The Law as friend

"Answer: In this latter age there are true good friends to be found. They are none other than the Lotus and Nirvana sutras.

Question: It is very common for a person to act as a good friend. But is there any proof that the Law can be such a friend?

Answer: It is common enough for a person to act as such a friend. But in this latter age, no true friend is to be found, and thus there is ample proof that the Law can act as such a friend.

Great Concentration and Insight says: 'At times following a friend, and at times following the sutra scrolls, one hears the one true teaching of enlightenment that has been described above.'

The meaning of this passage is that one should take the sutra scrolls as one’s good friend.

The Lotus Sutra states: 'If when the Lotus Sutra is propagated throughout Jambudvīpa there are those who accept and uphold it, they should think to themselves: This is all due to the authority and supernatural power of Universal Worthy!'

This passage means that when ordinary people in this latter age put faith in the Lotus Sutra, they are relying upon the power of their good friend Universal Worthy.

The sutra also says: 'If there are those who accept, uphold, read, and recite this Lotus Sutra, memorize it correctly, practice and transcribe it, you should know that such persons have seen Shakyamuni Buddha. It is as though they heard this sutra from the Buddha’s mouth. You should know that such persons have offered alms to Shakyamuni Buddha.'

Reading this passage, we can see that the Lotus Sutra is none other than Shakyamuni Buddha himself. For persons who do not have faith in the Lotus Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha has passed into extinction. But for those who put faith in the sutra, although Shakyamuni Buddha may seem to have passed into extinction, he is still present in the world." - On the Protection of the Nation