Daily during my self-styled 21-Day Retreat Encouraged by Universal Sage Bodhisattva I recited The Sutra of Innumerable Meanings and The Sutra of Contemplation of the Dharma Practice of Universal Sage Bodhisattva. Having finished the retreat I was left wanting to fit those sutras into my practice on a regular basis.

I have decided to extend my 32 Days of the Lotus Sutra by two additional days. Today I recited the Contemplation of Universal Sage, splitting it evenly between morning and evening services. (I don’t have romanized shindoku versions of these sutras.) Tomorrow, I will recite Innumerable Meanings, again half in the morning and the remainder in the evening. Both days I will offer a quote that caught my attention from the day’s sutra. After the additional days, I will cycle again through the 32 days of the Lotus Sutra.

Expanding the message of Never-Despising Bodhisattva in the Lotus Sutra, the Contemplation of Universal Sage offers this guidance (Reeves, p405):

Followers should read the Great Vehicle sutras and recite them, think about the meaning of the Great Vehicle, and reflect on its practice. Reverence should be given and offerings made to those who embrace it. All people should be regarded as though they were the Buddha, and all living beings as though they were one’s father and mother.