Ask HN: What's your self-care routine?

Sangharakshita mentioned the "White Lotus Sutra". Not knowing anything about it, I wondered if there was a blue lotus sutra or a pink lotus sutra. No. Just the one. I had honestly not heard of it in all those years! I listened to his talk on the parables and symbols in it. I downloaded these to an iPod, which was great for long drives.

Wanted to know more. So I went to my spiritual provider, Half Price Books, and found "Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism" by Richard Causton, former head of SGI UK, and the first volume of "Wisdom of the Lotus Sutra" by Daisaku Ikeda.

These were really revolutionary compared to all I had previously read. I moved to the boondocks after a divorce and it was scary at the outset with pumps failing, pipes freezing and storms howling. They helped me cope.

After a while I really felt that the only way the world is going to break out of its endless cycle of hate, war, and retribution is through human revolutions, one person at a time, so I looked for a Buddhist group "nearby". Apple Maps said Fresno, 50 miles away, so I joined in order to practice with a group working for the same goal.

I am especially intrigued by the "Innumerable Meanings" prequel to the Sutra, which most people gloss over. But Mr. Toda didn't, and I can see why.

That was a very long journey to the Lotus Sutra, essentially on my own. I had never heard of it, nor SGI, for ages.

Revolutionary aspects are mentioned here:

https://web.archive.org/web/20200918222548/https://sokahuman...

But to me, the notion of Bodhisattvas voluntarily taking on karma and returning to earth really struck home. It's Vimilakitri's "illness" and even Neal Donald Walsch mentions the idea of returning to earth rather than escaping it, though I can't find that reference.

The fact that there are similar ideas in physics matters to me. Some are referred to in the Indra's Net analogy.

http://www.heartspace.org/misc/IndraNet.html

The net effect, in short, is greater purpose and meaning in life. That made the long, lonely journey worthwhile.

Thank you for asking.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCT4xGZR3_o

Pali-only version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4PtZMBDRf8

SGI members chant "Nam Myoho Renge Kyo", which is the name of the Lotus Sutra. The idea behind this short chant is to encapsulate the liberative message of the Sutra and to bring forth the "Buddha Inside".

More here, if you're interested:

https://www.sgi-usa.org/2022/08/07/nam-myoho-renge-kyo/

These are the only ones I am familiar with.

Giving myself the ability to take notes on how I'm feeling has helped me discover the negative patterns and reason about them with more clarity.

Ive made a ritual of it, I go to my local cafe and write. Maybe I write a few lines or several pages, I try not to be dogmatic about it. I think this lowers the activation energy: I don't expect to write anything revolutionary but rather to simply express my current state.

I guess you can think of it as a separation of logic and state! You're writing down your emotional state and then reflecting on it. Somehow when it's written down it's much easier to reason about, similar to how people give better advice to their friends than to themselves.