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Studying the Lotus Sutra

From Ryusho Shonin's blog post: "In both of my art pieces for [Chapter 4] I used translucent layers in a variety of ways. The idea was to show how even though our appearance or behavior at times seems to not be that of the Buddha or of the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, underneath however because of our practice we are changing. Underlying the outward appearance is the emerging manifestation of Enlightenment.
From Ryusho Shonin’s blog post: “In both of my art pieces for [Chapter 4] I used translucent layers in a variety of ways. The idea was to show how even though our appearance or behavior at times seems to not be that of the Buddha or of the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, underneath however because of our practice we are changing. Underlying the outward appearance is the emerging manifestation of Enlightenment.“

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:

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.

Illustration from Ryusho Shonin's The Lotus Sutra of Your Life
Illustration from Ryusho Shonin’s The Lotus Sutra of Your Life