Nichiren Shoshu's Zen derived doctrine of the Face to Face Bestowal

There was no face to face bestowal between Aryasimha and Nan-yueh, let alone between Aryasimha and Tientai. There was no face to face bestowal between Tientai and Dengyo nor between Dengyo and Nichiren Daishonin. What characterizes and identifies these men as successors to the Buddha was their Enlightenment derived from the scrolls of the Lotus Sutra, not from a Zen-like essence transferred from a living "master in the seat of the Law" to his disciple. Enlightenment derived from the Sutra scrolls is to follow the Law and not persons. It is a pillar of the Daishonin's teachings. Only a handful of people practice this principle. Those who do are the disciples and believers of Nichiren and the inheritors of the Law.