Editing Nichiren Buddhism (section)

==== Middle stage: 1261–1273 ====
During the middle stage of his career, in refuting other religious schools publicly and vociferously, Nichiren provoked the ire of the country's rulers and of the priests of the sects he criticized.  As a result, he was subjected to persecution which included two assassination attempts, an attempted beheading and two exiles.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Buddhism|last=Swanson|first=Paul|others=Keown, Damien, 1951–, Prebish, Charles S.|isbn=9781136985881|location=London|page=548|oclc=865579062|date = 2013-12-16}}</ref>  His first exile, to [[Izu Peninsula]] (1261–1263), convinced Nichiren that he was "bodily reading the Lotus Sutra (''Jpn. Hokke shikidoku'')," fulfilling the predictions on the [[Lotus Sutra#Outline|13th chapter]] (''Fortitude'') that votaries would be persecuted by ignorant lay people, influential priests, and their friends in high places.<ref name=Stone1999a />{{rp|252}}<ref>{{Cite book|title=Sins and sinners : perspectives from Asian religions|date=2012|first=Jacqueline I|last=Stone|chapter=The sin of slandering the true Dharma in Nichiren's thought|pages=128–130|chapter-url=http://www.princeton.edu/~jstone/Articles%20on%20the%20Lotus%20Sutra%20Tendai%20and%20Nichiren%20Buddhism/The%20Sin%20of%20Slandering%20the%20True%20Dharma%20in%20Nichiren's%20Thought%20(2012).pdf|publisher=Brill|others=Granoff, P. E. (Phyllis Emily), 1947–, Shinohara, Koichi, 1941–|isbn=9789004232006|location=Leiden|oclc=809194690|access-date=20 February 2022|archive-date=13 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211113124441/http://www.princeton.edu/~jstone/Articles%20on%20the%20Lotus%20Sutra%20Tendai%20and%20Nichiren%20Buddhism/The%20Sin%20of%20Slandering%20the%20True%20Dharma%20in%20Nichiren%27s%20Thought%20%282012%29.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

Nichiren began to argue that through "bodily reading the Lotus Sutra," rather than just studying its text for literal meaning, a country and its people could be protected.<ref name=Habito2009 />{{rp|190–192}}  According to Habito, Nichiren argued that bodily reading the Lotus Sutra entails four aspects:
:<li> The awareness of Śākyamuni Buddha's living presence.  "Bodily reading the Lotus Sutra" is equivalent to entering the very presence of the Buddha in an immediate, experiential, and face-to-face way, he claimed.  Here Nichiren is referring to the primordial buddha revealed in Chapter 16 ("Life Span of the Thus Come One") who eternally appears and engages in human events in order to save living beings from their state of unhappiness.<ref name=Habito2009 />{{rp|191–192,201}}</li>
:<li>One contains all. Nichiren further developed the [[Zhiyi|Tiantai]] doctrine of [[Ten realms#three thousand realms in a single moment|"three thousand realms in a single thought-moment"]].  Every thought, word, or deed contains within itself the whole of the three thousand realms; reading even one word of the sūtra therefore includes the teachings and merits of all buddhas.  Chanting Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, according to Nichiren, is the concrete means by which the principle of the three thousand realms in a single thought-moment is activated and assures the attainment of enlightenment as well as receiving various kinds of worldly benefit.<ref name=Habito2009 />{{rp|190,192,201}}</li>
:<li>The here and now. Nichiren held that the bodily reading of the sūtra must be applicable to time, place, and contemporary events.  Nichiren was acutely aware of the social and political turmoil of his country and spiritual confusion of people in the [[Latter Day of the Law]].<ref name=Habito2009 />{{rp|193,201}}</li>
:<li>Utmost seriousness. True practitioners must go beyond mental or verbal practices and actively speak up against and oppose prevailing thoughts and philosophies that denigrate the message of the Lotus Sutra.  Nichiren set the example and was willing to lay down his life for its propagation and realization.<ref name=Habito2009 />{{rp|201}}</li>

His three-year exile to [[Sado, Niigata|Sado Island]] proved to be another key turning point in Nichiren's life. Here he began inscribing the ''Gohonzon'' and wrote several major theses in which he claimed that he was [[Visistacaritra|Bodhisattva Superior Practices]], the leader of the [[Bodhisattvas of the Earth]].

He concludes his work ''The Opening of the Eyes'' with the declaration "I will be the pillar of Japan; I will be the eyes of Japan; I will be the vessel of Japan. Inviolable shall remain these vows!"<ref>{{Cite book|title=Companion Encyclopedia of Asian Philosophy|last1=Carr|first1=Brian|first2=Indira|last2=Mahalingam|publisher=Routledge|year=2002|isbn=9781134960583|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xIwrBgAAQBAJ&q=nichiren|page=702|access-date=1 November 2020|archive-date=20 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220220181009/https://books.google.com/books?id=xIwrBgAAQBAJ&q=nichiren|url-status=live}}</ref> His thinking now went beyond theories of karmic retribution or guarantees of the Lotus Sutra as a protective force.  Rather, he expressed a resolve to fulfill his mission despite the consequences.<ref name=Stone1999a />{{rp|259}}  All of his disciples, he asserted, should emulate his spirit and work just like him in helping all people open their innate Buddha lives even though this means entails encountering enormous challenges.<ref name=Anesaki1916 />{{rp|75}}