[T]he sin of not believing in and slandering the Lotus Sūtra is explained in detail in the “Parable” chapter. The sin of slandering the upholders of the Lotus Sūtra is preached in the “Teacher of the Dharma” chapter. The merits of those who believe in the Lotus Sūtra is expounded in the “Variety of Merits” and “Merits of Rejoicing at Hearing This Sūtra” chapters. Slandering the dharma means going against the teaching and rejoicing at hearing the dharma means to be obedient to the teaching. Do you think those who understand the preciousness of the Lotus Sūtra even for a moment without quite understanding its meaning are going against the teaching or being obedient to it? Aren’t the merits of ignorant people in the Latter Age of Degeneration holding a religious service in honor of or rejoicing at hearing the Lotus Sūtra even for a moment preached in scriptures? Besides, according to the interpretations of T’ien-t’ai and Miao-lê, it was an act of slandering the True Dharma when Buddhist masters of other schools regarded such Lotus practices as a child building a sand Stupa for play, rejoicing at hearing a verse or phrase of the sūtra, or the person rejoicing at hearing the sūtra equal to the practices for sages and wise people preached in the pre-Lotus sūtras.

Shō Hokke Daimoku-shō, Treastise on Chanting the Daimoku of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 7

In my view the Tendai doctrine is supported by two pillars: the doctrinal study of various sūtras (kyōdō) and the true intent of the Buddha (shōdō). Based on these two pillars, Grand Master T’ien-t’ai wrote three major works (Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sūtra, Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, and Great Concentration and Insight) in sixty [sic] fascicles. The doctrinal study of various sūtras categorizes the sūtras in chronological order and assesses each of them, while the true intent of the Buddha means to be in a state of enlightenment of the Buddha. Which pillar do you think the interpretative sentences you quoted are of?

If they are of the doctrinal study, then consider that Grand Master T’ien-t’ai has established the three standards of comparison to assess the pre-Lotus sūtras against the Lotus Sūtra. Hence they should be asked what the three standards of comparison are.

If they answer that the three standards of comparison are (1) whether or not the capacity of the people is ripe for understanding the True Dharma, (2) whether or not the beginning and ending of the guidance of the Buddha is shown, and (3) whether or not the relationship between the Buddha and His disciples is eternal, we should then inquire which of the three standards their quotations are based on.

If they answer that they are based on the first comparison, we should further ask, “There are two ways of comparing the capacity of the people: comparison by doctrinal teachings (yakkyō) and comparison by periods of preaching (yakubu). Which one are they based on?”

If they answer that they were based on comparison by doctrinal teachings, then consider asking them further, “There are two kinds of interpretation in both the yakkyō and yakubu ways: lenient (yo) and strict (datsu) interpretations. Which of these two is it?”

If they reply that they do not know anything about yakkyō and yakubu or yo and datsu, it reveals that they are very ignorant of the Tendai doctrine.

Shoshū Mondō-shō, Questions and Answers Regarding Other Schools, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 176-177

It is not allowed to explain the true meaning of the doctrine of “3,000 existences contained in one thought” even in the theoretical section of the Lotus Sūtra. Needless to say, it is not mentioned at all in the pre-Lotus sūtras. The doctrine stems from the passage describing the ten aspects of existence in the paragraph on the “brief replacement of the three vehicles with the one true vehicle” (ryaku kaisan-ken’ichi) in the second chapter in the theoretical section of the Lotus Sūtra. Nevertheless, the true meaning of the doctrine is based solely on the essential section of the sūtra. The pre-Lotus sūtras should be judged according to the meaning of the theoretical section, which in turn should be judged by the meaning of the essential section. Only the essential section of the Lotus Sūtra can define its meaning as it preaches.

Jisshō-shō, A Treatise on the Ten Chapters of the Great Concentration and Insight, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 4

[I]t is stated in the first “Introductory” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra that when the Buddha showed a potent omen of emitting a ray of light from the white curls between His eyebrows, Bodhisattva Maitreya saw Buddhas of the numerous worlds in the universe expound major sūtras in five periods He then asked Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī what this all meant: “The Buddhas, Saintly Masters, the Lion-like Ones, expounded the most wonderful sūtra. I also saw them teaching many billions of bodhisattvas with pure and gentle voices.” This indicates that the first preaching of the Buddha was the Flower Garland Sūtra for bodhisattvas. Also, in the “Expedients” chapter of the Lotus Sūtra the Buddha refers to His experience upon attaining enlightenment stating, “Sitting under a bodhi tree for the first time, I meditated on the tree, strolled about … then various heavenly beings such as the King of the Brahma Heaven, Indra, the Four Heavenly Kings who protect the world, and Great Freedom God and billions of their retainers respectfully held their hands in gasshō, bowed and requested Me to preach.” This passage from the Lotus Sūtra indicates when the Flower Garland Sūtra was preached. Hence the first fascicle of the Flower Garland Sūtra includes such names as moon god, sun god, Indra, King of the Brahma Heaven, and Great Freedom God, all of whom attended the assembly of the Flower Garland Sūtra.

Shugo Kokka-ron, Treatise on Protecting the Nation, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 6

I received your letter, in which you said that you used to chant one chapter of the Lotus Sūtra each day, taking twenty-eight days to finish chanting it once; and that recently, however, you chant only the “Previous Life of the Medicine-King Bodhisattva” chapter each day. Then you asked: “Should I chant each chapter each day as I used to?”

You may chant the whole twenty-eight chapters, one chapter, one paragraph, one sentence or even one character of the Lotus Sūtra a day. Or, you may chant the daimoku, “Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō,” just once in a day or once in your whole life. Even if you may never chant the daimoku yourself, you may rejoice at hearing others chant it just once in your whole life. Or you may rejoice with others who rejoice at hearing a voice chanting the daimoku. The joy of the daimoku chanting transmitted 50 times this way from person to person, will grow weaker steadily until in the last fiftieth person it will be as uncertain as the mind of a two- or three-year-old baby or as unpredictable as a horse or a cow, which cannot tell the difference between head and tail. Nevertheless, the merit of such people is one hundred thousand billion times greater than that of those whose wisdom is as great as Śāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, Mañjuśrī, and Maitreya, but put faith in sūtras other than the Lotus Sūtra and memorize them all.

This is explained in the chapter on the “Merits of a Person Who Rejoices at Hearing This Sūtra” of the Lotus Sūtra as well as in the 60-volume works of Grand Masters T’ien-t’ai and Miao-lê. The Lotus Sūtra states also that even the Buddha cannot measure the merit of those who put faith in even one character or sentence of the Lotus Sūtra. The Buddha has boundless wisdom; He can measure the amount of rain that has continued to fall for one or two weeks in the whole universe. Nevertheless, He cannot measure the merit of those who chant just one character or phrase of the Lotus Sūtra. How can we, sinners and the ignorant, measure this merit?

Regardless, very few people believe in the Lotus Sūtra, which is worthy of such great merit.

Gassui Gasho, A Letter on Menstruation, Nyonin Gosho, Letters Addressed to Female Followers, Page 22-24

(Hitherto missing) A sleeping lion does not turn angry unless it is provoked. Waves do not rise unless a pole is thrust in the river. Likewise, if we do not refute the slanderer of the True Dharma, we will not encounter hardship. It is preached in the Nirvana Sūtra, “If a virtuous priest upon seeing a person who destroys the dharma disregards him and does not censure him, such a priest is a mortal enemy of the Buddha Dharma.” If we do not take the word “disregard” seriously in this citation, it is inevitable that we will fall into the Hell of Incessant Suffering in the next life, though we seemingly may be able to pass through this life without trouble.

Therefore, Grand Master Nan-yüeh states in his Lotus Sūtra’s Four Peaceful Practices, “Suppose a bodhisattva protects an evil person and is unwilling to punish him, allowing his evil to increase, thus bringing trouble to virtuous people, and destroying the True Dharma. Such a bodhisattva is not a true bodhisattva. Outwardly he pretends to be a bodhisattva to deceive others, saying always, ‘I am practicing the paramita of perseverance.’ Such a person will fall into hell together with all the other evil people.”

The Ten Wheel Sūtra also preaches, “Do not live with a slanderer of the True Dharma. Do not befriend him or approach him. Doing so, will inevitably lead you to fall into the Avīci Hell.” When one enters a forest of sandalwood, the sweet fragrance clings to one’s body even though no branches are broken. Likewise, when one befriends or approaches a slanderer of the True Dharma, the merits one has accumulated will vanish and that person will fall into hell together with the slanderer. Therefore, Grand Master Miao-lê warns in his Annotations on the Great Concentration and Insight, “If one, who is not initially evil, approaches and befriends an evil person, it is inevitable that one will become evil in time, spreading his wicked ways throughout the country.”

Nambu Rokurō-dono Gosho, A Letter to Lord Nambu Rokurō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers II, Volume 7, Page 170-171

Of the 25 transmitters of the Buddhist dharma, all except the Buddha are men of temporary manifestation dispatched by the Buddha to lead living beings. Āryadeva, the 14th of the 25 transmitters, was killed by a non-Buddhist, and Venerable Simha, the 25th transmitter, was beheaded by King Dammira. Many others such as Buddhamitra and Bodhisattva Nāgārjuna encountered various difficulties. On the other hand, some were firmly supported by the rulers and were able to spread the dharma without encountering difficulties. Why is it that some transmitters were persecuted while others were not? I believe it is because there exist good and wicked countries in the world and aggressive and persuasive means of spreading a religion. This was true even during the Ages of the True Dharma and the Semblance Dharma. It was also true even in India, the central land of the Buddhist dharma. All the more so in Japan, a remote country land, at the beginning of the Latter Age of Degeneration. It has been expected from the beginning that I would encounter great difficulties when I tried to spread the teaching of the Lotus Sutra. I simply waited for them to arise.

Tenjū Kyōju Hōmon, Lightening the Karmic Retribution, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers 1, Volume 6, Page 29