Although I am not one of those bodhisattvas who emerged from underground, I know that those bodhisattvas will appear in the Latter Age of Degeneration. So, I, as a forerunner of those great bodhisattvas, show the essential dharma, the five Chinese characters of the Wonderful Dharma, in a preliminary manner to the people. It is like the blue bird foretelling the appearance of Hsi-wang-mu (a fairy in ancient China) or a magpie chattering before the arrival of a guest.

Soya Nyūdō-dono-gari Gosho, A Letter to Lay Priest Lord Soya, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 3, Pages 172.

[In the sixth month of the 3rd year of the Kenji era (1277), Nichiren Shōnin wrote a letter of explanation in place of Inaba-bō Nichiei, a disciple of Nichiren, and submitted it to Nichiei’s father, Shimoyama Hyōgo Gorō Mitsumoto.]

As we all know, the rulers of Japan are able to do anything they wish. In a lawsuit, the rulers should call both sides to a meeting in order to listen to what each will say to the other to come to a judgement. Why is it when that only in the case of Nichiren Shōnin, they did not hold such a meeting in which he would be allowed to meet in debate against the masters of the other sects before being sentenced to such a serious punishment? This is nothing but a breach in proper conduct!

Even if Nichiren Shōnin were a felon, such illegal treatment would throw the administration of our country into chaos, with peace lost. Looking at the “Jōei Code,” we find fifty-one articles and a written pledge at the end. The first and second articles concern the religions of Shinto and Buddhism. The authorities tried to behead Nichiren Shōnin, who upholds the Lotus Sūtra, the most substantial sūtra of all Shinto and Buddhist scriptures, without allowing him to meet in debate with the monks who slandered him, trusting only in their false accusations. Thus, there might have been many other occurrences in which the shogunate broke their vows in the “Jōei Code,” but the greatest blunder was the one committed against Nichiren Shōnin. Were they inadvertently destroying themselves as well as our country because of their intense hatred of Nichiren Shōnin?

In ancient China, Duke Ai of Lu is believed to have said that the worst kind of forgetfulness was one who moved house but forgot to take one’s wife! To this, Confucius is credited with saying that some even forget who they are, such as the rulers of a country who err in governing. Were the rulers of Japan unaware of this? Even if they were, they cannot escape from their serious crime of being formidable enemies of the Lotus Sūtra.

Shimoyama Goshōsoku, The Shimoyama Letter, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 5, Page 85

[I]t is said in the fifteenth chapter, “Appearance of Bodhisattvas from Underground,” that Bodhisattva Maitreya begged the Buddha to clear his doubts about His original disciples from the eternal past saying:

“We have never doubted the truthfulness of Your opportune sermons or the words uttered by You and we believe that You know all things thoroughly. We are afraid, however, that those who have just begun to walk the bodhisattva way, if they hear these words of Yours after Your death, might not accept them in faith, causing the sin of destroying the dharma. We beseech You, World Honored One, to explain this to remove our doubts. Good men in the future, too, will have no doubts when they hear it.”

This passage shows that the preaching of the chapter, “The Life Span of the Buddha,” was requested for the sake of the people after the death of Śākyamuni Buddha.

Kanjin Honzon-shō, A Treatise Revealing the Spiritual Contemplation and the Most Verable One, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 2, Page 155-156

It is preached in the Nirvana Sūtra, “The life of a human being is not at a standstill. It changes more rapidly than a swift stream in the mountain. Though we exist today, we do not know whether or not we will exist tomorrow.” The Māyā Sūtra, states, “Human life is like a caṇḍāla who drives a flock of sheep to the slaughterhouse. Likewise, human life approaches death step by step.” Finally, the Lotus Sūtra preaches, “The triple world is unsafe, like a burning house. It is full of suffering and is dreadful indeed.” These are scriptural statements made by our compassionate father, the Greatly Awakened and World Honored One, in order to teach ordinary people in the Latter Age of Degeneration about the impermanence of human life and to awaken us, his naive children.

However, we unenlightened ones are not awakened and do not aspire for enlightenment even for a moment. Instead we spend time needlessly trying to find nicer clothing to adorn our bodies, which will be naked within a night after being discarded in the field when we die. Or, we try to save a fortune to support our bodies, which will disappear completely in a few days after death when it becomes water and drains away, dust mixed with the soil, or smoke rising to the sky. These imprudent activities of the human world remain the same throughout the ages.

Matsuno-dono Gohenji, Response to Lord Matsuno, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 7, Followers II, Page 68-69

There are two kinds of people who harm the Lotus Sūtra. The first kind are those in whom the seed of Buddhahood was planted in a past life. The seed germinated and grew in them while they aspired for enlightenment, and they are close to attaining Buddhahood in this existence. For those in this category, should they slander the practicer of the Lotus Sūtra, their mouths would be shut and their heads split into pieces. The second kind of people are those who slandered the practicer of the Lotus Sūtra in previous lives as well as in the present life. Such people are being tormented in the Hell of Incessant Suffering life after life and their mouths are not sealed no matter how much they slander. For instance, a felon in prison waiting to be executed will not receive additional punishment till his execution, no matter how many evil acts he commits in prison. On the other hand, a prisoner who is scheduled to be released will be immediately punished should he commit an evil act in prison.

Hōren-shō, Letter to Hōren, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Volume 6, Followers I, Page 62

The Lotus Sūtra, fascicle 7, the 21st chapter on “The Divine Powers of the Buddha,” preaches: “Suppose that after the Buddha passed away, someone who knows the causes and conditions and proper sequence of the sūtras expounded by the Buddha will preach them truthfully according to the true meaning. As the light of the sun and moon can eliminate all darkness, so this person will wipe out the darkness of living beings as he walks about in the world.”

This scriptural passage means that he who expounds even a word or a phrase of the Lotus Sūtra should know well the comparative profundity of the holy teachings preached during His lifetime and the sequence of preaching them. For instance, speaking of the calendar consisting of more than 360 days a year, a mistake by one day will cause mistakes for 10,000 days. In a 31-syllable Japanese poem, a mistake in a syllable or a phrase makes the whole 31 syllables unpoetic. Likewise, in reading or reciting a sūtra, if one is confused about the sequence and comparative profundity of the holy teachings of the Buddha beginning with the Flower Garland Sūtra preached first at the Hall of Enlightenment to the Nirvana Sūtra expounded last in the śāla forest, one will inevitably fall into the Hell of Incessant Suffering without committing the five rebellious sins. Those who believe in him will also fall into the Hell of Incessant Suffering.

Therefore, when a wise man appears in the world to correctly declare the comparative profundity of the holy teachings preached during His lifetime, those priests who have transmitted false doctrines from the founders of their respective sects and are revered as the teachers of the state or aristocratic families will make a false charge against the wise man to the rulers of the country or incite a popular protest against him. Otherwise, the weakness of their sects would be revealed, causing them to be despised by the people. Then, it is preached, the protective deities of Buddhism will be so enraged that they will destroy this country just as gale winds tear up the leaves of banana plants or high waves overturn small boats.

Shinkoku-ō Gosho, Sovereigns of Our Divine Land, Writings of Nichiren Shōnin, Doctrine 1, Page 177-178