The second of the eight major hells, the Hell of Black Ropes, is located beneath the Hell of Regeneration and is the same size as it is. In this hell, the hell guards seize sinners, push them down on the ground of hot iron, make a line on the sinners’ bodies with a hot iron rope, and cut and scrape the bodies with hot iron hatchets or saw off their limbs along the line. Moreover, there are huge iron mountains on both sides of the hell. They erect iron flags on the top of each mountain, stretch an iron rope between the two flags and force the sinners to walk on the rope carrying iron mountains. Falling off the rope, the sinners’ bodies are broken into pieces. Otherwise they are boiled in iron pots. The suffering of these tortures is 10 times more severe than the Hell of Regeneration.

One hundred years in the human world correspond to one day in the Heaven of the Thirty-three Gods, the second heaven in the realm of desire, where the life span of heavenly beings is 1,000 years. If 1,000 years in this Thirty-three Heaven are equal to one day in the Hell of Black Ropes, the life span of those sinners who fell into the Hell of Black Ropes is 1,000 years.

Ken Hōbō-shō, A Clarificaton of Slandering the True Dharma, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 107.

[Regarding the difference between the essential and theoretical sections of the Lotus Sūtra,] the Buddha had made a clear distinction between the two sections, but during more than 2,000 years since He passed away no one in India, China, Japan and the entire world (Jambudvīpa) has ever clearly differentiated them. Only T’ien-t’ai of China and Dengyō of Japan seemed to have almost made a difference between them, but they did not clarify the Lotus Tendai (T’ien-t’ai) law of precepts among important doctrines of the essential and theoretical sections. After all, although Grand Masters T’ien-t’ai and Dengyō knew it well in mind, they did not explain it clearly because: (1) the time was not right, (2) the people’s ability to understand was not ripe, and (3) they were not entrusted by the Buddha to propagate the doctrine.

Now, we have finally entered the Latter Age of Degeneration, when great bodhisattvas appearing from underground such as Bodhisattva Superior Practice should propagate the teaching of the essential section. As the Latter Age of Degeneration is the time for the essential section to spread, even if people with faith in Hinayāna Buddhism, quasi-Mahāyāna Buddhism, or the theoretical section of the Lotus Sūtra spread their respective teachings without committing any mistakes, they will serve no useful purpose. It is like a medicine for spring that is not useful in fall. Even if it is still useful in autumn, its effectiveness is not as good as in spring and summer. How much less useful they would be when they, Hinayāna and quasi-Mahāyāna Buddhists and believers of the theoretical section, become confused with the differences between Hinayāna and Mahāyāna Buddhism and provisional and true teachings. Moreover, as rulers in the past had put faith in their scriptures, built temples for them and donated pieces of farm land, it not only is inexcusable but also destroys the basis of their faiths for them to slight the teachings of their canons. Therefore, they are furious at the man who criticizes their canons, and they slander the True Dharma and persecute the practicer of the Lotus Sūtra.

Toki Nyūdō-dono Go-henji: Chibyō-shō, A Response to Lay Priest Lord Toki: Treatise on Healing Sickness, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 253-254

You already resemble a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra just as a monkey resembles a human being or a piece of rice cake resembles the full moon. Although the farmers of Atsuwara only hoped to preserve their own faith, people considered them rebels similar to Taira no Masakado of the Shōhei Period or Abe no Sadatō of the Tenki Period. However, those farmers of Atsuwara simply dedicated their lives to the Lotus Sūtra. The heavens will never consider them similar to those who betrayed their lord. Moreover, you have fallen out of favor with your lord and therefore have been forced to bear a heavy burden of the public expenditure. As a result you yourself do not have a riding horse while your wife and children do not have enough clothing.

Yet under such difficult circumstances, you sympathized with me, a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra, snowed in on a deep mountain and in need of food. You kindly sent one kammon of coins to me. Your offering is as precious as a needy couple who gave away the only piece of garment they shared to an alms-begging monk, or Rita who gave a small amount of barnyard millet in a rice bowl to a pratyekabuddha. It is valuable indeed.

Ueno-dono Gohenji, Reply to Lord Ueno, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers II, Volume 7, Page 44

Although you two have a difference in status, if you were greedy and crooked in mind and had not understood the reason behind everything, your elder brother’s disinheritance would never have been lifted. Your elder brother, Munenaka may become a Buddha due to his fervent belief in the Lotus Sūtra. However, your father would certainly go to hell for disinheriting his own son, who is a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra. In this case you would lose your older brother and father and become like Devadatta. However, as you are born wise and without greed unlike those born in the Latter Age of Degeneration, three of the Ikegami family attained Buddhahood together, saving everyone on the father’s side as well as the mother’s side.

Hyōesakan-dono Gohenji, Answer to Lord Ikegami Munenaga, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 97-98

The Hinayāna teaching and Mahāyāna teaching are not the same, but both were preached by the same Buddha. The Mahāyāna Buddhism that rejects Hinayāna Buddhism but tries to convert it to Mahāyāna Buddhism is the same as the Mahāyāna Buddhism that rejects provisional Mahāyāna Buddhism but attempts to lead it to the Lotus Sūtra. Although the objects of rejection, Hinayāna and provisional Mahāyāna, are not the same, in both cases the purpose is to lead them to the Lotus Sūtra. Therefore, the Sūtra of Infinite Meaning, the preface to the Lotus Sūtra, disregards all the sūtras preached before the Lotus Sūtra, declaring, “The true intention of the Buddha has not been revealed yet.”

It is also preached in the Lotus Sūtra, chapter 2 on the ” Expedients”: “If the Lotus Sūtra is not expounded after the preaching of other sūtras, the Buddha is accused of being stingy with the dharma. This is without doubt impermissible.” Namely, the Buddha said to Himself, “Born to this world, if I die after preaching sūtras such as the Flower Garland Sūtra and the Wisdom Sūtra without expounding the Lotus Sūtra, it would be as if I am stingy of turning over My property to My beloved children or leaving the sick to die without giving the best medicine to cure their illness.” The Buddha also predicts that He will fall into hell for the sin of not preaching the Lotus Sūtra. It is stated in the Lotus Sūtra, “This is impermissible.” “Impermissible” means going to hell. How much more so will it be for those who attach themselves to pre-Lotus sūtras and refuse to convert themselves to the Lotus Sūtra after hearing it preached. They are like subjects who refuse to follow the orders of the great king or children who are disobedient to parents.

Even if one does not slander the Lotus Sūtra, praising the pre-Lotus sūtras would be the equivalent to slandering the Lotus Sūtra. Grand Master Miao-lê, therefore, states in his Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, “If one praises the pre-Lotus sūtras, it means that one slanders the Lotus Sūtra (in fascicle 3);” and “Even if one has awaken aspiration for enlightenment, unless one knows the difference between the perfect and imperfect teachings and understands the basic purpose of the Buddha’s vow to save all living beings, one will not be able to escape the sin of slandering the True Dharma even if one hears and practices the dharma in the future (in fascicle 4).”

Kangyō Hachiman-shō, Remonstration with Bodhisattva Hachiman, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 274-275

This virtue of Nichiren, I am sure, is known to all from the venerable Three Treasures above down to such heavenly beings as the King of the Brahma Heaven, Indra, and the sun and moon. The souls of my parents and Master Dōzen will be given plenty of help by this virtue of mine.

However, I have one doubt here. Venerable Maudgalyāyana tried to save his mother, Moggaliyā, who had fallen to the realm of hungry spirits, but in vain for she was kept suffering there. Sunakṣatra, a son of the Buddha Śākyamuni when He was a bodhisattva in His previous life, was influenced by evil friends and fell into the Hell of Incessant Suffering. The Buddha must have wished to save His son with His might, but He could not help him because that was caused by his own karma.

I do not think that the late Master Dōzen hated me, for I am one of his beloved disciples. However, he was cowardly. Moreover, he had a strong attachment to Mt. Kiyosumi. He was fearful of Steward Tōjō Kagenobu. Besides, Priests Enchi and Jitsujō, as evil as Devadatta and Kokālika, were always by his side, intimidating him. He was so frightened that he abandoned his disciples who followed him for many years, even though he loved them. Therefore, I am not sure about his next life. It was lucky for him that Kagenobu, Enchi, and Jitsujō died before him. They died because of the condemnation of the ten female rākṣasa demons, guardian deities of the Lotus Sūtra. If they had lived longer, Master Dōzen would not have had time even to have a little faith in the Lotus Sūtra. Their deaths enabled him to have a little faith in the Lotus Sūtra, but it was as useless as fighting sticks after quarrels are over or a lantern in the daytime. Besides, it is quite natural that one feels compassion for his children and disciples under any circumstances. Master Dōzen probably took pity on me exiled on the island of Sado, but he never asked about me, though it seemed possible for him to do so. I do not think, therefore, that he truly believed in the Lotus Sūtra.

Hōon-jō, Essay on Gratitude, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 48-49.

According to your letter, epidemics have been widespread recently. They say that human beings have two kinds of sickness. First, our bodies get sick. Our bodies consist of the four elements: earth, water, fire and wind. As each of the four elements has 101 sicknesses, our bodies have a total of 404 sicknesses. These physical sicknesses do not necessarily depend on the Buddha to be cured. There is no physical sickness that cannot be cured by the medicine prepared by such famed physicians as Jisui, Rusui, Jivaka and P’ien-ch’üeh.

In the second place, our minds get sick in a vast number of ways. Beginning with the three poisons of greed, anger and stupidity, sickness in our minds totals as many as 84,000. Even the two heavenly beings and three hermits or the six non-Buddhist masters in India could not cure them, not to speak of the medicines administered by such sage rulers of ancient China as Shen-nung and the Yellow Emperor.

Toki Nyūdō-dono Go-henji: Chibyō-shō, A Response to Lay Priest Lord Toki: Treatise on Healing Sickness, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 252

As the will of the Buddha, no sūtra is superior to the Nirvana Sūtra. Seven kinds of people are enumerated in this sūtra. The first are people called icchantika, who are unable to get out of the ocean of life and death just as a huge rock thrown into the ocean. It is too heavy to float in the water and remains at the bottom of the sea forever; they are eternally drowned.

The second kind of people are those who are able to float in the water only momentarily. They have the power of floating in the water, but they cannot stay above the water because they have not learned how to keep floating. They are not icchantika but similar; they, too, are eternally drowned.

The third group of people are able to stay in the river of life and death without ever drowning. They are at the rank of śrāvaka such as Śāripūtra. The fourth are the people who learned how to float in the water but did not find the way out of the water. The fifth are those who can stay above the water to look around, but got scared, and quit.

The sixth kind of people are those who float in the water, are afraid of pirates in the distance as well as nearby, and decide to stay in a shallow place. The seventh group of people are those who have reached the other shore, where they enjoy great pleasure without fear. Those of the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh groups refer to pratyekabuddha and bodhisattvas.

Jōren-bō Gosho, A Letter to Jōren-bō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 5, Page 168

I have written doctrines important to me in this letter, so please read carefully and take the time to understand them well.

Have faith in the Great Mandala Gohonzon, the Most Venerable One in the entire world. Earnestly endeavor to strengthen your faith, so that you may be blessed with the protective powers of Śākyamuni Buddha, the Buddha of Many Treasures, and Buddhas in manifestation throughout the Universe. Strive to carry out the two ways of practice and learning. Without practice and learning Buddhism will cease to exist. Endeavor yourself and cause others to practice these two ways of practice and learning, which stem from faith. If possible, please spread even a word or phrase of the sūtra to others.

Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō.

Shohō Jisso-shō, Treatise on All Phenomena as Ultimate Reality, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 79-80

QUESTION: What proof do you have to say that the five virtues prior to the introduction of Buddhism into China were the “five precepts” of Buddhism?

ANSWER: The Sūtra of the Golden Splendor states, “All the teachings in the world encouraging to do good, stem from this sutra;” the Lotus Sūtra, chapter 19 on the “Merits of the Teacher of the Dharma, “When they (devout people) expound scriptures of the secular world, talking about the government, or teaching the way to earn a livelihood, they all will be in accordance with the True Dharma;” in the Sūtra of Meditation on the Universal Sage Bodhisattva, “Ruling the country by the True Dharma without oppressing the people unjustly is the practice of the third repentance;” and in the Nirvana Sūtra, “All the non-Buddhist scriptures in the world are of the teachings of the Buddha, not of the teachings of non-Buddhists.”

The Great Concentration and Insight of Grand Master T’ien-t’ai declares, “One who knows the true way of the world knows the Buddhist dharma.” In the Annotations on the Great Concentration and Insight, Grand Master Miao-lê states, “Such worldly teachings as courtesy and music spread first, opening the way of the Buddha,” and Priest Annen’s Comprehensive Interpretations says this:

“The Buddha sent three wise men to China to teach the five precepts by means of the five virtues. In the past, when the prime minister of the Sung State asked Confucius whether or not the Three Emperors and Five Sovereigns in ancient China were sages, Confucius answered that they were not. The prime minister then asked whether Confucius himself was a sage, and he said he was not. The prime minister asked again whether or not there was anyone who was considered a sage. Confucius replied that he heard that there was a sage known as Śākyamuni in the land to the west.”

The Heterodox History of the Chou Dynasty states:

“On the eighth of the fourth month in the 24th year in the reign of King Chao of the Chou, rivers, springs, ponds and wells all suddenly overflowed while palaces, houses, mountains, rivers and the great earth all quaked. At night, rays of five colors went through the T’ai-wei Constellation, shining in four directions. In the day, the rays turned blue-red. King Chao asked Historian Su-yu what caused this strange phenomenon. Su-yu replied that it was an omen of the birth of a great sage in the land to the west. Answering the king who asked what would be the effect upon the world, Su-yu declared that there would be no immediate effect, but his teaching would prevail over this land in 1,000 years. King Chao is said to have at once sent a man to Komen to have it (Su-yu’s prediction) inscribed on a stone and buried in the ground. It is in front of a heavenly shrine in the western outskirts.

“Also on the 15th of the second month in the 52nd year during the reign of King Mu, a storm occurred suddenly destroying houses and toppling trees; mountains, rivers and the great earth all trembled at once; in the afternoon the sky turned dark with black clouds; white rainbows hanging over the western sky passing from north to south, did not disappear for many nights. King Mu inquired of the Historian Hu-to about what these phenomena foretold. Hu-to replied that they predicted the death of a sage in the land to the west.”

Now, as I contemplate these citations, the Sūtra of the Golden Splendor assures us, “All the teachings in this world encouraging to do good, stem from this sūtra.” Before Buddhism was introduced into China, ancient rulers such as the Yellow Emperor first learned the five virtues from Hsüan-nü. The Buddha caused them to learn the teachings of the Eternal Buddha through learning Hsüan-nü’s five virtues in order for them to govern the country. As their capacities for comprehension were not yet developed, they would not have understood the relationship between causes in the past and effects in the future, even if the five precepts of Buddhism had been preached. So, they concentrated on governing the country and establishing themselves by strictly observing the moral codes of loyalty and filial piety in this world.

Sainan Kōki Yurai, The Cause of Misfortunes, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Pages 82-84