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3. Namu Myoho Renge Kyo / Homage to Lotus Sutra
4. Take Refuge in the Three Treasures
7. Nan / South
南無阿弥陀仏 is the modern Japanese version of “Namu Amida Butsu” or “The Compassionate Amitabha Buddha.”
Some will translate this as “I sincerely believe in Amitabha; Lord have mercy on me.”
This phrase especially applies to Japanese Pure Land Buddhists.
There is a universal version using ancient characters (with more strokes) for the 4th and last characters. That version is also used in Chinese, Korean, and occasionally Vietnamese.
This is used to pay homage to Amitabha Buddha.
See Also: Bodhisattva | Buddhism | Nirvana
南無妙法蓮華經 is sometimes translated as the “Devotion to the Law of the Lotus Flower Scripture.”
This is a meditation chant and homage to the Lotus Sutra, used by Nichiren Buddhists in Japan.
This is also a chant used in China by certain sects of Buddhism that celebrate the deity Guanyin.
Also romanized as “Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō” or without accents as “Nam Myoho Renge Kyo.”
The last character was originally written as seen on the left. Sometimes, you will see it written in the Japanese variant form as shown on the right. If you want this Japanese variant, click on the "Modern Japanese Variant" text instead of the button up by the main title of this entry.
南無阿彌陀佛 is how to express “The Compassionate Amitabha Buddha” (especially for the Pure Land Buddhist Sect).
Some will translate as “Homage to Amitâbha Buddha” or “I seek refuge in the Amitâbha Buddha.”
This is valid in Chinese characters, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja.
Sometimes modern Japanese use a different version of the 4th and last Kanji, but the version shown here is the most universal.
This is used to pay homage to Amitabha Buddha.
See Also: Bodhisattva | Buddhism | Nirvana
南 means south or southern.
In Chinese, this is also a surname that romanizes as Nan.
In Japanese, it can also be the given names Mimi, Minamihama, Minamitate, Minami, Mina, Miumi, Hinata, Nantetsu, or Namuchoru. It can be the Japanese surnames Nanzaki, Nan, Namu, Nami, or Takaminami.
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Namu Amida Butsu | 南無阿弥陀仏 | namu amida butsu namuamidabutsu | ||
Namu Dai Bosa | 南無大菩薩 南无大菩萨 | namu dai bosa namudaibosa | ||
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo Homage to Lotus Sutra | 南無妙法蓮華經 / 南無妙法蓮華経 南无妙法莲华经 | na mu myou hou ren ge kyou namumyouhourengekyou na mu myo ho ren ge kyo | nán wú miào fǎ lián huá jīng nan2 wu2 miao4 fa3 lian2 hua2 jing1 nan wu miao fa lian hua jing nanwumiaofalianhuajing | nan wu miao fa lien hua ching nanwumiaofalienhuaching |
Take Refuge in the Three Treasures | 南無三寶 南无三宝 | na mu san bou namusanbou na mu san bo | nán mo sān bǎo nan2 mo san1 bao3 nan mo san bao nanmosanbao | nan mo san pao nanmosanpao |
Namo Amitabha Buddha | 南無阿彌陀佛 南无阿弥陀佛 | na mu a mi da butsu namuamidabutsu | nā mó ē mí tuó fó na1 mo2 e1 mi2 tuo2 fo2 na mo e mi tuo fo namoemituofo | na mo o mi t`o fo namoomitofo na mo o mi to fo |
Namo Guanyin Pusa | 南無觀音菩薩 南无观音菩萨 | namu kannon bosatsu namukannonbosatsu | nán wú guàn yīn pú sà nan2 wu2 guan4 yin1 pu2 sa4 nan wu guan yin pu sa nanwuguanyinpusa | nan wu kuan yin p`u sa nanwukuanyinpusa nan wu kuan yin pu sa |
Nan South | 南 | minami / nan | nán / nan2 / nan | |
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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When the calligrapher finishes creating your artwork, it is taken to my art mounting workshop in Beijing where a wall scroll is made by hand from a combination of silk, rice paper, and wood.
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When you select your calligraphy, you'll be taken to another page where you can choose various custom options.
The wall scroll that Sandy is holding in this picture is a "large size"
single-character wall scroll.
We also offer custom wall scrolls in small, medium, and an even-larger jumbo size.
Professional calligraphers are getting to be hard to find these days.
Instead of drawing characters by hand, the new generation in China merely type roman letters into their computer keyboards and pick the character that they want from a list that pops up.
There is some fear that true Chinese calligraphy may become a lost art in the coming years. Many art institutes in China are now promoting calligraphy programs in hopes of keeping this unique form
of art alive.
Even with the teachings of a top-ranked calligrapher in China, my calligraphy will never be good enough to sell. I will leave that to the experts.
The same calligrapher who gave me those lessons also attracted a crowd of thousands and a TV crew as he created characters over 6-feet high. He happens to be ranked as one of the top 100 calligraphers in all of China. He is also one of very few that would actually attempt such a feat.
Check out my lists of Japanese Kanji Calligraphy Wall Scrolls and Old Korean Hanja Calligraphy Wall Scrolls.
Some people may refer to this entry as Namu A Kanji, Namu A Characters, Namu A in Mandarin Chinese, Namu A Characters, Namu A in Chinese Writing, Namu A in Japanese Writing, Namu A in Asian Writing, Namu A Ideograms, Chinese Namu A symbols, Namu A Hieroglyphics, Namu A Glyphs, Namu A in Chinese Letters, Namu A Hanzi, Namu A in Japanese Kanji, Namu A Pictograms, Namu A in the Chinese Written-Language, or Namu A in the Japanese Written-Language.