Today, Jan. 1, 2024, marks the start of my 10th year on this journey.
I began in 2015 with a 500-day challenge inspired by Rev. Ryusho Jeffus‘ book “The Magic City: Studying the Lotus Sutra.”
“I wonder what you could accomplish in your life if you made a commitment from today for 500 days to practice on a regular consistent basis towards the achievement of some change in your life? Would you be able to travel the entire 500 days without giving up or abandoning or forgetting your goal and effort?”
The days counted to 500 and then again and again and again.
Ryusho had said early on that a 500-day journey was trivial. A 10-year timeframe, he said, would be more useful for judging the merits of the practice of Nichiren Buddhism.
In this tenth year I will complete reciting the Lotus Sutra more than 100 times. I’m currently on my 91st cycle through the Lotus Sutra. I’m on my 47th cycle through the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings and The Sutra of Contemplation of the Dharma Practice of Universal Sage Bodhisattva, the two additional sutras within the Threefold Lotus Sutra.
Before I complete this 10-year challenge, I hope to finish two projects:
- Create a 365-day collection of the promises contained in the Lotus Sutra. For an example, see Anyone, which I wrote as part of my 800 Years of Faith project in 2022. This would then become a Daily Promise to remind us of the power of the Lotus Sutra.
- Divide the text of the 28 chapters of the Lotus Sutra into 365 roughly equal portions. Each day would include a brief commentary, perhaps a quote from Shinkyo Warner Shonin’s Daily Dharma or a quote from one of the many books I’ve read. This would become the Daily Practice, a simple way to read the Lotus Sutra.
In 2025, these would then replace the Daily Dharma and 32 Days of the Lous Sutra posts.
At least that’s the plan today, the first day of my 10th year on this journey to the place of treasures.