"The essence of the sutras preached before the Lotus Sutra is that all phenomena arise from the mind. To illustrate, they say that the mind is like the great earth, while the grasses and trees are like all phenomena. But it is not so with the Lotus Sutra. It teaches that the mind itself is the great earth, and that the great earth itself is the grasses and trees. The meaning of the earlier sutras is that clarity of mind is like the moon, and that purity of mind is like a flower. But it is not so with the Lotus Sutra. It is the teaching that the moon itself is mind, and the flower itself is mind."
From Gosho "The Gift of Rice" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 1126)
From Gosho "The Gift of Rice" (The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin Volume I, page 1126)
