Some sects that place high value on the Hokke-kyo sutra as the essential sutra adopt Chigi's teaching that the Hokke-kyo is the secret of Shaka's dharma, 正法（妙法）, which was said to be preached by Shaka in his later years.
法華経を所依の経典として重視する諸派は、法華経を、釈迦が晩年に説いたとする釈迦の法（教え）の極意｛正法（妙法）｝と位置づける智顗の教説を継承している。