QUESTION: Are there any dharmas T’ien-t’ai and Dengyō did not propagate yet?

ANWER: Yes, there are.

QUESTION: What are those True Dharmas?

ANSWER: There are three. They are what the Buddha bequeathed to those in the Latter Age of Degeneration, namely the True Dharmas, which masters such as Kāśyapa, Ānanda, Aśvaghoṣa, Nāgārjuna, T’ien-t’ai, and Dengyō did not yet spread.

QUESTION: What do they consist of?

ANSWER: The first is the Most Venerable One (honzon). All the people in Japan as well as the rest of the whole world should revere the Lord Buddha Śākyamuni of the essential section as the Most Venerable One. That is to say, the Most Venerable One should be the Buddha Śākyamuni and the Buddha of Many Treasures in the Stupa of Treasures. The other Buddhas standing outside the Stupa and four bodhisattvas such as Superior Practice Bodhisattva should be their attendants.

The second is the precept dais based on the doctrine of the essential section of the Lotus Sūtra.

The third is the daimoku (title) of the Lotus Sūtra. All the people in Japan, China, and everyone in the whole world, regardless of being wise or foolish, should chant “Namu Myōhōrengekyō” single-mindedly forgetting everything else.

Hōon-jō, Essay on Gratitude, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 57-58.

QUESTION: The compassion of the Buddhas is like the moon in heaven. As the moon reflects its shadow on water whenever it is calm, Buddhas should grant favors wherever the capacity of the people for comprehension is clear. Nevertheless, it seems unfair for the Buddha to say that His secret dharmas will be revealed only in the Latter Age of Degeneration among the three ages following His death. What do you think of it?

ANSWER: Although the moonlight of Buddhas’ compassion brightens the darkness of the people in the nine realms of spiritual development, from hell at the bottom up to the realm of bodhisattvas, it does not reflect upon the muddy water of slanderers of the True Dharma and of those who have no goodness in mind (icchantika).

Hinayāna and expedient Mahāyāna teachings are suited to the capacity of those in the 1,000-year Age of the True Dharma. The teaching of the theoretical section in the first half of the Lotus Sūtra is suitable for those in the 1,000-year Age of the Semblance Dharma. The first 500-years in the Latter Age of Degeneration, however, is the time when “The Life Span of the Buddha” chapter in the essential section of the Lotus Sūtra should be taught solely, and the other 13 chapters should be set aside. It is because the doctrine in the chapter matches the capacity of the people.

Sandai Hiho Honjo-ji, The Transmission of the Three Great Secret Dharmas, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 287-288

I have received your letter, which was posted on the 15th day of the 10th month at about 6 in the evening, on the 17th day about the same time at around 6 in the evening. When Jinshirō and other farmers living at Atsuwara who believed in the Lotus Sūtra were unreasonably imprisoned, I heard that they single-mindedly chanted “Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō” without any concern for their own lives. Indeed, this is not a trivial matter. I wonder if ten female rākṣasa demons possessed Hei no Kingo (Yoritsuna), who interrogated the farmers, and tested them to see if they were true practicers of the Lotus Sūtra. It is reminiscent of Indra transforming himself into a great ogre to test the will of Śākyamuni Buddha when the Buddha was searching for the dharma as the “Young Ascetic in the Himalayas” or as King Sivi. Or was it a devil who had gotten into Hei no Yoritsuna to persecute the practicers of the Lotus Sūtra? At any rate, this is the very time when Śākyamuni Buddha, the Buddha of Many Treasures, many Buddhas from all the worlds in the universe, the King of the Brahma Heaven, Indra and other divinities should keep their oath to protect the practicers of the Lotus Sūtra at the fifth cycle of five hundred years, which is at the beginning of the Latter Age of Degeneration.

Hendoku Iyaku Gosho, Letter On Changing Poison into Medicine, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 5, Page 202-203

Life is fleeting! No matter how many powerful enemies join forces against you, do not retreat and never be afraid. Even if your head is sawed off, your torso pierced through with a spear, and your feet shackled and drilled with a gimlet, you should continue chanting “Namu Myōhō-renge-kyō” as long as you have life. If you die chanting it, Śākyamuni Buddha, the Buddha of Many Treasures, and Buddhas in manifestation throughout the universe will immediately come flying, lead you by the hand or carry you on their shoulders to Mt. Sacred Eagle as they had promised at the assembly on Mt. Sacred Eagle. At that moment, two sages (Bodhisattvas Medicine King and Brave Donor), two heavenly kings (World Holding and Vaiśravaṇa), and ten female rākṣasa demons will protect you, upholders of the Lotus Sūtra, and various gods and deities will hold up a canopy over your head, wave banners, guard you, and certainly will send you to the Jeweled Land of Tranquil Light. Is not this the utmost happiness?

Nyosetsu Shugyō-shō, True Way of Practicing the Teaching of the Buddha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 87-88

The Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 7 (the “Never-Despising Bodhisattva” chapter) preaches: “Among the four kinds of devotees, there were some who had impurity in mind and gave way to anger. They spoke ill of the bodhisattva, called him an ignorant priest, … struck him with a stick or a piece of wood or a piece of tile or a stone. … Upon death, they underwent great torment in the Avīci Hell for 1,000 kalpa.” This scriptural statement means that those who abused the practicer of the Lotus Sūtra or struck him with a stick, unable to atone for their sins, had to suffer in the Avīci Hell for as long as 1,000 kalpa.

Ken Hōbō-shō, A Clarificaton of Slandering the True Dharma, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 114.

QUESTION: In what age will the secret dharmas entrusted to Superior Practice and other bodhisattvas called out from the underground be spread?

ANSWER: The 23rd chapter, “The Previous Life of the Medicine King Bodhisattva” of the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 7, preaches: “Propagate this chapter throughout this world during the last 500-year period after My extinction lest it should be lost.” Reading this passage in the sūtra respectfully, I see that the time for the secret dharmas to spread will be after the passage of the 2,000-year periods of the Ages of the True Dharma and the Semblance Dharma, namely during the fifth 500-year period after the death of the Buddha, which coincides with the beginning of the Latter Age of Degeneration, when it is believed that strife becomes rampant with Buddhism progressively declining to extinction.

Sandai Hiho Honjo-ji, The Transmission of the Three Great Secret Dharmas, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 287-288

The Sūtra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma is compared to a lotus flower. The māndāra flower in the heavenly realm and the cherry blossoms in the human world represent happiness. However, the Buddha doesn’t use them as symbols of the Lotus Sūtra. There is a reason why the Buddha chose this flower (the lotus) over all the flowers in the world to represent the Lotus Sūtra.

Some plants have flowers that bloom before bearing fruit, while others bear fruit before flowering. Some produce many fruits from a single flower, while others though having many flowers produce only one fruit, while still others have fruit without any flowers. But only the lotus flower bears fruit and a flower at the same time.

It is said that the merit of all the Buddhist scriptures (except the Lotus Sūtra) is found in the promise that men can become Buddhas after they have done good deeds, which means the attainment of Buddhahood is not certain. In the case of the Lotus Sūtra, however, when one touches it, one’s hands immediately become Buddhas, and when one chants it, one’s mouth instantly becomes a Buddha. For example, when the moon rises above the eastern mountain, its reflection immediately shows on the water. Sound and resonance also occur simultaneously. It is written (in the Lotus Sūtra) that one who listens to the Lotus Sūtra will never fail to attain Buddhahood. The meaning of this passage is that whether there be a hundred, or even a thousand people, all those who believe in this sūtra (the Lotus Sūtra) attain Buddhahood.

Ueno-dono Gozen Gohenji, Reply to My Lady, the Nun of Ueno, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers II, Volume 7, Page 58-59

Setting aside for now the period when Śākyamuni Buddha lived in this world, there have been 24 messengers of the Buddha during the period of 2,200 years or so spanning the Age of the True Dharma, the Age of the Semblance Dharma, and the Latter Age of Degeneration since the passing of Śākyamuni Buddha. Namely 1. Mahākāśyapa; 2. Ānanda; 3. Madhyāntika; 4. Śaṇavāsa; 5. Upagupta; 6. Dhṛṭaka; 7. Mikkaka; 8. Buddha-nandi(ya); 9. Buddhamitra; 10. Pārśva; 11. Puṇyayaśas; 12. Aśvaghoṣa;13. Kapimāla; 14. Nāgārjuna; 15.
Āryadeva; 16. Rāhulata; 17. Saṃghanandi; 18. Saṃghayośas; 19. Kumārata; 20. Jayata; 21. Vasubandhu; 22. Manorhita; 23. Haklenayaśas; and 24. Ven. Siṃha. These twenty-four transmitters of the Buddhist Dharma are described in the Sūtra of Transmission of Buddhist Teaching by Śākyamuni Buddha Himself. These priests, however, are messengers of the Buddha spreading only the Hinayāna and the provisional Mahāyāna teachings. They are not the messengers of the Buddha spreading the true Mahāyāna teaching of the Lotus Sūtra.

Tayūsakan-dono Gohenji, Reply to Lord Ikegami Munenaka, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers I, Volume 6, Page 106

Why do all the Buddhas in the entire universe throughout the past, present, and future protect especially the Lotus Sūtra? It is because the Lotus Sūtra is the parent, wet nurse, and master of Buddhas in the entire universe throughout the past, present, and future. They say that frogs feed, hearing the voice of their mothers; if they don’t hear the voice of their mothers, they will not feed and grow up. The Indian lizard called kṛkalāsa eats in the wind; it won’t grow if there is no wind. A fish lives in the water, and a bird makes a nest in the tree. Likewise, Buddhas live in the Lotus Sūtra. As the moon’s reflection resides in the water, Buddhas reside in the Lotus Sūtra. Therefore, you must remember that where there is no Lotus Sūtra, there are no Buddhas.

Ueno-dono Haha-ama Gozen Gohenji, A Response to My Lady the Nun, Mother of Lord Ueno, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 181

Therefore, although what was realized in the minds of such great masters might be the same, Aśvaghoṣa and Nāgārjuna were superior to Kāśyapa and Ānanda with the dharma they spread; T’ien-t’ai was superior to Aśvaghoṣa and Nāgārjuna, and Dengyō was superior to T’ien-t’ai. As the world declines into the Latter Age, and the wisdom of the people becomes shallower, the teaching of the Buddha grows more profound. Ordinary sickness can be cured by ordinary medicine, but grave sickness requires special medicine. The weak need the strong for assistance.

Hōon-jō, Essay on Gratitude, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 57.