A devoted member of Nichiren Buddhism, Kiyomasa encouraged the building of Nichiren temples.

In his letter " A Comparison between the Lotus and Other Sutras " Nichiren viewed the Four Noble Truths as a specific teaching expounded by the Buddha to the śrāvakas disciples, those who attain awakening by listening to the teachings of a Buddha.

With the exception of a few short journeys, Nichiren spent the rest of his life at Minobu, where he and his disciples erected a temple, Kuon-ji ( 久遠寺 ), and he continued writing and training his disciples.

Nichiren spent his final years writing, inscribing Gohonzon for his disciples and believers, and delivering sermons.

On October 13, 1282, Nichiren died in the presence of many disciples and lay believers.

Nichiren spent most of the rest of his life here training disciples.

After the passing of Nichiren differences between the various Nichiren Schools were relatively minor ; nevertheless, the following schools formed around Nichiren's disciples:

The true spirit of oneness of mentor and disciple pulses vibrantly in the lives of mentors and disciples of the SGI committed to the cause of realising Kosen-Rufu just as Nichiren Daishonin teaches.

Eventually, his disciples formed their own school of Nichiren Buddhism, which includes various sects that have their own interpretations of Nichiren's teachings.

is a confederation of four of the original Nichiren Buddhist Schools that date back to Nichiren's original disciples, and part of the fifth:

Nichiren Shū is currently in the process of translating many of the writings of Nichiren into English using the extant documents from Nichiren's life or copies known to have been made by his original disciples.

Schools stemming from the other five elders, many of which are now amalgamated into Nichiren Shu based at Kuon-ji, reject this claim, as the document does not exist in Nichiren's hand or any of His immediate disciples.

Taiseki-ji was founded in 1290 < span style =" font-variant: small-caps "> ce </ span > by Nikkō, one of Nichiren ’ s immediate disciples.

Nichiren Buddhism includes various schools with their own interpretations of Nichiren's teachings, the most prominent being Nichiren Shu, Nichiren Shoshu and Soka Gakkai ; however, despite the differences between schools, all Nichiren sects share the fundamental practice of chanting daimoku.

Nichiren Buddhism is based on the Lotus Sutra: “ According to Nichiren, the Lotus Sutra is the highest teaching of Shakyamuni Buddha.

Nichiren believed, that directly revealing one ’ s Buddha nature is possible through the practice of the Bodhisattvas who: “ do not carry out the practice of gradual progress.

The Gohonzon is described as an object for focus of devotion in Nichiren ’ s letter: “ The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind ” which is acknowledged by most followers of Nichiren Buddhism.

All of these teachings are shared and identical in most schools and groups of Nichiren Buddhism, however, different interpretations are found for the doctrine of the ” Three Great Secret Dharmas ”, called also “ The Three Great Secret Laws ”, and Three Jewels.

Some researchers add that Nichiren strongly criticized the esoteric rituals of other schools: “ As Sasaki notes, Nichiren ’ s view of the shift of authority from GoToba to Yoshitoki was inseparable from his criticism of the esoteric teachings.

Form Nichiren ’ s point of view, however, his uncompromising stance was to save people from sufferings: “ Even in the case of the Nembutsu priests, the Zen priests, and the True Word teachers, and the ruler of the nation and other men of authority, all of whom bear me such hatred — I admonish them because I want to help them, and their hatred for me makes me pity them all the more ”.

Intolerance towards Nichiren Buddhism did not cease after Nichiren ’ s death ( 1282 ), and the most famous persecution was the violent attacks on Nichiren temples in the 16th century, Kyoto, Japan: “ Nichiren temples in Kyoto were attacked by the monks from Mt.

Intolerance towards Nichiren Buddhism led some researchers to compare it with early Christianity: “ Tamura finds Nichiren ’ s Buddhism to be broadly comparable with Christianity ‘ as a religion of prophecy, in its spirit of martyrdom, in its apostolic consciousness, and additionally, in its emphasis upon history ”.

Nichiren Buddhism emphasizes the sanctity of life and absolute non-violence: “ To deprive a being of life is to commit the gravest kind of sin ”, and considers debate or dialogue as the only avenue to resolve disputes: “ When in public debate, although the teachings that you advocate are perfectly consistent with the truth, you should never on that account be impolite or abusive, or display a conceited attitude.

“ The Itchi-Soretsu controversey was of no interest to outsiders, but it kept Nichiren theologians on their toes and forced them to define their positions with more clarity.

Documents first mentioned and discovered by Taiseki-ji priest Nikkyo in 1488 claimed that Nichiren passed full authority “ to Nikkō alone.

Its existence is believed to have been “ hidden in the depths of the text ” ( 文底秘沈: montei hichin ) of Shakyamuni's Lotus Sutra, remaining secret until Nichiren Daishonin revealed it.

The basic difference in views between SGI and Nichiren Shoshu centers on the doctrinal concept of Heritage of the Law, attributed by the Priesthood to “ one person ” of the High Priest while attributed by the Soka Gakkai to ordinary people.

Another difference relates to the demand for “ Absolute faith and Strict Obedience ” to the High Priest, a demand which some within Nichiren Shoshu see as being implied by SGI members to Daisaku Ikeda.

For example Nichiren Shu school has the view that “ the title Buddha ” is reserved for Shakyamuni ”.

In Nichiren Shoshu, “ Nichiren Daishonin ” is the Buddha of time without beginning ( kuon ganjo ), while according to SGI teachings, the Buddha of time without beginning is the manifestation of the state of Buddhahood Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo: “ The original Buddha whose life is without beginning or end is nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo Thus Come One ”.

Even though some groups dissociate themselves from other ( Nichiren )- Buddhists most Nichiren Buddhists enjoy a peaceful coexistence with other religious groups in modern times, in societies which are based on freedom of belief.

Even though there had been efforts by temples of the Nikkō-lineage in the late 19th century to unify into one single separate Nichiren-School the Kommon-ha, today's Nichiren Shōshū comprises only the Taiseki-ji temple and its dependant temples.

SGI is also criticized for its doctrinal teachings based on Nichiren Buddhism, perceived by some observers to be lacking tolerance towards other forms of Buddhism .. On the other hand, Nichiren Buddhism clarifies the way of peaceful and free expression in debates about various schools differences: “ Even in the case of the Nembutsu priests, the Zen priests, and the True Word teachers, and the ruler of the nation and other men of authority, all of whom bear me such hatred — I admonish them because I want to help them, and their hatred for me makes me pity them all the more ”.

Even so, Ikeda remained president of SGI, and the position of Sōka Gakkai Honorary President, which he still retains, was created for him by Nittatsu Shonin, then the Nichiren Shoshu High Priest.

Even within some Nichiren schools, statues are used with the Gohonzon.

His third remonstration also went unheeded, and Nichiren — following a Chinese adage that if a wise man remonstrates three times but is ignored, he should leave the country — decided to go into voluntary exile at Mt.

Nichiren the Vimalakirti Sutra stated: "... if the minds of living beings are impure, their land is also impure, but if their minds are pure, so is their land.

Nichiren Daishonin was convinced that if human beings fully embraced his teachings, the peace they would develop within would definitely be reflected in the environment as peace in society at large.

Among other things, in 1253 Nichiren predicted the Mongol invasions of Japan: a prediction which was validated in 1274.

Nichiren viewed his teachings as a method of efficaciously preventing this and other disasters: that the best countermeasure against the degeneracy of the times and its associated disasters was through the activation of Buddha-nature by chanting and the other practices which he advocated.

Nichiren, on the other hand, confirms that the teachings of the Lotus Sutra will flourish for all eternity, and that the Bodhisattvas of the Earth will propagate Buddhism in the future.

Nichiren criticized other Buddhist schools for their manipulations of the populace for political and religious control.

During his lifetime, Nichiren stridently maintained that the contemporary teachings of Buddhism taught by other sects, ( particularly Nembutsu, Zen, Shingon, and Ritsu ) were mistaken in their interpretations of the correct path to enlightenment, and therefore refuted them publicly and vociferously.

The Gohonzon is the primary-but not the exclusive-object of devotion in Nichiren Shū and some other Nichiren schools.

Nichiren was vocal in criticizing other schools of Buddhism, using the rhetorical style of the day, and accusing them for the disastrous situation in society.

Based on the tradition set by Nichiren the relationship between the government, major other Buddhist schools and Nichiren-temples remained to be ambiguous though.

Nichiren Shōshū priests distinguish themselves from those of most other schools by wearing only white and grey robes and a white surplice, as they believe Nichiren did.

Since the Meiji Era, Nichiren Shōshū priests, like those of many other Japanese Buddhist sects, have been permitted to marry.

In between, they brawl with Marines in a public restroom, dine on " the world's finest " Italian sausage sandwich, chant with Nichiren Shōshū Buddhists and open intimate windows for each other in swaying train coaches.

The Mutual Possession of the Ten Worlds ), Nichiren taught that Buddhahood is not a static state of being, but exists in mutual possession of other states of being ( referred to as the Ten Worlds ).

Companion study materials include the Lotus Sutra, the writings of Daisaku Ikeda, and other writers and scholars of the Lotus Sutra and of Nichiren Buddhism.

Most of other concepts of Nichiren Buddhism are shared between its schools.