“Supernatural Powers of the Thus Come One” chapter ［如来神力品］ ( Nyorai-jinriki-hon): Abbreviated as the “Supernatural Powers” chapter. The twenty-first chapter of the Lotus Sutra, in which Shakyamuni transfers the essence of the sutra to the Bodhisattvas of the Earth led by Superior Practices. At the beginning of the chapter, the Bodhisattvas of the Earth vow to propagate the sutra widely after Shakyamuni Buddha’s death. Then the Buddha, displaying his supernatural powers, states that, although those supernatural powers are vast and great, they are not enough to describe the benefit of the Lotus Sutra. He then declares to Superior Practices and the other Bodhisattvas of the Earth: “To put it briefly, all the doctrines possessed by the Thus Come One, all the freely exercised supernatural powers of the Thus Come One, the storehouse of all the secret essentials of the Thus Come One, all the most profound matters of the Thus Come One—all these are proclaimed, revealed, and clearly expounded in this sutra.” (These lines are often referred to as the “four-phrase essence of the Lotus Sutra.”) After this statement, he transfers the sutra to Bodhisattva Superior Practices and the other Bodhisattvas of the Earth.
  Based on this passage, T’ien-t’ai (538–597) formulated the five major principles of name, essence, quality, function, and teaching. In T’ien-t’ai’s interpretation, “All the doctrines possessed by the Thus Come One” indicates name, “all the freely exercised supernatural powers of the Thus Come One” indicates function, “the storehouse of all the secret essentials of the Thus Come One” indicates essence, “all the most profound matters of the Thus Come One” indicates quality, and “all these are proclaimed, revealed, and clearly expounded in this sutra” indicates the teaching. In his 1273 treatise The Object of Devotion for Observing the Mind, Nichiren states that Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the heart of the “Life Span” (sixteenth) chapter of the Lotus Sutra, is endowed with these five principles. Nichiren thus interprets the five major principles as the attributes of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
  In The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra, T’ien-t’ai refers to the transfer in the “Supernatural Powers” chapter as the transfer of the essence of the Lotus Sutra. It is also referred to as the specific transfer because it was made specifically to Bodhisattva Superior Practices and to the other Bodhisattvas of the Earth. In contrast, the general transfer of the sutra was made to all the assembled bodhisattvas in the subsequent (twenty-second) chapter, “Entrustment.” See also five major principles; four-phrase essence of the Lotus Sutra.