Hello All, Today marks the 8th anniversary since I formally went through the Kisho Shiki (Conversion Ceremony) of Nichiren Buddhism and accepted Jukai (the bestowal of Nichiren Buddhist precepts). The Kisho Shiki was administered by the Reverend Shoryo Tarabini of Nichiren Shu, while my spouse and I were in Japan in the year 2002. The Conversion Ceremony took place on Easter Sunday of that year and I have been marking those anniversaries on Easter Sundays. This year, to commemorate the event, I have been busy on various projects leading up to its celebration. 1- My blog, Mystic Lotus, has experienced a radical makeover and can be viewed here: _http://mysticlotus.blogspot.com/_ (http://mysticlotus.blogspot.com/) as can be seen, much material has been added. The majority of this new material is in the way of various liturgies that had been developed by me through the years, which has received their last tweaks and are being presented here as final versions. Also new on the blog are the links on the side-bar on the right under the heading, For Your Consideration, which contain essays on Nichiren Buddhism and on the Lotus Sutra. Most of this is more or less scholarly in nature and I also include the sources from which these articles have originated. Where a surname appears in parentheses, it indicates the author of the paper. If "Rev." appears before the name, it is a clergy person, if nothing appears before the name, it is a scholar. Also, in parentheses, can be found initials indicating a sectarian origin to the papers. In this case, "NShu" means Nichiren Shu, "SGI" means Soka Gakkai International and "KnK" means Kokoro-no-Kai. Links have also been added leading back to this Independent Sangha e-Group as well as to Buddha Jones under the title, Nonsectarian Nichiren Buddhist Communities On-Line; other links may follow. The Mystic Lotus Ministries page has been rewritten and Mystic Lotus - A Personal Credo is in the process of being rewritten as well (with the new version being uploaded either later today or early tomorrow). 2 - My spiritual identity has always been in flux, so it should come as no surprise that my spiritual focus continues to develop and change. With the arrival of the newest translation of the Lotus Sutra (the Reeves version), I took the opportunity to read the Lotus Sutra with fresh eyes. It has been a long time since I have read that tome from cover to cover and found myself strangely let down. I don't recall the message of the Lotus Sutra being as convoluted as I was finding it now. Apparently, I had fooled myself into thinking that I had it all figured out, and have now come to discover that such is not actually the case (either that, or I am becoming even more dense in my old age!). In contrast to that, I have been finding that Nichiren's views of the Lotus are clearer, more concise and simultaneously able to take one into the depths of the Buddhadharma. Therefore, to better reflect this renewed Nichiren spiritual focus, I have: a- made this renewed focus clear on my blog, and b- simplified my family altar (with photos following some time later today). I am very excited about the direction in which I am heading and looking forward to the tasks at hand. En la Ley MÃstica, Ernesto Borges Torres
_Mystic Lotus_ (http://mysticlotus.blogspot.com/) progressive... outspoken... empowered...
