The Transmission Through the Scrolls of the Sutra

There was no face to face bestowal between Aryasimha and Nan-yueh nor was there a face to face bestowal between 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 Shingon-like essence transferred from a living master in the seat of the Law to a disciple. The Transmission Through the Scrolls of the Sutra is another meaning of "follow the Law and not persons" and one of the pillars of Nichiren's teachings. At this time, only a handful of people faithfully practice this principle. Only those who believe in the Succession Through the Scrolls of the Sutra and the writings of Nichiren Daishonin are inheritors of the Law.