Carlita, do you understand that the Lotus Sutra is not merely a book, but an impression the Buddha left in the substance of the Saha world? Something like his relics, or a footprint. Hence the statement in the Lotus Sutra, "Medicine King, in any place whatsoever where this sutra is preached, where it is read, where it is recited, where it is copied, or where a roll of it exists, in all such places there should be erected towers made of the seven kinds of gems, and they should be made very high and broad and well adorned. There is no need to enshrine the relics of the Buddha there. Why? Because in such towers the entire body of the Thus Come One is already present."
We have to be careful with that statement about the Gohonzon being our own mind. The Gohonzon is not our limited, deluded mind, but rather, the real nature of our mind. We have to be careful about taking that instruction to mean we should project our mind onto the Gohonzon, or seek to understand the Gohonzon based on our limited learning and intellect, but rather, understand that the Gohonzon is the Buddha, the Buddha's mind, and the real nature of our mind. This mind is unfathomable to ordinary beings, and so that is the critical need for a disposition of faith and trust in the Buddha's instruction.
Bodies and Minds of Ordinary BeingsWhen ordinary people in this latter age read these various sutras, they suppose that these sutras accord with the mind of the Buddha. But if we ponder the matter closely, we will see that in fact what they are reading is only a reflection of their own minds. And since their own minds are naturally uncultivated, there is little merit to be gained thereby.
Nichiren is talking about the various views that have been expressed on the Buddhist sutras, but this could equally be addressed to those who undertake this practice also with a heavy hand.