Within Nichiren Buddhism, the Lotus Sutra is regarded as the Buddha’s final, complete, and supreme teaching, the text in which the universality of Buddhahood is fully revealed. It is not treated as one scripture among many, but as the sole, perfect revelation of the Buddha’s true intent, superseding all other sutras that are seen as provisional. From this perspective, the Lotus Sutra discloses that all beings possess Buddha‑nature and can attain Buddhahood in this very lifetime and in this very body, rather than in some distant future or separate realm. Its teaching of the One Vehicle affirms that all genuine paths ultimately converge on this single reality of enlightenment, accessible to every person without exception.

This exalted status of the Lotus Sutra shapes the entire structure of practice. The title of the sutra, Myoho‑renge‑kyo, is revered as the condensation of the Buddha’s enlightenment, and chanting “Nam‑myoho‑renge‑kyo” is upheld as the central, universal practice. Through this daimoku, practitioners are understood to directly engage the “Mystic Law” expressed by the sutra, making complex monastic disciplines unnecessary as prerequisites for awakening. Daily practice commonly includes chanting the daimoku to the Gohonzon, a mandala inscribed around the characters for Myoho‑renge‑kyo and “Nichiren,” which functions as the concrete focal point of faith and the embodiment of the ceremony described within the sutra itself.

Doctrinally, the Lotus Sutra provides the lens through which Nichiren Buddhism interprets both the nature of the Buddha and the nature of reality. The sutra’s revelation of the Buddha’s eternal life is taken to mean that this timeless Buddhahood can be accessed directly through faith and chanting. Its affirmation of universal Buddhahood undergirds teachings such as the equality of all beings and the possibility of transforming one’s life condition here and now. On this basis, embracing and propagating the Lotus Sutra is seen as the means not only for personal liberation but also for contributing to the peace and happiness of society at large.

Nichiren’s own identity and mission are likewise grounded in this scripture. He understood himself as the votary and messenger of the Lotus Sutra in the age of the Latter Day of the Law, fulfilling its predictions about those who would uphold and spread it amid opposition and persecution. His writings interpret the events of his time through the categories and imagery of the sutra, and they urge exclusive devotion to it as the decisive cause for both individual awakening and the transformation of the wider world. In this way, the Lotus Sutra functions simultaneously as scripture, practice, symbol, and prophetic charter for the entire tradition that bears Nichiren’s name.