Pre-Lotus sūtras expound on such topics as the bodies and minds of people. They were expounded according to the wishes of the people. Although they are the Buddha’s teachings, they are nothing but people’s minds, therefore, they were called “sūtras preached according to others’ minds.” Suppose parents who had an aversion to alcohol had a son who loved to drink liquor. Because of their love for their son and also to cater to his whim, they made it a point to offer him alcohol, pretending that they also were drinkers of liquor. The hopeless son then assumed that his parents truly loved alcohol. Sūtras preached according to others’ minds are the same.

The Daii Sūtra expounds on issues regarding human and heavenly beings. The Āgama sūtras expound on the Two Vehicles (śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha). The Flower Garland Sūtra expounds on bodhisattvas. The Hōdō sūtras and the Wisdom Sūtra are similar to the Āgama sūtras and the Daii Sūtra, but they are also similar to the Flower Garland Sūtra. If unenlightened people in the Latter Age of Degeneration read these sūtras, they may think that these are in accordance to the Buddha’s wish. Strictly speaking, however, they read sūtras that reflect their own minds. Their minds are originally inept to such an extent that nothing is satisfactory.

Zui-jii Gosho, The Sūtra Preached in Accordance to [the Buddha’s] Own Mind, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 154-155

QUESTION: I see you have solid proofs in scriptures. Have T’ien-t’ai, Miao-lê and Dengyō also predicted the same?

ANSWER: Your question is out of order. You may ask for scriptural proofs to back up statements in later commentaries, but you may not look for proofs in later commentaries when statements in sūtras are clear. Are you going to side with commentaries against sūtras in case you find them contradictory?

INQUIRER INSISTS: You are absolutely right, but as an ordinary man I feel that the sūtras were preached thousands of years ago, while commentaries are closer to us because they are works of later people. As such if what is said in commentaries are made clear, I may be able to deepen my faith in sūtras.

ANSWER: Since your question is so sincere, I shall cite from some commentaries. Grand Master T’ien-t’ai states in his Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra, “The wonderful way of the Lotus Sūtra will spread benefit far into the fifth 500-year period!” Grand Master Miao-lê explains it in his Annotations on the Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sūtra: “Not necessarily will there be no divine favor of the Lotus Sūtra at the beginning of the Latter Age.” Grand Master Dengyō declares in his Treatise on the Protection of the Nation: “The Age of the True Dharma and that of the Semblance Dharma are about to end, and the Latter Age of Degeneration is around the corner. This is the time for the One Vehicle teaching of the Lotus to spread. How can we say this? We know it because it is stated in the ‘Peaceful Practices’ (14th) chapter of the Lotus Sūtra that it should be spread at the time when the dharma is about to disappear in the latter world.” He also says in his Outstanding Principles of the Lotus Sūtra:

“The time is toward the end of the Age of the Semblance Dharma and the beginning of the Latter Age of Degeneration; the place is east of T’ang China and west of Katsu; when people live in the world of defilement and corruption, full of disputes and quarrels. The Lotus Sūtra, chapter 10, states that much hatred and jealousy existed even during the lifetime of Śākyamuni Buddha, not to speak of after His death. This is a meaningful statement indeed!”

Senji-shō, Selecting the Right time: A Tract by Nichiren, the Buddha’s Disciple, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 195

Residing here at Mt. Minobu is truly like living in the everlasting land of the gods where blessings come down from heaven. Even uncultured men and women would be attracted to this place. In the forlorn autumn twilight, the dew is deep around my grass hut and in the eaves it is strung like pearls on spider webs. The leaves deepen into scarlet and are reflected in the intermittent flow in the bamboo water pipes, and seeing them one would not doubt that it is like the view on the upper Tatsutakawa River.

Also, behind my home the rugged mountains rise up out of the depths, and the fruits of the treetops would fill the One Vehicle. Below the branches the cicadas sing raucously. In front of my hut, the rushing waters flow by. The moon of the thus-so nature that is the true aspect of all things floats overhead in a sky cleared of the darkness of deep ignorance because there are no clouds in the sky of Dharma-nature. In this tranquil setting, inside my hut we spend all day discussing the Dharma of the Wonderful Sūtra of the One Vehicle, and all through the night there is the sound of our recitation of the crucial writings. It is as though Mt. Sacred Eagle where I heard the World Honored One Śākyamuni lived had been brought right here. In the rising fog and severe storms, I go into the mountains to cut firewood. Through the dewy grass I go down into the deep valleys to collect water parsley. In the rapids of the swift mountain streams I rinse vegetables, and as I impatiently wait for my dampened sleeves to dry I think of the old poet Hitomaro who recited, “At Waka-no-ura, the fishermen think of the passing of their lives as they wait for the seaweed to dry.”

Minobu-san Gosho, Mt. Minobu Letter, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 5, Page 125-126

I am in a great quandary. When my prediction comes true, it will prove that I am a sage, but Japan will be destroyed. I, Nichiren, have not committed any crime in this life. I am only sorry that what I said for the sake of my country and in order for me to repay the debt of gratitude to my native land was not appreciated. In addition, I was arrested and badly beaten with the fifth fascicle of the Lotus Sūtra, which I had kept in my bosom. Finally I was taken through the streets of Kamakura like a criminal. So I said loudly to the heavenly beings:

“The sun and moon gods are still in heaven as they had been at the time of the Lotus Assembly on Mt. Sacred Eagle. Yet they don’t come to rescue me, Nichiren, now when I am severely persecuted. Does it mean first of all, that I am not a true practicer of the Lotus Sutra? If so, I will not hesitate to correct my false view right away. If I, Nichiren, am a true practicer of the Lotus Sutra, please show proof immediately all over Japan. Otherwise, the sun and moon today are great liars who fool Säkyamuni Buddha, the Buddha of Many Treasures and Buddhas in all the worlds in the universe. Their lies are a hundred, thousand, ten thousand and ten million times larger than those committed by Devadatta and his disciple Kokālika.”

In prompt response they immediately caused civil disturbance, throwing Japan into confusion. Although I am an ordinary man not worth mentioning, in regard to upholding the Lotus Sūtra, I am the greatest man in Japan today.

Senji-shō, Selecting the Right time: A Tract by Nichiren, the Buddha’s Disciple, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 245-246

The honzon of the Tendai (T’ien-t’ai) Sect is Śākyamuni Buddha, who had actually practiced the Bodhisattva way and attained Buddhahood in the eternal past. The Buddhas such as Vairocana Buddha, Lord Preacher of the Flower Garland School, and the Great Sun Buddha, Lord Preacher of the True Word School, are retainers of this Eternal Śākyamuni Buddha.

Ichidai Goji Keizu, Genealogical Chart of the Buddha’s Lifetime Teachings in Five Periods, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Page 250

QUESTION: For whom was the essential section of the Lotus Sūtra expounded?

ANSWER: Two purposes are conceivable in preaching the essential section. First, the reason why Śākyamuni Buddha reveals the eternity of His life in passing in chapter 15 on the “Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground” (Concise Opening the Near and Revealing the Distant) is to enlighten His disciples who have been guided through teachings expounded for forty years or so before the Lotus Sūtra and in the first theoretical section of the Lotus Sūtra. Secondly, one chapter and two half-chapters from the last part of the “Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground” chapter in which Maitreya raised a question, requesting the Buddha to preach for people after His extinction, through chapter 16 on “The Life Span of the Buddha” to the first half of chapter 17, the “Variety of Merits are exactly for clearly expounding the eternity of the Buddha (Expanded Opening the Near and Revealing the Distant). This is solely for the sake of people after the death of the Buddha.

Hokke Shuyō Shō, Treatise on the Essence of the Lotus Sūtra, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 210-211

Thank you very much for the offering of 60 steamed rice cakes, a tub of sake, 50 yams, 20 tangerines, and one range of persimmons dried on skewers which you took the trouble of sending to me.

I respectfully put them on the altar of the Lotus Sūtra. It was on the third day of the New Year and I was so glad that I was able to put various offerings on the altar of the Lotus Sūtra. When flowers bloom, they are bound to bear fruits, the moon inevitably becomes full, and plants flourish when it rains. Likewise, people who do meritorious good acts will never fail to prosper.

Ueno-dono Gohenji, Reply to Lord Ueno, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Page 36

Regarding the Chinese character “myō” of the Lotus Sūtra, Bodhisattva Nāgārjuna states in his Great Wisdom Discourse, “It can transform poison into medicine.” Grand Master T’ien-t’ai also explains it this way, “The guarantee of future Buddhahood by the Two Vehicles in the Lotus Sūtra is the conversion of poison into medicine.” I am confident, therefore, even a misfortune can become happiness.

Dōjōjin Shugo-ji, Protective Deities for the Place of Practicing Buddhism, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Pages 16

It has been 2,200 years or so since the passing of Śākyamuni Buddha. We are now in the Latter Age of Degeneration, when wise persons are gradually getting scarce just as a mountain slopes from the peak and fields are overgrown with weeds. Many people chant the nembutsu or observe precepts but few seek refuge in the Lotus Sūtra. Stars are many in number, but they cannot illuminate the depths of the ocean. No matter how many plants there are, they cannot be used as pillar for a palace. Likewise, no matter how many times one chants the nembutsu, it will never become the way to Buddhahood. No matter how many precepts one observes, they will never become the seeds of rebirth in the Pure Land. The seven characters of Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō alone are the seeds of Buddhahood.

Kurōtarō-dono Gohenji, A Reply to Lord Kurōtarō, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Faith and Practice, Volume 4, Page 153