Buddhism can be correctly propagated only by a person of unsurpassed wisdom. This is why Shakyamuni, after expounding all the sutras, entrusted the Hinayana teachings to Ananda and the Mahayana teachings to Monju, but refused to transfer the ultimate principle of the Lotus Sutra to any of his immediate disciples. Shakyamuni instead summoned Bodhisattva Jogyo, his disciple from ages past, and entrusted it to him.

Even if there should be a person of wisdom who embraces Buddhism, how could he propagate it without believers who support him? Shakyamuni had the support of Bonten and Taishaku who dwell in heaven. From among the six paths, the Buddha chose the worlds of Heaven and Humanity, and of these two, he chose to be born among human beings. Of all places in the universe inhabited by men, he appeared in India, in the kingdom of Magadha. The king of Magadha should have been a protector of the Buddha, but the ruler was King Ajatashatru, an evil man. The most unfortunate destiny for a Buddha is to be born in the reign of an evil monarch. King Ajatashatru had murdered his father, a wise king who had supported the Buddha. Even worse, he had taken Devadatta as his mentor. Devadatta committed three of the five cardinal sins, worst of all injuring the Buddha and causing him to bleed. The impious and evil king joined forces with this slanderer of Buddhism, compounding the great harm to humanity. Not only for one or two years but for several decades, this king repeatedly harassed the Buddha and killed a great many of his disciples. This infuriated the heavens, and the skies reacted violently. Moreover, the terrestrial gods were so provoked that the great disasters occurred on earth. Month after month violent gales raged, and year after year famines and epidemics struck, killing the majority of the people. Furthermore, neighboring kingdoms attacked on all sides, driving Magadha to the brink of ruin. At that time, motivated by a revelation in a dream, by the advice of his physician and minister Jivaka and finally by his own inner doubts, Ajatashatru left Devadatta and went to Shakyamuni Buddha to repent for his sinful deeds. Therefore his illness was cured immediately, the invasions ceased and the entire country became peaceful. Not only did he recover his health; he was able to thwart the prophecy that he would die on the seventh day of the third month and in fact prolonged his life by forty years. In gratitude, he assembled a thousand arhats to record all the Buddha's teachings, especially the Lotus Sutra, for future generations. It is therefore thanks to King Ajatashatru that we have the Lotus Sutra we embrace today.

Even so, if I, Nichiren, should repeat the teachings given by the Buddha to King Ajatashatru, most Japanese would consider them to be merely my own fabrication. But since you are my disciple and supporter, I will reveal them to you. The Buddha stated, "After my death, during the Latter Day of the Law, there will be many who will piously observe the five ascetic practices as Devadatta did. They will persuade an evil ruler to act against the one person of unsurpassed wisdom. At times they will slander or strike him, cause him to be exiled, and even try to kill him. In that age there will be natural disasters, such as typhoons, famines, and epidemics even greater than those witnessed in this day, and these calamities will continue year after year. There will also be foreign invasions." This is the substance of the tenth volume of the Shugo Sutra.

The present age has evolved exactly as the Buddha predicted it would, and Nichiren is the wise man whom the Buddha described. Although there are people who wish to help me, many of them are weak-willed and others, though having a strong spirit, cannot act upon their intentions. Thus you are one of the very few whose action matches his will. Your faith is stronger than the faith of others, and it is because of your support that I have been able to survive. Both the heavens and the earth are certainly aware of this, so if any misfortune happens to you, it could only mean that heaven wants my life itself. Wherever he may be, whether in the mountains, on the seas, in the skies or in the cities, man cannot escape death. However, a passage from one of the sutras explains that even one's immutable karma can be changed. T'ien-t'ai interprets this passage to mean that one can prolong his fixed span of life.

As I advised you earlier, until the Mongol forces actually attack this country, you should refrain from spreading any alarm. As for the reply to your lord, answer him firmly in this way: "Since I am ill, it is most distressing for me to be transferred to a remote place. Moreover, the entire country is on the verge of ruin. Should an emergency arise, how could I possibly be a coward? At this moment I am resolved to sacrifice my life for my lord. Yet, should a sudden crisis occur, it is doubtful whether I could reach you in time from the distant province of Echigo. Therefore, even at the risk of losing my estate, I will not leave you this year. Anything else you may command of me, I will obey without hesitation or fear. The only people more important to me are the priest Nichiren and my deceased parents. However, I will devote this life to you, even if you disown me, for I have entrusted my life after death to the priest Nichiren."

Nichiren

Budizam može biti ispravno propagiran samo od osobe nenadmašne mudrosti. To je razlog zašto je Šakjamuni, nakon izlaganja svih sutri, poverio hinajana učenja Anandi i mahajana učenja Monđuu, ali je odbio da prenese krajnji princip Lotos sutre bilo kom od svojih neposrednih učenika. Umesto toga, Šakjamuni je pozvao Bodisatvu Đogjoa, svog učenika iz davne prošlosti i poverio ga je njemu.

Čak i ako bi postojao neko mudar ko prihvata budizam, kako bi mogao da ga propagira bez vernika koji ga podržavaju? Šakjamuni je imao podršku Bontena {Brahme} i Tajšakua {Indre} koji borave na nebesima. Od šest staza, Buda je odabrao svetove Nebesa i Ljudi, a od ova dva, izabrao je da se rodi među ljudskim bićima. Od svih mesta u univerzumu nastanjenim ljudima, pojavio se u Indiji, u kraljevstvu Magadhe. Kralj Magadhe trebalo je da bude zaštitnik Bude, ali je vladar bio kralj Ađatašatru, jedan loš čovek. Najnesrećnija sudbina za jednog budu je da bude pod vladavinom lošeg vladara. Kralj Ađatašatru je ubio svog oca, mudrog kralja koji je podržavao Budu. Još gore, uzeo je Devadatu za svog mentora. Devadata je počinio tri od pet kardinalnih grehova, od kojih je najgori ranjavanje Bude i izazivanje njegovog krvarenja. Bezbožan i loš kralj je udružio snage sa ovim klevetnikom budizma čineći tako zlo ljudskom rodu još i više. Ne samo tokom dve ili tri godine, već tokom nekoliko decenija, ovaj je kralj ponovljeno šikanirao Budu i ubio mnoštvo njegovih učenika. Ovo je razbesnelo nebesa i ova su silovito reagovala. Štaviše, kopneni bogovi su bilo toliko provocirani da su se velike nepogode desile na zemlji. Mesec za mesecom besnele su žestoke bure, a godinu za godinom glad i epidemije su napadaše ubijajući većinu ljudi. Osim toga, susedna kraljevstva su napala sa svih strana, dovodeći Magadhu na rub propasti. Tada, pokrenut otkrovenjem u jednom snu, savetom svog lekara i ministra Đivake i konačno i vlastitim unutrašnjim sumnjama, Ađatašatru je napustio Devadatu i otišao do Šakjamuni Bude da se pokaje za svoja grešna dela. Otuda je njegova bolest bila odmah izlečena, najezde su prestale i cela se zemlja smirila. Ne samo da se zdravstveno oporavio, već je bio u stanju da spreči proročanstvo da će umreti sedmog dana trećeg meseca i zapravo je produžio svoj život za četrdeset godina. U zahvalnosti, sakupio je hiljadu arhata da zapišu sva Budina učenja, posebno Lotos sutru, za buduće generacije. Prema tome zahvaljujući kralju Ađatašatri imamo Lotos sutru koju danas prihvatamo.

Čak i tako, ako bih ja, Ničiren, trebalo da ponovim učenja koje je Buda dao kralju Ađatašatri, većina Japanaca bi ih smatrala uglavnom mojom vlastitom ujdurmom. Ali pošto si ti moj učenik i podržavaoc, otkriću ih tebi. Buda je izjavio: "Posle moje smrti, tokom Potonjeg Dana Zakona, biće mnogo onih koji će pobožno vršiti pet asketskih praksi kao što je Devadata činio. Oni će ubediti jednog zlog vladara da deluje protiv jedne osobe nenadmašne mudrosti. Povremeno će ga klevetati ili napadati, učinivši da bude prognan, i čak će pokušati da ga ubiju. U to doba biće prirodnih katastrofa, kao što su tajfuni, glad i epidemije, veće čak i od onih koje su viđene danas, i ove će se nesreće nastaviti godinu za godinom. Biće takođe i stranih najezdi." Ovo je bit desetog toma Šugo sutre.

Sadašnje doba se razvilo baš kao što je Buda predvideo, a Ničiren je taj mudrac kojeg je Buda opisao. Mada ima ljudi koji žele da mi pomognu, mnogi su od njih slabe volje, a drugi, mada imaju jak duh, ne mogu delovati po svojoj volji. Tako si ti jedan od malobrojnih čije delovanje odgovara tvojoj volji. Tvoja vera je jača od vere drugih, i tvoja podrška je razlog iz kog sam bio sposoban da preživim. I nebesa i zemlja su svakako svesni toga, tako da ako ti se ikakva nesreća desi, onda bi to moglo jedino da znači da nebesa žele sâm moj život. Gde god da je, na planini, na moru, na nebu ili u gradu, čovek ne može izbeći smrt. Ipak, odeljak iz jedne od sutri objašnjava da čak i nečija nepromenljiva karma može biti promenjena. Then-tai tumači taj odeljak u smislu da se utvrđen raspon života može produžiti.

Kao što sam te ranije posavetovao, dok mongolske snage stvarno ne napadnu zemlju, treba da se uzdržiš od širenja bilo kakvih uzbuna. Što se tiče odgovora tvom gospodaru, odgovori mu čvrsto, ovako: "Pošto sam bolestan, najveća neprilika za mene je da budem premešten u neko daleko mesto. Štaviše, cela je zemlja na rubu propasti. Ako bi se ukazala potreba, kako bih mogao biti kukavica? U ovom trenutku odlučan sam da žrtvujem svoj život za svog gospodara. Ipak, ako se iznenadna kriza pojavi, sumnjam da bih se mogao pojaviti na vreme kod vas iz daleke provincije Ečigo. Stoga, čak i uz rizik da izgubim svoj posed, neću vas napustiti ove godine. Sve drugo što biste mi naredili, ispuniću bez oklevanja ili straha. Jedini ljudi koji su mi važniji su sveštenik Ničiren i moji preminuli roditelji. Ipak, posvetiću ovaj život vama, čak i ako me se odričete, stoga što sam poverio svoj život posle smrti svešteniku Ničirenu."

Ničiren