"They say that, if you play a koto strung with a lion's sinews, then all the other kinds of strings will snap. And if you so much as hear the words 'pickled plum,' your mouth will begin to water. Even in everyday life there are such wonders, so how much greater are the wonders of the Lotus Sutra!"

Nichiren is saying that even in daily life, certain things have mysterious power that works automatically—like how just thinking about sour food makes you salivate. In the same way, chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo has inherent power that works even if you don't fully understand how or why. The practice itself contains transformative energy.

"Thus, as we have seen, even those who lack understanding, so long as they chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, can avoid the evil paths. This is like lotus flowers, which turn as the sun does, though the lotus has no mind to direct it, or like the plantain that grows with the rumbling of thunder, though this plant has no ears to hear it."

Just as flowers naturally turn toward sunlight without thinking about it, and plants respond to thunder without hearing it, we can benefit from chanting even without intellectual understanding. The practice works through our Buddha nature responding naturally to the rhythm and power of the mystic law, not through our conscious comprehension.

"Though lacking in knowledge of Buddhism, a person of faith, even if dull-witted, is to be reckoned as a person of correct views. But even though one has some knowledge of Buddhism, if one is without faith, then one is to be considered a slanderer."

Sincere faith matters more than scholarly knowledge. A simple person who believes wholeheartedly is on the right path, while someone who knows Buddhist theory but lacks genuine faith is actually moving away from enlightenment. The heart's sincerity trumps the mind's cleverness in spiritual matters.

"Therefore, when you chant the daimoku of this sutra, you should be aware that it is a more joyful thing than for one who was born blind to gain sight and see one's father and mother, and a rarer thing than for a man who has been seized by a powerful enemy to be released and reunited with his wife and children."

Encountering and practicing Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is incredibly precious and rare—like miraculous healing or being rescued from mortal danger. Nichiren wants us to appreciate how fortunate we are to have found this practice and to approach it with gratitude and joy rather than taking it for granted.

"The character myō means to revive, that is, to return to life... Similarly, persons of the two vehicles, icchantikas, and women were described in the sutras that preceded the Lotus Sutra as having scorched and killed the seeds that would have allowed them to become Buddhas. But by holding fast to this single character myō, they can revive these scorched seeds of Buddhahood."

The mystic law has the power to revive what seems dead or hopeless. Even if other teachings said certain people couldn't become enlightened, the Lotus Sutra can awaken anyone's Buddha nature. No matter how discouraged or 'spiritually dead' you feel, this practice can bring your highest potential back to life.