Within Nichiren Shōshū, Buddhahood is understood as an eternal, indestructible life-condition inherently present in all beings, yet obscured by ignorance and karma. This state is not conceived as an escape from ordinary existence, but as the full manifestation of limitless wisdom, compassion, and happiness while remaining an ordinary human being. It is described as possessing the three virtues of sovereign, teacher, and parent, as well as the three bodies of the Buddha, and is regarded as immediately accessible in this lifetime when the correct cause and conditions are embraced.

The tradition teaches that the sole correct cause for realizing this state in the Latter Day of the Law is faith in and practice based on the Daigohonzon, the supreme mandala inscribed by Nichiren Daishonin and enshrined at the head temple, Taisekiji. The Daigohonzon, and its transcriptions known as Gohonzon, embody Nam‑myōhō‑renge‑kyō as the entity of the Law and serve as the exclusive object of devotion. Attaining Buddhahood is thus framed as awakening to the reality that Nam‑myōhō‑renge‑kyō is the very life of the True Buddha, and that this same life is latent within one’s own being.

Guidance for practice is structured around faith, practice, and study. Faith means absolute trust that Nichiren Daishonin is the True Buddha of the Latter Day and that the Daigohonzon is the one correct object of worship. Practice centers on chanting Nam‑myōhō‑renge‑kyō (daimoku) to the Gohonzon, together with morning and evening gongyō, which includes recitation of key portions of the Lotus Sutra, and participation in temple activities and ceremonies under priestly guidance. Study involves learning Nichiren’s writings and the doctrines of Nichiren Shōshū as transmitted and interpreted through the authorized priesthood, so that understanding can support and protect faith.

Nichiren Shōshū further systematizes this path through what it calls the Three Great Secret Laws: the object of devotion (Honzon), the invocation (Daimoku), and the place of practice (Kaidan), centered on the head temple Taisekiji. Through continuous, sincere chanting to the Gohonzon in this correct doctrinal framework, fundamental ignorance is gradually transformed, and the “ten worlds” within life are reordered so that the world of Buddhahood becomes dominant. This transformation is expected to reveal itself as concrete changes in character, karma, and circumstances—clarity, courage, compassion, and benefit in daily affairs—serving as actual proof that Buddhahood is being manifested here and now.