Celebrate Your Dharma Name

[Koushu]

Hmmm, I can find the Kanji for person, but exploring is a bit tricky. Best ask Jundo or you can use this website http://tangorin.com/kanji/Tan and maybe you can find the charcater that is on the back of your rakusu .... =)

Gassho
Shingen

s@today

Maybe 探 means explore and pronounced Tan. 人、hito or jin meaning person. Just my opinion.

Gassho Shingen and Tanjin

拡手 Koushu

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[Seido]

I hope its OK if i comment here on the Dharma name given to me during last year's Jukai, as I didn't participate in this discussion then (too busy moving and having a baby at the same time!)

Jundo gave to me the name Seidō, with the translation of Fine Way. The implication being that sitting, just sitting is the fine way. I was never a huge fan of the word "fine" before, to me it has always been equal to "just OK." As where the intent of the translation is more along the lines of refined, the true essence. It was a valuable lesson to me in interpretation and judgment as I learned to better understand the translation of the name.

However, both Chinese and Japanese being patriarchal cultures, the refined essence is also seamen! So don't google search this kanji unless you need help with your ejaculatory problems.

精道

Gassho,
Seido
SatToday

[Jakuden]

Lol Seido! It's good to hear from you and thank you for your post. It seems like many of these kanji have multiple meanings... searching them can be quite a revelation. There are several other ways I could take mine as well, not the least of which is a direct reference to the Buddha creating the Rakusu after viewing the orderly, nourishing peace of a rice field... so many permutations possible, as with anything pertaining to the Dharma.
Gassho
Jakuden
SatToday


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[Kyosei]

Well, since I haven't received the Rakusu back panel yet (yes, the mail service here in Brasil not so good...), so I am basing on Jundo's email.

I guess my dharma name is written like this:

強 Kyō - Powerful
声 Sei - Voice

About the meaning, actually I just talked (through Skype) with two people here on this Sangha: Jundo and Gokai (my partner on the last Ango), and I'm sure I did not raised my voice neither spoke too close to the mic.

Another possible "hinayana" meaning could be because I'm also a musician here where I live in, and I play and sing... maybe Jundo listened to my Soundcloud channel and liked my voice. Nah... :P

Maybe I "talk too much" (with my fingers, here), tergiversating about many things, uncertainties, "technical" doubts, questioning. Go figure. Still, I am not that "talkative" guy in my everyday life, though. I guess all the talk occurs in my mind sometimes. Little "voices" opposed to the Powerful Voice?

Maybe I should seek that "powerful voice", that one which speaks clearly and without leaving margin for any doubts.

So much "maybes", because I really don't know, who is it up to know? Maybe it is better this way. So much "talk" prevents the Powerful Voice to manifest... I should will sit and sit in silence.

Gassho

Kyōsei

#SatToday

P.S.: I found out that this Dharma name (although maybe not the same Kanji nor the same meaning) is quoted in cases 16, 46 and 63 of the "Blue Cliff Record"...

[Hoko]

法 Ho = Dharma
口 Ko = Mouth

There's just so many ways to regard this name that it's really marvelous. I'm very grateful for it.

I'm an orthodontist by trade so there's the obvious tongue in cheek interpretation but there's also an aspirational angle if you look at Hoko as "truth speaker".
(A "right speech" reminder to ensure that what comes out of my mouth is more dharma than dukkha...)

Also, since the mouth is where I make my livelihood it is a reminder to endeavor to make my place of work a place of practice as well.
Not only can I be cognizant of the fact that I am following that branch of the eightfold path (choosing a career where I am avoiding harm, doing good, and working in the service of others) I can also strive to embody the Treeleaf motto "all life is our temple".

My practice is where I practice! Dental practice, Zen practice. Not one. Not two.

Gassho,
Hoko
#SatToday

[Mp]

Hello everyone,

Shokai, thank you for bring this up. Thank you all for sharing your stories and thank you to Jundo, he is always so good and on point when it comes to Dharma names. =)

Gassho
Shingen

s@today

[Jundo]

Hi Everyone,

Remember that a name is just a name is just a name. In Zazen, we drop all names. "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

Best not to overthink hidden or triple meanings. Think of such names as rather like Buddhist fond, winking and inspired epithets that just came into my heart, "Dharma Nicknames" more than anything. Nishijima, my teacher, called me "Jundo" ... Pure Way... and I am not that. I call my daughter "sweety", because she is. I call our house cat "tiger", because he is in his heart if not in size. Like that.

Never forget that Zazen is about finding one's True Name!

Gassho, J

SatToday

PS -

Maybe 探 means explore and pronounced Tan. 人、hito or jin meaning person.

Yes, that is right.

[Mp]

I am not that. I call my daughter "sweety", because she is. I call our house cat "tiger", because he is in his heart if not in size.

Gassho
Shingen

s@today

[Jakuden]

Hi Everyone,

Remember that a name is just a name is just a name. In Zazen, we drop all names. "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

Best not to overthink hidden or triple meanings. Think of such names as rather like Buddhist fond, winking and inspired epithets that just came into my heart, "Dharma Nicknames" more than anything. Nishijima, my teacher, called me "Jundo" ... Pure Way... and I am not that. I call my daughter "sweety", because she is. I call our house cat "tiger", because he is in his heart if not in size. Like that.

Never forget that Zazen is about finding one's True Name!

Gassho, J

SatToday

PS -

Yes, that is right.

You mean you don't spend days researching every possible meaning of all the names you choose? [emoji33][emoji6]

The pups I bottle raised were named "Lucy" and "Diamond" by my children since, you guessed it, we like the Beatles.

Gassho
Jakuden
SatToday



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[Koushu]

By my personality I enjoy riddles. With my dharma name, I just looked at it, ask both my wife (who is Japanese) and Jundo Sensei. Then the night before Jukai I was teaching a Bhutanese monk friend of mine English and we got talking about our practices, him Nyingma and me a mix with my primary practice Zen. My wife was listening to our conversation and then later that night asked me about Zen practice and other Buddhist practices that I had experienced and practices I maintain. Then with wonder in her eyes she said my Dharma Name fits me perfectly, that I matched it on many levels.

Thus my understanding of the name has produced a need to sit, to eat when I am eating, walk when I am walking, etc.

Gassho
拡手
Koushu

Satoday

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[Tanjin]

Thanks to everyone who pointed me in the right direction for finding the Japanese characters -- I've updated my signature accordingly

My introduction to Buddhism and practice came through the internet nearly 6 years ago, and around a year later I made my first visit to a zendo. I had to fly quite a distance to St. Paul because Buddhism is not, to put it mildly, widely accessible in person here in the Bible Belt. I chose Clouds in Water Zen Center because I had been listening to lectures by Byakuren Judith Ragir on incorporating Buddhist Philosophy and practice into the 12 steps. Byakuren is a Dharma heir of Katagiri Roshi and someone who has really greatly influenced my direction on the spiritual path. Anyway, I remember seeing these people wearing black robes, and wearing what looked like bibs, and calling each other strange names. Frankly, thinking back, to my virgin eyes, it all seemed rather bizarre at first. But I was really interested in making a deeper commitment to Buddhism, and what drew me to jukai, the rakusu, and the Dharma name was the fact that it represented commitment and dedication to practice. I was always a bit saddened by the fact that my geographic situation seemed to preclude my ever undertaking jukai. Enter TreeLeaf!!! I am so grateful to Jundo, the priests, and everyone in the Sangha who come together to give myself and many others the opportunity to practice together when it might otherwise not be possible. I really appreciate the fact that notwithstanding our individual circumstances, we can be full participants in all aspects of the practice -- including partaking in important rituals and traditions. I once told Byakuren in a Dokusan early on that if I were a Christian I would have been Catholic because I was always fascinated and drawn to the rituals, the chanting, the prayer beads, etc. I remember, she said, "Oh you will love Zen then - it is probably the most ritualistic of all of the Buddhist sects!" So, again, having the opportunity deepen my own personal practice by participating in these traditions has really been very meaningful to me. For me, it is important to have the outward manifestation of this inner wish for peace and serenity.

As for my Dharma name - Jundo bestowed TAN (exploring) JIN (person) upon me. I'm not sure if he had any of my personal qualities in mind or not, so I won't presume to know that, but I do think that it fits my personality. Granted, I can be a rather cautious person, but I am very curious and inquisitive, and those qualities certainly could be described as "exploring". I realize, my "thought exploration" can sometimes become too much - and before finding the practice of meditation, I was lost in the thicket when it comes to over-thinking everything and generating constant fear and tension. Now, even though I'm still the explorer, I've begun to learn to just observe those wanderings for what they are, without getting attached or afraid so much. And when I do get lost, at least there is an opportunity through practice, to gently nudge the explorer back upon the patch by just watching -- and in so doing, I can even laugh sometimes at my own neurotic tendencies. The jungle of my mind is not such a scary place anymore because I can sometimes now see thoughts for what they are -- just thoughts.

Gassho,
Tanjin
SatToday

[Amelia]

My name was given in 2012 as Gei (welcoming) Ka (flower). And though Jundo has mentioned not to look into it too much, I was pretty sure at the time I was given that name because I posted a lot in the welcome to new folks threads! I rather enjoy the name. Congratulations to all the new Jukai-ees! Especially to my Ango partner, Tanjin! Well done.

Gassho, sat today

[Jishin]

My name means "Big Mouth" and
Jundo told me not to tell anyone what it means.

Gasho, Jishin, _/st\_

[Jyukatsu]

柔 flexible
活 energetic

Jundo gave me the name Jyukatsu, obviously with a bit of humor as I am a Yoga teacher but unbeknownst to him I had gotten a Sanskrit name many years ago in India, in the Tantric tradition, that also means energy. A cosmic joke to me or, my husband's comment : all that trouble to get the same name.
I love the name, it fits

Gassho,
Jyukatsu
sat today

[Kaibo]

Great to see everyone's new names!
Mine is Kaibo.

海 kai = ocean
母 bo = mother

Since I live in Sydney right next to the Pacific and I'm a mother of a toddler, it's pretty straightforward how Jundo might have got the idea. I think it's a wonderful name. Ocean reminds me of our wavelike character: we can present ourselves as an individual like a single wave, but then return to and blend in with the vast ocean. Being a mother means for me having responsibility and hopefully knowing well how to handle this responsibility. But it also means being someone who loves and cares - that's certainly something I'm aspiring to be.

Gassho
Kaibo
Sat today