Yesterday, after reciting The Sutra of Contemplation of the Dharma Practice of Universal Sage Bodhisattva, I completed my 96th cycle through the Lotus Sutra.
I began my daily morning practice reciting the Lotus Sutra in Shindoku on March 15, 2015. I use the Nichiren Buddhist Sangha of Greater New England’s Myoho Renge Kyo Romanized, which divides the Lotus Sutra into 32 parts. On Aug. 13, 2015, I began reading aloud the Lotus Sutra in English as part of my evening practice, reading the same portion of the sutra that I had recited in shindoku in the morning. In July 2019, I began reading The Sutra of Contemplation of the Dharma Practice of Universal Sage Bodhisattva after the end of the 32 days of the Lotus Sutra and the Sutra of Innumerable Meanings before the start the Lotus Sutra again.
80 cycles
64 cycles
48 cycles
32 cycles
16 cycles
As I progress through the 32 days in Myoho Renge Kyo Romanized, I mark my place with a Post-It note arrow. At the end of cycle I add the Post-It arrow to my collection inside the front cover of the book. It takes 16 arrows to fill one column. Originally each column represented 512 days. When I added the Contemplation of Universal Sage and the Innumerable Meanings Sutra each column grew to 544 days.
The sixth column is the penultimate. I plan one final column before concluding this project.
The idea for this project sprang from Rev. Ryusho Jeffus‘ book “The Magic City: Studying the Lotus Sutra.,” in which he explains that a “yojana” is both a measurement of distance and of time. He says:
“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?”
At the start I planned to see what sort of things I could accomplish in 500 days, but Rev. Jeffus chided me, saying a 500-day journey is trivial. He suggested a 10-year timeframe would be more useful for judging the merits of the practice of Nichiren Buddhism.
The year 2024 will be my 10th year of practicing Nichiren Shu Buddhism. I will complete my final 16 cycles through the Lotus Sutra in February 2025. At that point, I plan to pause and consider what I’ve accomplished.