In March 2015 I began my practice of reciting a portion of the Lotus Sutra in shindoku in the morning and the same portion in English in the evening.

As I work my way through Myoho Renge Kyo Romanized, I mark my place with a colored Post-It marker. At the end of each 32-day cycle, I add the marker to the inside cover and get out a new marker.

Each of row of markers in the photo above represents 16 times through the full Lotus Sutra, or a journey of 512 days.

Today I report from Mile Marker 1536 on my Journey to the Place of Treasures.

I count my recitation of the English translation with my daily 32 Days of the Lotus Sutra posts.

Since I didn’t start those post immediately the count is smaller. To mark the completion of 40 times through Senchu Murano’s English translation of the Lotus Sutra, I have decided to sample other English translations.

Today I began Day 1 with “Scripture of the Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma,” the translation of the Lotus Sutra made by Leon Hurvitz from the Chinese of Kumārajīva. This translation is the one commonly cited by those doing scholarly reports on the sutra.

After a few cycles through this version I hope to offer some insights into my experience.