the wicked Devadatta as his teacher. As a result, the king will suffer a malignant rash and fall into the Hell of Incessant Suffering on theth day of th sevene third month. This saddens Me and makes it difficult for Me to pass away.” Thus the Buddha lamented, “If I were able to save King Ajātaśatru now, all sinners would be saved as in the same way.”

Myōichi-ama Gozen Goshōsoku, A Letter to My Lady, the Nun Myōichi, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Pages 133-134

As I enter the library of all the Buddhist scriptures to see them with my own eyes, there are two sets of Buddhist scriptures brought to China during the period between the Yung-p’ing Era of Later Han China and the end of the T’ang Dynasty. The so-called “old translations” translated by such masters as Kumārajiva consist of 5,048 fascicles while the “new translations” translated by Hsūan-chuang and others consist of 7,399 fascicles. Each of these sūtras claims to be supreme. Comparing them against the Lotus Sūtra, however, there exists a difference as great as that between heaven and earth or chalk and cheese. These sūtras are like the numerous stars while the Lotus Sūtra is like the moon. They are compared to lights, torches, stars, and the moon while the Lotus Sūtra is compared to the great sun. This is a general comparison.

Kyōdai-shō, A Letter to the Ikegami Brothers, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 72

The teacher reveals to disciples what they do not know. For instance, all followers of non-Buddhist religions in India among men and gods before the time of Śākyamuni Buddha were disciples of Siva, Visnu and the Three Hermits. Although they split into ninety-five schools, their teachings did not go beyond those of the Three Hermits. Lord Śākyamuni had also been a student of those non-Buddhist schools, but while practicing ascetic and non-ascetic practices for twelve years, He perceived the principles of suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and egolessness in all phenomena. Thus, He was able to remove Himself as a student of non-Buddhist religions and claim to have won His wisdom without the guidance of teachers. So, men and gods respected Him as a great teacher.

Therefore, during the time when the pre-Lotus sūtras were preached Lord Śākyamuni was not the teacher who revealed what others did not know, but He was rather a student of such bodhisattvas as Dharma Wisdom. Likewise, it is said in the first chapter on the “Introduction” of the Lotus Sūtra that Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī was a teacher of Śākyamuni Buddha for nine generations. In various sūtras preached before the Lotus the Buddha is quoted as having said that He “never preached even one word.” It means that His preachings did not go beyond what was preached by such bodhisattvas as Dharma Wisdom.

Kaimoku-shō, Open Your Eyes to the Lotus Teaching, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 65-66

It was the night of the twelfth of the ninth month when I was placed under arrest by Hōjō Nobutoki, Lord of Musashi Province, and was led out of Kamakura to be beheaded at midnight. At the crossing of the Wakamiya-kōji Street in front of the Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine, I stopped my horse and was surrounded by soldiers. I said to them, “Keep quiet, I have nothing special in mind except that I want to speak to the Great Bodhisattva Hachiman.” I got off my horse, and loudly declared:

“Great Bodhisattva Hachiman, are you truly a deity? In ancient times, when Wake no Kiyomaro was about to be beheaded by Priest Dōkyō, did you not protect Kiyomaro by appearing as the ten feet long moon? When Grand Master Dengyō lectured on the Lotus Sūtra, did you not present him with a purple colored kaṣāya robe? Now I, Nichiren, am the foremost practicer of the Lotus Sūtra in Japan. Besides, I have committed no sin at all. What I have been preaching is the doctrine to save all the people in Japan, who are sure to fall into the Hell of Incessant Suffering for slandering the True Dharma, the Lotus Sūtra. Yet, I am about to be beheaded because of it. How can you, bodhisattva, just sit and watch me be executed? When the great Mongol Empire invade this country after I am put to death, would such guardian deities of Japan as Goddess Amaterasu and Great Bodhisattva Hachiman be safe?

“Moreover, when Śākyamuni Buddha preached the Lotus Sūtra, the Buddha of Many Treasures, various Buddhas and bodhisattvas from all the worlds in the universe gathered together and arranged themselves so that they shone like suns, moons, stars, and mirrors. Then the Buddha asked numerous gods as well as virtuous deities and sages of India, China and Japan to take an oath to protect practicers of the Lotus Sūtra, and each of them wrote such an oath, did they not? If this was the case, you ought to immediately carry out what you swore without any reminders. Why don’t you appear right here to prove your good intention?”

Thus I declared in a resounding voice. In the end I added: “Upon arriving at the Pure-Land of Mount Sacred Eagle after being beheaded tonight, I will, without hesitation, first report to Śākyamuni Buddha that Goddess Amaterasu and Great Bodhisattva Hachiman are two deities who do not keep their pledges. If you feel at a loss, you had better reconsider and act in a hurry.” Having spoken this, I got back on my horse.

Shuju Onfurumai Gosho, Reminiscences: from Tatsunokuchi to Minobu, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Biography and Disciples, Volume 5, Pages 27-28

[I]t appears that in the pre-Lotus sūtras great bodhisattvas, gods, and men were guaranteed to obtain Buddhahood in the future. However, that guarantee is merely of color and shape without substance, just like trying to grab the moon’s reflection in the water or taking the shadow for reality. We might say that in those pre-Lotus sūtras they do not owe the Buddha as much as they seemed.

Kaimoku-shō, Open Your Eyes to the Lotus Teaching, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 64