Grand Master Dengyō has said in his Outstanding Principles of the Lotus Sūtra: “You should know this. As basic canons of other schools are not the supreme sūtras, those who uphold those sūtras are not enlightened above all the people. The basic canon of the Tendai Lotus School is the supreme sūtra, so those who uphold it are enlightened above all the people. These are the words of the Buddha. How can this be self-conceit?” When a mite riding on the tail of a dragon-horse, which can run 1,000 ri a day boasts that it (mite) can run 1,000 ri a day, or when a follower of the Wheel-turning Noble King claims to run around the world in a second, who would blame or suspect him? We should remember by heart: “How can this be self-conceit?” If so, since those who uphold the Lotus Sūtra exactly as it is are above the King of the Brahma Heaven and Indra, they should be able to have Mt. Sumeru carried by asura demons and a great ocean swallowed up by dragons.

Senji-shō, Selecting the Right time: A Tract by Nichiren, the Buddha’s Disciple, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 248

Japan is a country where the Lotus Sūtra should be spread exclusively, in the same manner that the Kingdom of Śrāvastī in India was a country where Mahāyāna teachings were spread solely. In India, some areas were exclusively Hinayāna, others were exclusively Mahāyāna, and still others were Hinayāna and Mahāyāna simultaneously. Japan is a country exclusively for Mahāyāna teachings. Of the Mahāyāna teachings, especially the true Mahāyāna of the Lotus Sūtra should be spread in Japan (as recorded in such writings as the Treatise on the Stages of Yoga Practices; the Postscript to Translating the Lotus Sūtra by Sêng-chao; Biography of Prince Shōtoku; Grand Master Dengȳö’s The Outstanding Principles of the Lotus Sūtra and Treatise on the Protection of the Nation; and Comprehensive Interpretations by Venerable Annen). Thus, properly understanding that Japan is a country where the Lotus Sūtra should be spread is to truly understand the country.

Kyō Ki Ji Koku Shō, Treatise on the Teaching, Capacity, Time and Country, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 102

They say that a sage knows the future. Of the three periods, past, present and future, being able to foresee the future defines the true worth of a sage. Not that Nichiren is a sage, but I have always known that Japan in this present day is on her way to destruction (unless she is converted to the true teaching of the Lotus Sūtra). Undoubtedly, this corresponds with the sūtra that claims, “Problems are bound to increase after the death of the Buddha.” For one to possess knowledge of this, and yet make remonstrations, such a person is indeed a practicer of the Lotus Sūtra in the Latter Age of Degeneration whom the Buddha had predicted. Even if one is aware of the consequences, if one does not step forward, one will encounter problems within the cycle of life and death. Such a person and not anyone else, would be made out to be a sworn enemy of Lord Śākyamuni Buddha, and a rival foe of the head of the Japanese state as well. Upon death, that person would fall to the Hell of Incessant Suffering, a hell much like a large castle to which the most vile of sinners are sent. The scene of people being tormented there is certainly indicative of this, so I have thought. We may be deprived of food and clothing, be admonished by our parents, brothers and sisters, and teachers, and be coerced by the head of the state and the masses; but, let us protest without the slightest hesitation. These days, I am resolved that if one is to have reservations, then one should not protest at all.

Misawa-shō, A Letter to Lord Misawa of Suruga, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 240-241

Once in the neighboring land of India there was a great king in a country called Parthia, who loved to breed horses. He not only improved the quality of horses but also tried to transform cattle into horses. Eventually he even changed the men of Parthia into horses and rode them. The people of his own land were so grief-stricken over his actions that he began to change foreigners into horses instead.

When a merchant from a foreign country visited his country, the great king forced him to take a potion, turned him into a horse, and tied him in a stable. The merchant missed his native land and longed for his wife and children but was unable to go home without the king’s permission. Even if he were able to return home, what could he do in the form of a horse?

While he grieved over his misfortune day and night, his only son in his homeland began to prepare for a trip to look for him, since the expected date of his father’s return had passed. The son wondered, “Was my father murdered? Or is he too sick to move? How can I, his child, stay here and not go looking for my father?” His mother lamented saying, “My husband has not yet returned from abroad. What will I do if my only son goes away too and doesn’t return?” Nevertheless, the son missed his father deeply, so he went all the way to Parthia to look for him.

While staying in a small house, the master of the house told him:

“What a pity! You are still very young and extraordinarily handsome. I had a son, but he went abroad and never returned. I don’t know whether he is dead or what became of him if he is still alive. When I think of my own son, it saddens me to even look at you. The reason why I feel very sorry for you is that there is a terrible development in this country. The king of this country, out of his love for horses, uses a mysterious herb. When the king forces a person to eat a slender leaf of the herb, that person will become a horse, and when the king feeds a horse with a wide leaf, the horse becomes a man. Recently the king forced a foreign merchant to eat the herb, changing him into a horse, and tied him in the first royal stable and keeps him as a treasure.”

Believing that the king must have changed his father into a horse, the young man asked the master, “Do you know what kind of hair the horse has?” The master replied, “It is a chestnut horse with white dapples on its shoulders.”

Hearing this, the young man devised a secret plan and entered the royal palace, stole a wide leaf herb, and fed it to the horse, which reverted to its original form as a human being.

The great king, who investigated the whole episode, was impressed by the filial act of the young man, returned the father to his son and stopped changing men into horses. Unless a child is filial, how can a child go to such lengths to go abroad searching for his father?

Venerable Maudgalyāyana saved his late mother who suffered among hungry beings, and Princes Pure Store and Pure Eyes changed the erroneous views of their father, Wonderful Adornment King. These are the fine examples of good children being the treasure of parents.

Sennichi-ama Gohenji, A Reply to Sennichi-ama, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers II, Volume 7, Pages 162-163

I heard that your elder brother, Ikegami Munenaka, was recently disowned again by your father. I told your wife when she was here in Minobu, “Lord Ikegami Munenaka is certain to be disowned again. When this happens I am not sure how it will effect Lord Munenaga, so you, as the wife of Munenaga, must have a firm faith.” I am afraid that you will give up your faith in the Lotus Sūtra. I do not intend to reproach you at all if you lose your faith. However, do not bear a grudge against me, Nichiren, for falling into hell, as I do not know what to do for you then. It is true that a bale of karukaya grass saved for 1,000 years burns to ashes in a flash and the merits of achievement gained in one hundred years can be wasted in one word.

Hyōesakan-dono Gohenji, Answer to Lord Ikegami Munenaga, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Followers I, Volume 6, Page 92

How can we not spread the Lotus Sūtra even if very few people have the capacity for it while most people contradict it like water against fire? When we single-mindedly spread the Lotus Sūtra, there is no doubt that we will eventually succeed even if we should encounter such great difficulties as those that have befallen Never-Despising Bodhisattva.

Kangyō Hachiman-shō, Remonstration with Bodhisattva Hachiman, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 272

With gratitude, I received one koku of rice, your offering for eight months.

Now the doctrine of “attainment of Buddhahood with the present body” is clearly described in various Mahāyāna sūtras such as the Great Sun Buddha Sūtra. But trying to obtain Buddhahood with the present body by such sūtras will cause one to enter two kinds of self-conceit and eventually, far from becoming a Buddha, fall into hell. Regarding these two kinds of self-conceit, Grand Master Miao-lê states in the 9th fascicle of his Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra: “When people are told that those who attained Buddhahood with the present body are equal to the Buddha, arrogance will appear in their minds preventing them from practicing Buddhism. When people with evil passions are told that they will become Buddhas as they are, they will neglect to cultivate the roots of goodness or to amend their self-conceit. Though there is a difference between the two kinds of self-conceit in depth, both are similar in assuming that the Buddha and people are the same, and they are disgraceful who do not reflect upon themselves.”

Ōta-dono Nyōbō Gohenji, A Response to the Wife of Lord Ōta, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 165-166

To put it strongly, the T’ien-t’ai doctrine of “concentration and insight” is like the pre-Lotus sūtras, and the provisional Mahāyāna sūtras preaching the distinct teaching, one of the four doctrinal teachings. It is what he attained while meditating at the Universal Wisdom Hall of Practice on Mt. Ta-su, and when T’ien-t’ai told it to his teacher-master, Grand Master Nan-yüeh, he was told that what he attained was nothing but mystic words and phrases of the pre-Lotus expedient sūtras. Also, it is stated in the Pictorial Biography of T’ien-t’ai, part 4: “When T’ien-t’ai lectured on the Great Wisdom Sūtra, written in golden ink, replacing his master Nan-yüeh, a doubt arose upon encountering the passage, ‘a mind is equipped with 10,000 practices.’ Grand Master Nan-yüeh explained it for T’ien-t’ai, saying that his question was concerned with a sequential doctrine of the Great Wisdom Sūtra, which has not yet reached the level of the perfect and sudden wonderful doctrine of the Lotus Sūtra.”

Thus what T’ien-t’ai preached was the Wisdom Sūtra, a pre-Lotus, quasi-Mahāyāna sūtra. As it is said that what he preached was a sequential doctrine, it was a distinct teaching. And, as it is said that the mystic words and phrases he was able to attain were pre-Lotus expedients, we know that T’ien-t’ai’s Great Concentration and Insight is similar to a pre-Lotus, expedient sūtra, belonging to the category of the distinct teaching.

Since what T’ien-t’ai attained in mind, as stated above, is mystic words and phrases of the pre-Lotus sūtras, which he explained in his Great Concentration and Insight, it is needless to say that it cannot be compared with the theoretical section of the Lotus Sūtra, not to speak of the essential section. … Armed with these points, you should argue against the evil contention that the Great Concentration and Insight is superior to the Lotus Sūtra.

Risshō Kanjō, A Treatise on Establishing the Right Way of Meditation, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 237