QUESTION: Is there any other sin besides the five rebellious sins that causes us to fall into the Hell of Incessant Suffering?

ANSWER: Yes, there is. The grave sin of slandering the True Dharma.

QUESTION: Is there any scriptural proof for this?

ANSWER: The Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 2 (chapter 3 on “A Parable”), preaches, “Those who do not believe in this sūtra but slander it, … will fall into the Avīci Hell when their present lives end.” It is clearly stated in this sūtra that committing the grave sin of slandering the True Dharma is the cause of falling into the Avīci Hell.

Ken Hōbō-shō, A Clarificaton of Slandering the True Dharma, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 113.

QUESTION: It is preached in the tenth chapter, “The Teacher of the Dharma, of the Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 4, that the Lotus Sūtra is “difficult to believe and understand.” What does it mean?

ANSWER: It has been more than 2,000 years since the Buddha preached the Lotus Sūtra. Having existed in India 1,200 years or so and about 200 years in China, the Lotus Sūtra was transmitted to Japan more than 700 years ago. During these years after the death of Śākyamuni Buddha, no one, except three, has ever truly read this phrase in the Lotus Sūtra. They are Bodhisattva Nāgārjuna, Grand Masters T’ien-t’ai and Dengyō. First of all Bodhisattva Nāgārjuna in India declared in his Great Wisdom Discourse: “The teaching of the Lotus Sūtra enabled the men of Two Vehicles, śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha, who had been considered as having no chance of attaining Buddhahood, to attain Buddhahood. It is like a great physician who knows how to use poisons as medicine. Indeed, this shows that Bodhisattva Nāgārjuna truly read and clarified the meaning of the four-character phrase of being “difficult to believe and understand.”

In China, Grand Master T’ien-t’ai, the wisest, explains this phrase in his Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sūtra: “Of all sūtras which had been preached, are now being preached and will be preached in the future, the Lotus Sūtra is the most difficult to believe and comprehend.”

Grand Master Dengyō of Japan further expounds this in his Outstanding Principles of the Lotus Sūtra: “Sūtras that were preached during the four (pre-Lotus) periods of Śākyamuni’s lifetime preaching, the Sūtra of Infinite Meaning, which is now being preached, as well as the Nirvana Sūtra, which will be preached, are easy to believe and understand. It is because they are preached with expedient means according to people’s capacity to understand. On the contrary, the Lotus Sūtra is the most difficult to believe and comprehend because it is the true teaching preached according to the Buddha’s own mind, directly revealing the Buddha’s enlightenment.”

Shokyō to Hokekyō to Nan’I no Koto, The Difficulty and Easiness in Understanding the Lotus Sūtra and Other Sūtras, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 281-282

It is the law of this world that lighter things float to the top and things that are heavy sink to the bottom. For instance, the earth stays below and the water covers it because water is lighter than the earth. Fire stays above water because fire is lighter than water. The wind stays above fire because wind is lighter than fire. The sky exists above wind because it is lighter than wind.

Human beings also consist of these four great elements (earth, water, fire, and wind). When an evil person dies, the wind and fire elements leave the corpse, leaving the water and earth elements behind. The person thus becomes heavy, and the body falls into hell. In the case of a virtuous person, the heavy water and earth elements disappear first, leaving the light elements of fire and wind. The body of such a person thus becomes light, shows the countenance of rebirth in the human or heavenly realm.

Kōnichi Shōnin Gohenji, A Reply to Rev. Kōnichi, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers II, Volume 7, Page 153-154

How can we identify the sage of the Lotus Sūtra in the Latter Age of Degeneration? The Lotus Sūtra states, “He who preaches this sūtra to others and can uphold it for himself is a messenger of the Buddha.” In other words, anyone who recites eight chapters of the Lotus Sūtra, or one fascicle, one chapter, or just a verse of it, or chants the daimoku is a messenger of the Buddha. He who carries through faith in the Lotus Sūtra to the end, enduring the great persecutions that arise, is the true messenger of the Buddha.

Shijō Kingo-dono Gohenji, Response to Lord Shijō Kingo, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers I, Volume 6, Page 153

Regarding the observance of Buddhist precepts, we must consider the differences between the Age of the True Dharma, the Age of the Semblance Dharma and the Latter Age of Degeneration as well as between the persuasive and aggressive means of propagation. Grand Master Dengyō states in his Treatise on the Light for the Latter Age of Degeneration that one who keeps the precepts in the Latter Age of Degeneration is as rare as a tiger without a leash in a market place. We should take all these into account in practicing meditation while observing Buddhist precepts.

Toki Nyūdō-dono Go-henji: Hongon Shukkai-shō, A response to Lay riest Lord Toki: Treatise on Overcoming Illusions of the Triple World by Provisional Teachins, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 279

The Lotus Sūtra does not expound anything extraordinary. The sūtra preaches that Śākyamuni Buddha had attained Buddhahood already 500 (million) dust particle kalpa in the past and that even the Two Vehicles such as Śāriputra, who are considered incapable of becoming Buddhas, will inevitably attain Buddhahood in the future. Therefore, those who do not believe in these two doctrines will fall into the Hell of Incessant Suffering. It is not I alone who say this. The Buddha of Many Treasures and numerous Buddhas in manifestation from all over the universe verified this. Numerous bodhisattvas emerged from the earth, direct disciples of the Original and True Buddha, as well as Mañjuśrī, Avalokiteśvara, King of the Brahma Heaven, Indra, the sun and moon, the Four Heavenly Kings, ten female rākṣasa demons, and others promised to protect the Lotus Sūtra. As such there is no other way leading to Buddhahood. It is the Lotus Sūtra that explains the past and future with precision and upholding this sūtra is the way to attain Buddhahood.

Seichōji Daishū-chū, A Letter to the People of the Seichōji Temple, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 5, Page 177

QUESTION: Is not it in accordance with the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra that preaches the “opening the provisional and merging with the true teaching” that we have faith in various provisional sūtras and Buddhas? And what about putting our faith exclusively in the Lotus Sūtra, performing the five ways of practicing it – upholding, reading, reciting, expounding, and copying – in an inoffensive way as preached in the “Peaceful Practice,” fourteenth chapter of the Lotus Sūtra? Can we call such a person a true practicer of Buddhism?

ANSWER: All those who want to practice Buddhism should know that there are two ways of propagation, the persuasive (shōju) and aggressive (shakubuku). All Buddhist scriptures, sūtras and commentaries, must be propagated through these two ways. However, scholars in Japan today, though they seem to have learned Buddhism in general, do not know how to meet the needs of the time. The four seasons differ from one another. It is warm in summer and cold in winter; flowers bloom in spring and trees bear fruits and nuts in autumn. We sow seeds in spring and harvest crops in autumn. How can we harvest crops in spring by planting seeds in the fall? Heavy clothes are for the cold winter, not the hot summer. A cool breeze is needed in the summer not in the winter.

The same could be said of Buddhism. There are times when Hinayāna teachings can be spread effectively, and times when provisional Mahāyāna teachings might be more effective. Still other times might call for the True Dharma to be disseminated for the attainment of Buddhahood. The 2,000-year period following the death of Śākyamuni Buddha, namely the Ages of the True Dharma and Semblance Dharma, is the time for the Hinayāna and provisional Mahāyāna teachings to be spread. The 500-year period at the beginning of the Latter Age of Degeneration is the time exclusively for the pure, perfect, only real teaching of the Lotus Sūtra to be disseminated.

Nyosetsu Shugyō-shō, True Way of Practicing the Teaching of the Buddha, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 85

[T]he king of devils in the Sixth Heaven is bound to interfere with the practicers of the Lotus Sūtra. This is explained as the delusion of devils among the ten objects of meditation listed by Grand Master T’ien-t’ai in his Great Concentration and Insight. Devils delight in obstructing the virtuous and helping spread evil. Unable to force virtuous people to do evil, however, devils cannot help but let them do meritorious deeds. Or, they will encourage those who practice the teachings for “Two Vehicles” (men of śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha), such as doctrines of the “four noble truths” and the “twelve links of cause and effect,” to switch to less meritorious practices like the “five precepts” and “ten good acts.” Bodhisattvas practicing the “six pāramitā ways leading to Buddhahood” may be encouraged to downgrade to Two Vehicle teachings. Finally, those who single-heartedly practice the purely perfect teachings of the Lotus Sūtra are induced to downgrade the practice to such as the “distinctive teaching.” This is explained in detail in the Great Concentration and Insight, fascicle 8, so you had better consult it.

Toki Nyūdō-dono Go-henji: Hongon Shukkai-shō, A response to Lay riest Lord Toki: Treatise on Overcoming Illusions of the Triple World by Provisional Teachins, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 278-279