Nichiren on the difficulty of embracing even one phrase or verse of the Lotus Sutra in the Latter Day of the Law

Nichiren, before his near execution and exile to Sado, often spoke of the practice of chanting Daimoku as an easy to practice Way. During and after his great persecutions, he frequently instructed his disciples on the six difficult and nine easy acts described in the Treasure Tower Chapter of the Lotus Sutra:

"If I were to falter in my determination in the face of persecutions by the sovereign, however, it would be better not to speak out. While thinking this over, I recalled the teachings of the 'Treasure Tower' chapter on the six difficult and nine easy acts. Persons like myself who are of paltry strength might still be able to lift Mount Sumeru and toss it about; persons like myself who are lacking in supernatural powers might still shoulder a load of dry grass and yet remain unburned in the fire at the end of the kalpa of decline; and persons like myself who are without wisdom might still read and memorize as many sutras as there are sands in the Ganges. But such acts are not difficult, we are told, when compared to the difficulty of embracing even one phrase or verse of the Lotus Sutra in the Latter Day of the Law. Nevertheless, I vowed to summon up a powerful and unconquerable desire for the salvation of all beings and never to falter in my efforts."