This is the name Siddhartha (as in Siddhartha Gautama) which is sometimes romanized from the original Sanskrit or Pali as Siddhattha (from Siddhattha Gotama).

This same Buddha is also known as "Shakyamuni Gautama", "Gotama Buddha". "Tathagata".

Siddhartha Gautama was a spiritual teacher in the northern region of the Indian subcontinent who founded Buddhism. He is generally seen by Buddhists as the Supreme Buddha (Sammāsambuddha) of known human history.

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This can be defined as "The Law of Buddha". "The Power of Buddha". or simply "Dharma".

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This can mean Buddha or Buddhism. Depending on context, this word can be used to refer to the religion and lifestyle of Buddhism, or in some cases, the Buddha himself.

Note: Until the 5th century, Japan did not have a written language. At that time, Japan absorbed Chinese characters to form their written language (these characters are known as "Kanji" in Japanese). The first character of this Buddhism title was actually a shorthand way to write Buddha in Chinese (popular around the 13th century). Somehow, this became the version of this character that was absorbed into Japanese, and thus became part of standard Kanji. Centuries later, this character is not recognized in Chinese at all.

The first character is also a rare form of Korean Hanja - though seldom used even when the Korean Hanja writing system was more common 100 years ago.

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This is the essence of the Buddha or Buddhism. Depending on context, this word and character can be used to refer to the religion and lifestyle of Buddhism, or in some cases, the Buddha himself.

It is interesting to note that this word is separate from all others in the Chinese language. The sound of "fo" has only this meaning. This is in contrast to many sounds in the Chinese language which can have one of four tones, and more than 20 possible characters and meanings. This language anomaly shows just how significant Buddhism has affected China since the ancient times.

More about Buddhism

This character is also used with the same meaning in Korean Hanja.

It's used in the very religious context of Buddhism in Japan. It should be noted that there are two forms of this Kanji in use in Japan - this is the more formal/ancient version, but it's rarely seen outside of religious artwork, and may not be recognized by all Japanese people.

It also acts as a suffix or first syllable for many Buddhist-related words in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.

See our Buddhism & Zen page

See Also...  Bodhisattva | Enlightenment

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In Buddhist beliefs, a bodhisattva (bodhisatta) is a being who is dedicated to helping us achieve enlightenment. Bodhisattva literally means enlightenment truth which is bodhi sattva in Sanskrit.

I am not a Buddhist, so I am not sure if this is appropriate to hang on your wall. But a lot of people have been searching our website for bodhisattva, so I figured it is time to add it.

Sometimes used to refer to a kindhearted person.

See Also...  Buddha | Namo Amitabha

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This is a Buddhist concept that simply stated is "appreciation of truth by meditation".

It's a deep subject, but my understanding is that you can find truth through meditation, and once you've found truth, you can learn to appreciate it more through further meditation. This title is not commonly used outside of the Buddhist community (your Asian friends may or may not understand it). The literal translation would be something like "the mind seal", I've seen this term translated this way from Japanese Buddhist poetry. But apparently, the seal that is stamped deep in your mind is the truth. You just have to meditate to find it.

Soothill defines it this way: Mental impression, intuitive certainty; the mind is the Buddha-mind in all, which can seal or assure the truth; the term indicates the intuitive method of the Chan (Zen) school, which was independent of the spoken or written word.

Reference:Soothill-Hodous Dictionary of Chinese Buddhism

See Also...  Zen

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The Bodhi is the moment of completion in Buddhism. It is when all things become known, and you have completed your journey to enlightenment.

The reference is to the Bodhi tree where Siddhartha Gautama (the legendary man and who established the Buddhist religion), achieved enlightenment. Sometimes this is referred to as "the tree of enlightenment", but if you want the full version with the character for tree on the end, please see our other entry.

See Also...  Buddhism | Buddha | Nirvana | Enlightenment

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This is another common name for Gautama Buddha derived from Sanskrit. This is sort of a short way to say Sakyamuni.

Important Japanese note: This character has evolved out of the original meaning during the past thousand years. It now means nurse or attendant in Japanese, and has all but lost the Buddhist context.

Important Korean note: This means temple (often a Buddhist temple) in Korean Hanja. My Korean translator is Christian, so he's not sure if this still has the "Shakyamuni Buddha" meaning alone.

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This single Japanese Kanji can mean Buddha or Buddhism.

This Kanji was actually a shorthand way to write Buddha in Chinese (popular around the 13th century). Somehow, this became the version of this Chinese character that was absorbed into Japanese, and thus became part of standard Kanji. Centuries later, this character is not recognized in Chinese at all (except by those from China with a background in Chinese literature or language).

This is also a rare or derivative Korean Hanja form - but I doubt you will find any Korean that knows that.

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This is the longer, and perhaps more formal title for the Buddhist deity known as the Goddess of Mercy or Bodhisattva of Compassion.

The longer title of this bodhisattva is Romanized in the following ways:
Mandarin Chinese: Guanshi Yin, Kuan-shih Yin.
Japanese: Kanzeon.
Sanskrit: Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara.
Korean: Gwan-se-eum.
Vietnamese: Quan Thế Âm.
Thai: Prah Mae Kuan Eim.
English: Bodhisattva of Mercy and Salvation, Goddess of Compassion, Buddha of Mercy, et al.

Please view our more common and shorter version "Guan Yin" before you make a decision. Also note that the first character has a slight variation in Japanese. If your audience is specifically Japanese, you may want to select that version.

See Also...  Buddhism | Goddess

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Characters shown
above are read
vertically, starting
from the right

This is how to express the compassionate Amitabha Buddha of the Pure Land Buddhist Sect in Chinese characters and Korean Hanja.

See Also...  Bodhisattva | Buddhism | Nirvana

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These are the Chinese characters that mean Nirvana. I will let you decide what Nirvana means to you.

These characters can also be translated as "Buddha's death and salvation" or "death of a Buddhist monk" depending on context. However, this is not seen with any bad meaning. You could replace "death" with "moving on", as that is how it's seen in Buddhist context.

The second character is a little different in Japanese. If you want the Japanese version of Nirvana, please click on the Kanji shown at the right, instead of the button above.

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This literally means "pure land" or "clean earth". It is also the title of a Buddhist sect which involves faith in rebirth of Buddha Amitabha in the Western Heaven. Sometimes translated as "Paradise of the West" or the Buddhist Elvsium.

See Also...  Nirvana

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This is the single-character or short form of Sangha, the Buddhist idea of community (of monks, nuns, or followers of the Buddha). Alone, this character can simply mean "monk" (Just means monk in Japanese).

Note that when writing this as Kanji, Japanese will tend to write this in the form shown to the right. If you select our Japanese master calligrapher, please expect this special Kanji form.

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In Buddhism, this term refers to a community of monks and/or nuns (one of the "Three Jewels"). In general terms, it can simply mean "all followers of the Buddha".

Notes: Though there are not vast numbers of Chinese Hindus, in the Hindu faith, this term means "community together".
The original Sanskrit word is also Romanized as samgha.
The first character means "monk". The second character means Buddha or Shakyamuni.
This is really a transliteration of the original Sanskrit, but it uses two very profound Chinese characters related to Buddhism.

Some may pronounce this as "seng qie" or "seng jia" in Mandarin (two possible pronunciations for second character). Note that "qie" would sound a bit like "chee-ah" using typical English pronunciation. Chinese Romanization is not actually designed to match English sounds.

Note that when writing this as Kanji, Japanese will tend to write the first character in the form shown to the right. If you select our Japanese master calligrapher, please expect this special Kanji form. However, it should also be noted that this is not a common term in Japanese (except by certain sects of Buddhism or perhaps devout Buddhists in Japan).

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This means "Shakyamuni" in Chinese. This same Buddha is also known as "Siddhartha Gautama", "Gotama Buddha". "Tathagata", or simply, "The Supreme Buddha".

This is the legendary man and prince who eventually established the Buddhist religion.

Note: Occasionally Romanized as "Siddhattha Gotama".

This combination of characters is sometimes seen and used in South Korea and Japan as well (with the same meaning).

See Also...  Nirvana | Buddhism

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This is the way to write Shakyamuni in Japanese.

It's just two Kanji, the first is a simplified version of the one used in Chinese for Shakyamuni, and the second one is identical to the Chinese.

This refers to the Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama, 563 BCE-483 BCE) also known as Sakyamuni and Gautama Buddha.

This has very good meaning in Japanese, but is an odd selection for a wall scroll. It appears here more for reference.

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This is a martial arts concept (some would say "school") known as Five Ancestors' Fist.

The first character means five.
The second means ancestor, forefather, or grandparents.
The third means fist.


The ancestors referred to by this title and whose attributes contribute to this style are as follows:
1. Grace of the White Crane.
2. Agility of the Monkey.
3. Precision and skill of Emperor Taizu (mythical great ancestor).
4. Power of Luohan (Buddist arhat).
5. Breath of Damo (founder of Buddhism, or the first Buddha).

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This is the more exact way to express the religion or lifestyle of Buddhism. It can also be read as "Buddha's Teachings". This is Chinese only, as a different character is more commonly used in Japanese to express Buddhism. The same first character is used in Korea, but a slight variation exists in the second character in Korean Hanja. However, it would be fully recognized by any Korean person who can read Hanja.

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This is the Buddhist deity known as the Goddess of Mercy or Bodhisattva of Compassion. In Chinese, the proper name of this being is Guan Yin. There is some debate as to whether Guan Yin is female. The argument comes from some scripture that suggests Buddhist deities take on male form. Others say that Guan Yin has no sex. And still others are okay with the female representation of Guan Yin.

This bodhisattva is also known or Romanized in the following ways:
Mandarin Chinese: Guan Yin, Kuan Yin, Kwan Yin.
Japanese: Kannon, Kwannon.
Sanskrit: Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara.
Korean: Gwan-eum.
Vietnamese: Quan Âm.
Thai: Kuan Eim.
English: Bodhisattva of Mercy and Salvation, Goddess of Compassion, Buddha of Mercy, et al.

Note: The first character has a slight variation in Japanese. If your audience is specifically Japanese, you may want to select that version.

See Also...  Buddhism | Goddess | Namo Amitabha | Bodhisattva

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