Editing Nichiren (section)

=== The Mandala Gohonzon===

{{Main|Gohonzon}}
[[File:NICHIREN SHŌNIN ICHIDAI ZUE 1858 Mandala.jpg|thumb|right|Nichiren bowing before the Mandala Gohonzon which he wrote by himself]]
At the end of the 1271–1272 winter Nichiren's conditions had improved. He had attracted a small band of followers in Sado who provided him with support and disciples from the mainland began visiting him and providing supplies. In 1272 there was an attempted coup in Kamakura and Kyoto, seemingly fulfilling the prediction he had made in the ''Rissho Ankoku Ron'' of rebellion in the country. At this point Nichiren was transferred to much better accommodations.<ref name=Stone2003 />{{rp|259}}<ref name=Stone1999a />{{rp|452}}

While on Sado island, Nichiren inscribed the first Mandala {{nihongo||御本尊|[[Gohonzon (Nichiren Buddhism)|''Gohonzon'']]}}. Although there is evidence of a Gohonzon in embryonic form as far back as the days right before his exile, the first in full form is dated to 8 July 1273 and includes the inscription of "Nichiren inscribes this for the first time."<ref name=Stone2003 />{{rp|437, note 114}} His writings on Sado provide his rationale for a calligraphic [[mandala]] depicting the assembly at [[Vulture Peak]] (''Gṛdhrakūṭa'') which was to be used as an object of devotion or worship. Nichiren found doctrinal rational for this in the 16th (''Life span'') chapter of the ''Lotus Sutra''. It is at this time that he developed the concept of a three-fold "secret Dharma" of the ''daimoku'', the object of worship (''honzon''), and the ordination platform (''kaidan'').<ref name="Stone2003" />{{rp|259–260}}

At the bottom of each mandala he wrote: "This is the great mandala never before revealed in [[Jambudvipa]] during the more than 2,200 years since the Buddha's nirvana."  He inscribed many Mandala Gohonzon during the rest of his life. More than a hundred Mandala Gohonzon preserved today are attributed to Nichiren's own hand.<ref name=Lopez2016 />{{rp|96}}