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僧侶/僧侶 is a Japanese title for a Buddhist monk.
The first Kanji means Buddhist priest or monk by itself.
The second Kanji means follower or companion.
Note, if you order this from the Japanese master calligrapher, the first character will look a bit more like the Kanji shown to the right than the Kanji shown above. Let us know if you have a preference, as both versions are technically-correct in both Chinese and Japanese.
In modern Japanese, 門主 is the title of a head priest of a temple or monastery.
This can also refer to the spiritual leader of the sect and/or direct descendant of its founder.
In the past, this could refer to the founder of a Buddhist sect.
The literal meaning of 門主 is gatekeeper or keeper of the gate.
In the Chinese Buddhist dictionary, this entry comes up as the controller of a gate or sect. However, this term is not commonly used in Chinese.
Before enlightenment or after, chores remain.
頓悟之前砍柴挑水; 頓悟之後砍柴挑水 means “Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water; After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.
This is a Chinese proverb that is attributed to 吴力 (Wú Lì) who lived between 1632 and 1718 - living part of his life as a devout Buddhist, and many years as a Catholic Jesuit Priest in China - what an interesting life!
This has been explained many times in many ways. I am a Buddhist, and here is my brief take on this proverb...
Before enlightenment, one may find daily chores mundane, tedious, and boring. However, upon reaching enlightenment one is not relieved of the details of daily life. An enlightened person will, however, see such chores as a joy, and do them mindfully.
There is another version floating around, which is 在你領悟之前砍柴、運水。在你領悟之後,砍柴、運水。
If you want this other version, just contact me. The meaning is the same, just different phrasing.
提防律師 is a kind of Chinese joke about lawyers.
The first two characters mean “guard yourself against (an attack)” or “beware.”
The last two characters can be translated as lawyer, attorney, or solicitor.
Separately, those characters mean law/regulation/control and master/expert/teacher. Here, you can see the attorney meaning is pretty clear in the individual characters.
Please note this is Chinese only (it won't make sense in Japanese, and the last two characters are sometimes translated together as “Buddhist Priest” in Japanese).
聖 is the simple, single-character religious form of “saint” in Chinese (also holds the same meaning in Japanese and Korean, though rarely used alone like this).
This can also mean holy, sage, master, or priest.
Note: 聖 is often used in compound words (words of more than one character) to create further meanings. In compounds, it can mean holy, sacred, or divine.
聖 is also used as the first word for Spanish and English place names such as “San Diego” and “St. Louis” in Chinese (not Japanese).
In the Buddhist context, this can represent ārya or sādhu. And mean a sage; wise and good; upright, or correct in all his character; sacred, holy, or saintly.
日蓮 is the title Nichiren.
This title refers to a Buddhist priest who lived from 1222 to 1282. He is the founder of the Nichiren sect of Buddhism.
According to historical documents, the Nichiren sect was established in 1252. Adding the character 宗 for sect, this would be 日蓮宗 (Nichiren sect), which is also known as the 法華宗 or Lotus sect.
According to Soothill-Hodous...
Nichiren's chief tenets are the three great mysteries 三大祕法, representing the trikāya:
1. 本尊 or chief object of worship, being the great maṇḍala of the worlds of the ten directions, or universe, i.e., the body or nirmāṇakāya of Buddha.
2. 題目 the title of the Lotus Sutra 妙法蓮華經 Myo-ho-ren-ge-kyo, preceded by Namo, or “Adoration to the scripture of the lotus of the wonderful law,” for it is Buddha's spiritual body.
3. 戒壇 the altar of the law, which is also the title of the Lotus as above; the believer, wherever he is, dwells in the Pure-land of calm light 寂光淨土, the saṃbhogakāya.
布施 is the Buddhist practice of giving known as Dāna or दान from Pali and Sanskrit.
Depending on the context, this can be alms-giving, acts of charity, or offerings (usually money) to a priest for reading sutras or teachings.
Some will put Dāna in these two categories:
1. The pure or unsullied charity, which looks for no reward here but only in the hereafter.
2. The sullied almsgiving whose object is personal benefit.
The first kind is, of course, the kind that a liberated or enlightened person will pursue.
Others will put Dāna in these categories:
1. Worldly or material gifts.
2. Unworldly or spiritual gifts.
You can also separate Dāna into these three kinds:
1. 財布施 Goods such as money, food, or material items.
2. 法布施 Dharma, as an act to teach or bestow the Buddhist doctrine onto others.
3. 無畏布施 Courage, as an act of facing fear to save someone or when standing up for someone or standing up for righteousness.
The philosophies and categorization of Dāna will vary among various monks, temples, and sects of Buddhism.
Breaking down the characters separately:
布 (sometimes written 佈) means to spread out or announce, but also means cloth. In ancient times, cloth or robs were given to the Buddhist monks annually as a gift of alms - I need to do more research, but I believe there is a relationship here.
施 means to grant, to give, to bestow, to act, to carry out, and by itself can mean Dāna as a single character.
Dāna can also be expressed as 檀那 (pronounced “tán nà” in Mandarin and dan-na or だんな in Japanese). 檀那 is a transliteration of Dāna. However, it has colloquially come to mean some unsavory or unrelated things in Japanese. So, I think 布施 is better for calligraphy on your wall to remind you to practice Dāna daily (or whenever possible).
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Below are some entries from our dictionary that may match your buddhist priest search...
Characters If shown, 2nd row is Simp. Chinese |
Pronunciation Romanization |
Simple Dictionary Definition |
僧 see styles |
sēng seng1 seng sou / so そう |
More info & calligraphy: Sangha / Order of Monks(1) monk; priest; (2) (abbreviation) (See 僧伽・そうぎゃ) sangha (the Buddhist community); (surname) Sou 僧伽 saṅgha, an assembly, collection, company, society. The corporate assembly of at least three (formerly four) monks under a chairman, empowered to hear confession, grant absolution, and ordain. The church or monastic order, the third member of the triratna. The term 僧 used alone has come to mean a monk, or monks in general. Also僧佉, 僧加, 僧企耶.; A fully ordained monk, i.e. a bhikṣu as contrasted with the śramaņa. |
僧侶 僧侣 see styles |
sēng lǚ seng1 lu:3 seng lü souryo / soryo そうりょ |
More info & calligraphy: Buddhist Monk{Buddh} priest; monk; bonze Monastic companions, or company. |
布施 see styles |
bù shī bu4 shi1 pu shih fuse ふせ |
More info & calligraphy: Dana: Almsgiving and Generosity(n,vs,vi) (1) {Buddh} alms-giving; charity; (n,vs,vi) (2) {Buddh} offerings (usu. money) to a priest (for reading sutras, etc.); (surname) Fuho dāna 檀那; the sixth pāramitā, almsgiving, i. e. of goods, or the doctrine, with resultant benefits now and also hereafter in the forms of reincarnation, as neglect or refusal will produce the opposite consequences. The 二種布施 two kinds of dāna are the pure, or unsullied charity, which looks for no reward here but only hereafter; and the sullied almsgiving whose object is personal benefit. The three kinds of dāna are goods, the doctrine, and courage, or fearlessness. The four kinds are pens to write the sutras, ink, the sutras themselves, and preaching. The five kinds are giving to those who have come from a distance, those who are going to a distance, the sick, the hungry, those wise in the doctrine. The seven kinds are giving to visitors, travellers, the sick, their nurses, monasteries, endowments for the sustenance of monks or nuns, and clothing and food according to season. The eight kinds are giving to those who come for aid, giving for fear (of evil), return for kindness received, anticipating gifts in return, continuing the parental example of giving, giving in hope of rebirth in a particular heaven, in hope of an honoured name, for the adornment of the heart and life. 倶舍論 18. |
日蓮 日莲 see styles |
rì lián ri4 lian2 jih lien nichiren にちれん |
More info & calligraphy: NichirenNichiren, the Japanese founder, in A. D. 1252, of the 日蓮宗 Nichiren sect, which is also known as the 法華宗 or Lotus sect. Its chief tenets are the three great mysteries 三大祕法, representing the trikāya: (1) 本尊 or chief object of worship, being the great maṇḍala of the worlds of the ten directions, or universe, i. e. the body or nirmāṇakāya of Buddha; (2) 題目 the title of the Lotus Sutra 妙法蓮華經 Myo-ho-ren-gwe-kyo, preceded by Namo, or, 'Adoration to the scripture of the lotus of the wonderful law, ' for it is Buddha's spiritual body; (3) 戒壇 the altar of the law, which is also the title of the Lotus as above; the believer, wherever he is, dwells in the Pure-land of calm light 寂光淨土, the saṃbhogakāya. |
道士 see styles |
dào shì dao4 shi4 tao shih doushi / doshi どうし |
More info & calligraphy: Taoist / Daoist(1) Taoist; (2) person of high morals; (3) Buddhist monk; (4) immortal mountain wizard; Taoist immortal; (personal name) Michishi A Taoist (hermit), also applied to Buddhists, and to Śākyamuni. |
仏僧 see styles |
bussou / busso ぶっそう |
Buddhist priest; (place-name) Bussou |
仏家 see styles |
bukke ぶっけ |
Buddhist priest |
仏者 see styles |
bussha ぶっしゃ |
Buddhist; Buddhist priest |
住僧 see styles |
juusou / juso じゅうそう |
chief priest (of a Buddhist temple) |
住持 see styles |
zhù chí zhu4 chi2 chu ch`ih chu chih juuji / juji じゅうじ |
to administer a monastery Buddhist or Daoist; abbot; head monk (noun/participle) chief priest of temple To dwell and control; the abbot of a monastery; resident superintendent; to maintain, or firmly hold to (faith in the Buddha, etc.). For住持身 v. 佛具十身. |
住職 住职 see styles |
zhù zhí zhu4 zhi2 chu chih juushoku / jushoku じゅうしょく |
(noun/participle) chief priest (of a Buddhist temple) abbot |
俗体 see styles |
zokutai ぞくたい |
(1) (form) (See 僧体) appearance of a layperson (as opposed to a Buddhist priest); (2) (form) unrefined appearance; vulgar style |
僧体 see styles |
soutai / sotai そうたい |
(See 俗体・1) appearance of a Buddhist priest |
僧家 see styles |
sēng jiā seng1 jia1 seng chia souka; souke / soka; soke そうか; そうけ |
(1) (rare) Buddhist temple; (2) (rare) Buddhist priest the saṃgha |
僧寺 see styles |
sēng sì seng1 si4 seng ssu souji / soji そうじ |
Buddhist priest; temple with a resident priest the saṃgha and the monastery |
僧形 see styles |
sougyou / sogyo そうぎょう |
the form of a Buddhist priest; priestly attire |
僧正 see styles |
sēng zhèng seng1 zheng4 seng cheng soujou / sojo そうじょう |
high Buddhist priest The Director or Pope of monks; an office under Wudi, A.D. 502‐550, of the Liang dynasty, for the control of the monks. Wendi, 560-7, of the Ch'en dynasty appointed a 大僧統 or Director over the monks in his capital. |
僧都 see styles |
sēng dū seng1 du1 seng tu souzu / sozu そうず |
Buddhist priest; (surname) Soto director of monks |
募化 see styles |
mù huà mu4 hua4 mu hua boke |
(of a Buddhist monk or Taoist priest) to collect alms to collect alms |
和尚 see styles |
hé shang he2 shang5 ho shang wajou / wajo わじょう |
Buddhist monk (1) (honorific or respectful language) preceptor or high priest (in Shingon, Hosso, Ritsu or Shin Buddhism); (2) second highest priestly rank in Buddhism; (3) master (of one's art, trade, etc.); (1) (honorific or respectful language) preceptor or high priest (in Tendai or Kegon Buddhism); (2) second highest priestly rank in Buddhism; (3) monk (esp. the head monk of a temple); (4) master (of one's art, trade, etc.); (1) (honorific or respectful language) preceptor or high priest (esp. in Zen or Pure Land Buddhism); (2) second highest priestly rank in Buddhism; (3) monk (esp. the head monk of a temple); (4) master (of one's art, trade, etc.); (personal name) Wajō A general term for a monk. It is said to be derived from Khotan in the form of 和闍 or 和社 (or 烏社) which might be a translit. of vandya (Tibetan and Khotani ban-de), 'reverend.' Later it took the form of 和尚 or 和上. The 律宗 use 和上, others generally 和尚. The Sanskrit term used in its interpretation is 鳥波陀耶 upādhyāya, a 'sub-teacher' of the Vedas, inferior to an ācārya; this is intp. as 力生 strong in producing (knowledge), or in begetting strength in his disciples; also by 知有罪知無罪 a discerner of sin from not-sin, or the sinful from the not-sinful. It has been used as a synonym for 法師 a teacher of doctrine, in distinction from 律師 a teacher of the vinaya, also from 禪師 a teacher of the Intuitive school. |
坊主 see styles |
fáng zhǔ fang2 zhu3 fang chu bouzu / bozu ぼうず |
(1) Buddhist priest; bonze; (2) close-cropped hair; crew cut; person with a shorn head; (3) (familiar language) (derogatory term) boy; sonny; lad; (4) not catching anything (in fishing); (place-name) Bouzu monk in charge of the monk's quarters |
女犯 see styles |
nǚ fàn nu:3 fan4 nü fan nyobon にょぼん |
female offender in imperial China (old) sin of having sexual relations with a woman (for a Buddhist priest) The woman offence, i.e. sexual immorality on the part of a monk. |
導師 导师 see styles |
dǎo shī dao3 shi1 tao shih doushi / doshi どうし |
tutor; teacher; academic advisor (1) {Buddh} officiating priest; presiding priest at a ceremony; (2) (esp. Buddhist) religious teacher; highly-ranked priest; (3) guru; instructor (yoga, etc.) nāyaka; a leader, guide, one who guides men to Buddha's teaching; applied also to Buddhas and bodhisattvas, and to the leaders of the ritual in Buddhist services; v. 天人道師. |
廣遊 广游 see styles |
guǎng yóu guang3 you2 kuang yu |
to travel widely (esp. as Daoist priest or Buddhist monk) |
房主 see styles |
fáng zhǔ fang2 zhu3 fang chu bōshu ぼうず |
landlord; house owner (out-dated kanji) (1) Buddhist priest; bonze; (2) close-cropped hair; crew cut; person with a shorn head; (3) (familiar language) (derogatory term) boy; sonny; lad; (4) not catching anything (in fishing) monk in charge of the monk's quarters |
捨身 舍身 see styles |
shě shēn she3 shen1 she shen shashin しゃしん |
to give one's life (n,vs,vi) (1) {Buddh} renouncing the flesh or the world; becoming a priest; (n,vs,vi) (2) {Buddh} sacrificing one's life for the sake of mankind or Buddhist teachings Bodily sacrifice, e.g. by burning, or cutting off a limb, etc. |
方丈 see styles |
fāng zhang fang1 zhang5 fang chang houjou / hojo ほうじょう |
square zhang (i.e. unit of area 10 feet square); monastic room 10 feet square; Buddhist or Daoist abbot; abbot's chamber (1) (See 丈・じょう・1) square jō (approx. 10 sq feet); (2) {Buddh} abbot's chamber; (3) chief priest; (p,s,g) Hōjō An abbot, 寺主 head of a monastery; the term is said to arise from the ten-foot cubic dwelling in which 維摩 Vimalakirti lived, but here seems to be no Sanskrit equivalent. |
晋山 see styles |
shinzan しんざん |
taking up a new position as chief priest of a Buddhist temple; (surname) Shin'yama |
梵妻 see styles |
bonsai ぼんさい |
Buddhist priest's wife |
法体 see styles |
hottai; houtai / hottai; hotai ほったい; ほうたい |
(1) {Buddh} clerical appearance; appearance of a priest; (2) teachings of Buddha; condition of the universe at creation; in the pure land teachings, the name of Amitabha, or prayers to Amitabha; investiture of a Buddhist priest |
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Buddhist Monk | 僧侶 / 僧侶 僧侶 | sou ryo / souryo / so ryo | ||
Monshu Gate Keeper | 門主 门主 | monshu | mén zhǔ / men2 zhu3 / men zhu / menzhu | men chu / menchu |
Chop Wood, Carry Water | 頓悟之前砍柴挑水頓悟之后砍柴挑水 顿悟之前砍柴挑水顿悟之后砍柴挑水 | dùn wù zhī qián kǎn chái tiāo shuǐ dùn wù zhī hòu kǎn chái tiāo shuǐ dun4 wu4 zhi1 qian2 kan3 chai2 tiao1 shui3 dun4 wu4 zhi1 hou4 kan3 chai2 tiao1 shui3 dun wu zhi qian kan chai tiao shui dun wu zhi hou kan chai tiao shui | tun wu chih ch`ien k`an ch`ai t`iao shui tun wu chih hou k`an ch`ai t`iao shui tun wu chih chien kan chai tiao shui tun wu chih hou kan chai tiao shui |
|
Beware of the Lawyers | 提防律師 提防律师 | xiǎo xīn lǜ shī xiao3 xin1 lv4 shi1 xiao xin lv shi xiaoxinlvshi | hsiao hsin lü shih hsiaohsinlüshih |
|
The Saint | 聖 圣 | sei | shèng / sheng4 / sheng | |
Nichiren | 日蓮 日莲 | nichi ren / nichiren | rì lián / ri4 lian2 / ri lian / rilian | jih lien / jihlien |
Dana: Almsgiving and Generosity | 布施 | fuse | bù shī / bu4 shi1 / bu shi / bushi | pu shih / pushih |
In some entries above you will see that characters have different versions above and below a line. In these cases, the characters above the line are Traditional Chinese, while the ones below are Simplified Chinese. |
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Some people may refer to this entry as Buddhist Priest Kanji, Buddhist Priest Characters, Buddhist Priest in Mandarin Chinese, Buddhist Priest Characters, Buddhist Priest in Chinese Writing, Buddhist Priest in Japanese Writing, Buddhist Priest in Asian Writing, Buddhist Priest Ideograms, Chinese Buddhist Priest symbols, Buddhist Priest Hieroglyphics, Buddhist Priest Glyphs, Buddhist Priest in Chinese Letters, Buddhist Priest Hanzi, Buddhist Priest in Japanese Kanji, Buddhist Priest Pictograms, Buddhist Priest in the Chinese Written-Language, or Buddhist Priest in the Japanese Written-Language.