Another 500 yojanas anniversary has come and gone. (For those confused, see the 500 yojanas explanation here.) That’s how long it has been since I chose to start chanting a portion of the Lotus Sutra each morning.

I use the Nichiren Buddhist Sangha of Greater New England’s Myoho Renge Kyo Romanized as my morning service.

The book contains a Shindoku reading of the entire Lotus Sutra rendered in Roman characters. The 28 chapters of the sutra are traditionally divided into 8 volumes. Each volume is divided into four equal parts. Each day I recite one of the 32 portions of the Lotus Sutra, circling around to start over on the 33 day.

I’m not sure why I started, but I have continued because I feel this has deepened my practice. Five months after I began reading the Shindoku each morning, I started reading the equivalent portion of the Third Edition of Senchu Murano’s English translation of the Lotus Sutra in the evening. I’m on my 10th 32-day cycle writing daily about what I recite each day. (See 32 Days of Lotus Sutra)

I have received such great benefits, a real awakening of my faith, that I want to advocate that everyone do this. At the same time, however, I understand that asking new followers to devote 45 minutes in the morning and another 45 minutes in the evening would be a sure way to crush enthusiasm for the practice.

Today’s quote from Ryusho Shonin‘s Lecture on the Lotus Sutra offers this observation on the proper Nichiren Shu practice:

The practice of chanting the Odaimoku was not intended to completely replace either the study of the sutra or the reading of the sutra, though it could replace the practice of reciting each of the twenty-eight chapters as a practice. In one of his letters to a believer Nichiren said it was permissible to replace the practice of reciting a chapter a day for twenty-eight days with the single practice of chanting the Odaimoku. It is important to note that he did not say it was wrong to chant the twenty-eight chapters, in fact in Nichiren Shu temples the entire Lotus Sutra is chanted on various cycles of twenty-eight days or in some cases fewer.

And at the 2nd Annual Urban Dharma Retreat one of the activities will be a demonstration of a new, shortened Shodai Gyo Meditation service designed to be more appealing to those new to the practice.

I’m conflicted about this catering to those who would shy from making a commitment to the practice.

When asked by someone who knows little or nothing about Buddhism how to practice, I recommend Ryusho Shonin’s Lotus Sutra Practice Guide. For those moving from Nichiren Shoshu and Soka Gakkai, I suggest they get the Liturgy of Nichiren Shu from the Nichiren Buddhist International Center website. The NBIC has a number of excellent books for all levels of practitioner.

Attended the online service from Myosho-ji, the Wonderful Voice Buddhist Temple in Charlotte, NC. In August Ryusho Jeffus Shonin will be holding a two-day retreat. I attended the retreat last year and intend to attend again this year.

Below are two videos Ryusho Shonin has made to introduce the retreat:

Introduction

What to expect during the retreat

More information is available on the Urban Dharma Retreat page on Ryusho Shonin’s blog.

Today I started running extracts from The Doctrines of Nichiren with a Sketch of His Life, a book first published in 1893. Since the book is well out of copyright protection, I’ll be republishing almost all of the book in daily sections. You can download the Google scan of the book in PDF format here or get it on your e-reader from Google here.

As the introduction explains, the pamphlet went through an “Englishing” before publication. In some cases I’ve made changes, such as changing “Holy Book” into “Lotus Sutra.” I’ve placed square brackets – [Lotus Sutra] – around these changes.

I found some of the changes interesting. For instance, where Senchu Murano talks of “perverted” people who are deluded, this text speaks of the “vulgar.”

The difference in this “Englishing” offers a different perspective:

The Buddha of Original Enlightenment is universal and omnipresent. Earth, air, fire, water, colour, sound, smell, taste, touch, and all visible objects, form the Buddha’s Spiritual Body. Form, perception, conception, name and knowledge, as well as the functions of body, mouth, and will, are the Buddha’s Compensation Body. Head, trunk, hands and feet, eyes, nose, tongue and so forth, constitute his Transformation Body. Things and events are all interconvertible; they do not differ from each other in the smallest degree. When once the reason of this is understood, the three bodies of the Buddha of Original Enlightenment are displayed. Even the anger of infernal beings, the stupidity of beasts, the avarice of hungry devils, and all the base qualities inherent in other living beings, go to form the body of the Buddha of Original Enlighten ment in its entirety. And it is the Great Mandala which represents and shows forth this mysterious inter-relation of entities.

New for me was this explanation of the relationship between the 10 Worlds and the states of mind of ordinary people:

Attended Sunday service with four others at Myosho-ji, Wonderful Voice Buddhist Temple in Charlotte, NC. Rev. Ryusho Jeffus had a guest at the temple and I joined three others online.

Here’s a minute of Odaimoku.

We live in interesting times, especially this availability of “attending” remote events.

Ryusho Shonin will be hosting the Second Annual Urban Dharma Retreat on August 6-7. I attended this last year and got a great deal out of it.

More information on the retreat is available here, including Frequently Asked Questions and the form for signing up.

Just a note to express my appreciation for having a local temple where I can attend services. And the fact that I actually enjoy the company of the other members of this sangha is icing on the cake.

Couldn’t resist. I am fostering three kittens for the Sacramento SPCA in my home office. It becomes something of challenge when the kittens are awake and trampling over my keyboard as I attempt to work, but then they eventually tire out.

Some time last night or early this morning I awoke long enough to recognize that my son was walking out of my bedroom. Not expected but not surprising. I went back to sleep and awoke when my alarm went off at 5:30am.

This is a Sunday in which my local temple, the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church, is not holding services. As an alternative, I planned to participate in the online service hosted by Rev. Ryusho Jeffus from Myosho-ji, Wonderful Voice Buddhist Temple, Charlotte, NC.

On these alternative Sundays, I rise early enough to do my recitation of the Lotus Sutra (32 Days of the Lotus Sutra) and then set up my computer in front of my altar and “attend” the Charlotte service, which is scheduled to begin at 7 am my time.

It was after the Charlotte service was over at 8:30 am that my wife came out and asked me what “that thing” was on my bedside table.

And that’s how I received the hand-carved rubber stamp mounted on a surplus USB charger and a personalized Father’s Day card.

This is not the first Buddhist-themed Father’s Day artwork. In 2010, my son offered this Human Revolution-themed framed drawing.

Having an artistic son, I have quite a collection of framed Father’s Day artwork. One of my favorites is this 2007 drawing, which I have on my home-office wall.

It is now after 10:30 am and my son is still sleeping. I’m promised a Father’s Day breakfast. When I do get to eat, I’ll ask my son where he got the idea to use the Nichiren Shu logo for the stamp. I was really surprised by both the gift and the thoughtfulness it represents.

I have the stamp and the card on my altar for now.

This blog post was originally published Feb. 15, 2016. Since I need a place in which to track Ryusho Shonin‘s Lotus Sutra project, I’m going to periodically update this blog post and re-date it so that it appears in the Blog queue in its most recent position.

Last updated, June 19, 2016:

• Added Chapter 5, Part 1, If They Have Not Yet Done So

I’m excited about Ryusho Shonin‘s new project in which he will examine one chapter of the Lotus Sutra each month.

In my daily reading of 1/32nd of the Lotus Sutra – eight scrolls, each divided into four parts – I’m writing down a summary of what I read and what on each day’s reading stands out or seems new or remarkable.

One aspect of Ryusho Shonin’s writing that I have loved in all of his books is his focus on bringing the Lotus Sutra to life. As he explains in this new project:

“[T]his is not a retelling of the Lotus Sutra as it appears on paper in books. We are not replacing someone else’s words with your own in this study; it isn’t paraphrasing. I hope doing this will reveal to you the Lotus Sutra as it has manifested in your life, your life activities, your life experiences. This is not an exercise of expressing your agreement with the ideas or concepts in the Lotus Sutra. I invite you on a journey into what the Lotus Sutra would look like if you told it from your life.”

My daily retelling of what I read lacks this, and I’ve felt that dissatisfaction on occasion.  I can see in  “The Story of the Lotus Sutra of Your Life”  great potential for me and for my understanding and, most important, for my appreciation of the Lotus Sutra in my daily life.

• The Story of the Lotus Sutra of Your Life
• Introductory Chapter 1 Part 1: Leading Up to the Opening of Your Lotus Sutra
• Introductory Chapter 1 Part 2: Who Was In Your Assembly?
• Introductory Chapter 1 Part 3: The Event
• Introductory Chapter 1 Part 4: Conclusion
• Chapter 2 Part 1: Inexplicable by Words
• Chapter 2 Part 2: Even Children in Their Play
• Chapter 3, Part 1, The Greatest Joy
• Chapter 3, Part 2, Peaceful as the Sea
• Chapter 3, Part 3, Rejoice
• Chapter 4, Part 1, Never Had Before
• Chapter 4, Part 2, Treasury of the Buddha Law
• Chapter 5, Part 1, If They Have Not Yet Done So