When evil kings in ancient times acted tyrannically and oppressed Buddhism, many sage monks were persecuted. I can conjecture from my own experience today how grief-stricken their followers, relatives, disciples, and supporters were. Now I, Nichiren, have actually practiced the whole book of the Lotus Sūtra as it is preached. Even those who uphold one phrase or verse are guaranteed to become Buddhas in the future. All the more so for those who actually practiced the whole book of the Lotus Sūtra to attain Buddhahood. This is most certain. Though unbecoming of me, I am hoping to attain Buddhahood not only for myself but also for all living beings in the whole country. I am sorry to say, however, that this is beyond my ability because we are in the country where the ruler does not heed my words.

Tenjū Kyōju Hōmon, Lightening the Karmic Retribution, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers I, Volume 6, Page 30-31

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

Those who have lost sight of the Lotus Sūtra in the Latter Age of Degeneration believe themselves to have thoroughly understood the holy teachings preached during the Buddha’s lifetime but in reality they do not even know the difference between the provisional and true teachings. Yet they wear the three robes and carry an alms-bowl, stay in a monastery, and are revered as the great wise persons. Thus it is stated in the sūtra that those who are regarded by people as having a wide knowledge of the Lotus Sūtra and looked up to as though they were arhats who mastered the three supernatural powers and six supernatural powers will instead lose the Lotus Sūtra. …

QUESTION: May I ask you where the proof for this statement is?

ANSWER: It is stated in the “Encouragement for Upholding This Sūtra” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra that numerous (800,000 million nayuta) bodhisattvas made a vow before the Buddha to spread this sūtra in the Latter Age of Degeneration stating in verse, “Many ignorant people will speak ill of us and attack us with swords and sticks, but we will endure them all.” Grand Master Miao-lê explains this in his Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, “The first line of this verse refers to evil people in general, namely self-conceited lay persons.” This means that laymen and laywomen misled by monks of provisional teaching persecute the practicers of the Lotus Sūtra as though they are their enemies. The verse continues, “In the evil world there will be monks who are crafty and perverse and crooked in heart. Thinking they have attained what they have not, they will be proud and boastful in mind.” Miao-lê interprets this in his Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, “The next line refers to the self-conceited monks,” It means that monks in the Latter Age of Degeneration who are based on various sūtras other than the Lotus Sūtra boast themselves of having been able to perceive the dharma and go against the practicers of the Lotus Sūtra.

Shō Hokke Daimoku-shō, Treastise on Chanting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 9-10

Even if the “perfect teaching” expounded in the pre-Lotus sūtras is put in the “perfect teaching” expounded in the Lotus Sūtra, they cannot be the same teaching. The “perfect teaching” of the pre-Lotus sūtras included in the Lotus Sūtra is called not the True Dharma but just “an expedient teaching within the Lotus Sūtra.” When an expedient teaching is taken out of the Lotus Sūtra, and the “One Buddha-Vehicle is divided into three” (the second chapter of the Lotus Sūtra), it is called “the perfect teaching within the Three Vehicles.” (It can be said that because an expedient teaching is expounded based on the “perfect teaching” of the Lotus Sūtra, the expedient should be called the “perfect teaching,” but strictly speaking the “perfect teaching” of the Lotus Sūtra is different from that of other sūtras. That is why the “perfect teaching” as an expedient is called “the perfect teaching within the Three Vehicles.”)

Shoshū Mondō-shō, Questions and Answers Regarding Other Schools, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 181

Non-Buddhist religions in India claimed that this world was eternal, joyful, free and pure. On the contrary, the Buddha insisted that this world was impermanent, painful, empty and egoless in order to destroy their superficial views. The Two Vehicles (two kinds of Buddhist known as śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha) were stuck to the principle of emptiness preached by the Buddha and could not grasp the idea of eternity in Mahāyāna Buddhism. The Buddha, therefore, reproached them saying that even the five rebellious sins and evil passions could be a cause of enlightenment, but their inflexible belief in emptiness will never lead them to Buddhahood.

Jisshō-shō, A Treatise on the Ten Chapters of the Great Concentration and Insight, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 5

QUESTION: Which is superior, the Lotus Sūtra or the Nirvana Sūtra?

ANSWER: The Lotus Sūtra is.

QUESTION: Why do you say that?

ANSWER: In the Nirvana Sūtra the Buddha Himself declared, “Eight thousand śrāvaka were guaranteed to be future Buddhas in the Lotus Sūtra. It is as though a great harvest was reaped in autumn and stored in the warehouse for winter, leaving nothing else to be done in the Nirvana Sūtra.” Again, it is said in the “Teacher of the Dharma” chapter in the Lotus Sūtra that the sūtras to be preached, like the Nirvana Sūtra, are not as difficult to believe and understand as the Lotus Sūtra is. This means that the Nirvana Sūtra is not as truthful as the Lotus Sūtra.

Shugo Kokka-ron, Treatise on Protecting the Nation, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 11-12

One character in sūtras other than the Lotus Sūtra, or name of Buddhas other than the Original Śākyamuni Buddha, is like a drop of river water, or a stone in the mountains or ocean. Unlike a drop of sea water, a drop of river water does not contain the water of numerous rivers, and a stone in the mountains or ocean doesn’t have the merit of numerous stones. However, … the Lotus Sūtra has innumerable merits; therefore, you may freely chant any of its chapters.

Gassui Gasho, A Letter on Menstruation, Nyonin Gosho, Letters Addressed to Female Followers, Page 28

Once upon a time when Śākyamuni Buddha was seeking the dharma as a bodhisattva, a leper approached him and said, “I know the right dharma which consists of 20 characters. If you will hug my body and massage it and lick it and give me three to four pounds of meat every day, I will share the teaching with you.” The bodhisattva did what he was told to do, and became a Buddha by hearing the dharma: “A Buddha achieves emancipation and forever extinguishes the sufferings of birth and death. If one listens to this teaching with heartfelt sincerity, the utmost peace of mind can be achieved.”

Nichimyō Shōnin Gosho, A Letter to Nichimyō Shōnin, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers II, Volume 7, Page 137

It is stated in the “Parable” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra, “Seeing those who read, recite, copy, and uphold this sūtra, some will despise, hate, envy, and bear grudges against them; in the “Teacher of the Dharma” chapter, “Many will feel resentment and envy even during the lifetime of the Buddha, even more so after His death;” in the “Encouragement for Upholding This Sūtra” chapter, “(Such a person) will be killed by a sword, beaten by a stick, or exiled often;” in the “Peaceful Practices” chapter, “All the people throughout the world will feel resentment at the Lotus Sūtra and not believe in it.” These scriptural statements are the prediction of the Buddha, but they do not specify in what ages such difficulties will take place. We can say that such sages as Never Despising Bodhisattva and Monk Virtue Consciousness in the past actually practiced what is stated in these scriptural passages. However, when we limit the scope of consideration to the present Sahā World, putting aside the 2,000 year Ages of the True and Semblance Dharmas for now, I, Nichiren, am the only person who has proven the prediction of the Buddha now in the Latter Age of Degeneration, isn’t it so?

Tenjū Kyōju Hōmon, Lightening the Karmic Retribution, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers I, Volume 6, Page 30