In Chapter 28, The Encouragement of Universal-Sage Bodhisattva, we open with the newly arrived bodhisattva asking how the good men or women who live after the Buddha’s extinction will be able to obtain this Lotus Sūtra. Nikkyō Niwano offers his interpretation of the Buddha’s answer.

The first requisite is to be under the guardianship of the buddhas. This means having an absolutely unshakable faith in being under the protection of the buddhas. In other words, it means one’s establishment of faith. However thoroughly a person may understand the Lotus Sutra from a doctrinal point of view, he cannot apply it to his practical life if he does not establish faith in his mind.

The second requisite is to plant the roots of virtue. This means continually doing good deeds in one’s daily life. The phrase “roots of virtue” indicates a good mind, which is the foundation of one’s attaining enlightenment. To plant such a good mind means not only to sow seeds of goodness but also to nurture them by watering and fertilizing them. By what is one’s good mind fostered? To do good deeds is the first consideration. Man’s practice of good deeds is caused by his good mind, and at the same time his practice of good deeds fosters his good mind. These two, man’s good deeds and his good mind, form a cycle of being, reinforcing each other for constant improvement. Like the chicken and the egg, we cannot say which comes first or causes the other. The two are inseparable, each contingent on the other. …

The third requisite is to enter the stage of correct concentration. This means entering the group of those who have decided to do good. In Buddhism, groups of people are divided into three types: those having correct, incorrect, and unsettled concentration. The first group, with correct concentration, is that of those who have decided to do good, for example, the assembly of people who believe in a correct religion. The second group, with incorrect concentration, is that of those who have decided to do evil, for instance, a gang of pickpockets or hoodlums. The third group, with unsettled concentration, is that of those who vacillate between good and evil. Most assemblies of ordinary people belong to this third group, in which they are inclined toward good but are so unstable that they may turn to evil at any moment. …

The fourth requisite is to aspire after the salvation of all the living. No explanation of this expression should be necessary at this point. The true attainment of buddhahood does not mean realization for one’s own sake alone or being saved only from one’s own suffering. The fundamental spirit of Mahāyāna Buddhism lies in the salvation of others as well as oneself and in the establishment of an ideal realm in this world. If we act contrary to this fundamental spirit, however assiduously we seek the Law and practice religious disciplines, such an effort will bear no fruit, nor will it lead us to the realization of the true merits of the Law. …

These four requisites must be regarded as most sacred teachings of the Buddha. They must also be considered as the culmination of the Buddha’s teachings, revealing in plain words that although he has preached various difficult teachings heretofore, what is essential for all living beings is to devote themselves to the four requisites in their practice of the teachings. When those people who shrink from trying to fathom the profound and difficult teachings of the Lotus Sutra hear this simple explanation of the four requisites, they will surely feel encouraged.