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Priest in Chinese / Japanese...

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Personalize your custom “Priest” project by clicking the button next to your favorite “Priest” title below...


  1. Beware of the Lawyers

  2. Buddhist Monk

  3. Monshu / Gate Keeper

  4. Nichiren

  5. The Saint

  6. Sanctified by God

  7. Taoist / Daoist

  8. Warrior Monk / Soldier Priest

  9. Dana: Almsgiving and Generosity

10. Chop Wood, Carry Water


Beware of the Lawyers

 xiǎo xīn lǜ shī
Beware of the Lawyers Scroll

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).

Buddhist Monk

 sou ryo
Buddhist Monk Scroll

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.


僧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.

Monshu / Gate Keeper

 mén zhǔ
 monshu
Monshu / Gate Keeper Scroll

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.

 rì lián
 nichi ren
Nichiren Scroll

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According to historical documents, the Nichiren sect was established in 1252.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.

 shèng
 sei
 
The Saint Scroll

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.

Sanctified by God

 shèng dì shǐ nǐ shén shèng
Sanctified by God Scroll

上帝使你神聖 means “Sanctified by God,” in Chinese.

This was added at the request of a customer. This may be more appropriate for a priest or reverend than a layman. But that depends on how your religion sees the order of things.

If you directly translate, you get something like, “God made you Holy.”

Here's the character breakdown:
上帝 = God
 使 = Makes; Made; Let
 你 = You
神聖 = Sacred; Holy; Sanctification; Divine; Hallow; Holiness

Taoist / Daoist

 dào shì
 dou shi
Taoist / Daoist Scroll

道士 is a Japanese Kanji, Korean Hanja, and Chinese title that means Daoist or Taoist.

This can refer to a Taoist priest or a person of high morals. This can also be applied to Buddhists and Śākyamuni (especially in Japanese). It suggests a person (or soldier) who follows the way or the right path. Thus a person who follows a path of virtue.

Warrior Monk / Soldier Priest

 sēng bīng
 sou hei
Warrior Monk / Soldier Priest Scroll

藩士 is a strange title for a wall scroll, but it may suit you if you see yourself as a warrior monk.

This title is not commonly used but will be understood in Chinese and Japanese. It can also be read as “armed monks.”

Dana: Almsgiving and Generosity

 bù shī
 fuse
Dana: Almsgiving and Generosity Scroll

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:
(sometimes written ) 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.
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).

Chop Wood, Carry Water

Before enlightenment or after, chores remain.

 dùn wù zhī qián kǎn chái tiāo shuǐ dùn wù zhī hòu kǎn chái tiāo shuǐ
Chop Wood, Carry Water Scroll

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.


The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...

Title CharactersRomaji (Romanized Japanese)Various forms of Romanized Chinese
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
Buddhist Monk僧侶 / 僧侶
僧侶
sou ryo / souryo / so ryo
Monshu
Gate Keeper
門主
门主
monshumén zhǔ / men2 zhu3 / men zhu / menzhumen chu / menchu
Nichiren日蓮
日莲
nichi ren / nichirenrì lián / ri4 lian2 / ri lian / rilianjih lien / jihlien
The Saint
seishèng / sheng4 / sheng
Sanctified by God上帝使你神聖
上帝使你神圣
shèng dì shǐ nǐ shén shèng
sheng4 di4 shi3 ni3 shen2 sheng4
sheng di shi ni shen sheng
shengdishinishensheng
sheng ti shih ni shen sheng
shengtishihnishensheng
Taoist
Daoist
道士dou shi / doushi / do shidào shì / dao4 shi4 / dao shi / daoshitao shih / taoshih
Warrior Monk
Soldier Priest
藩士sou hei / souhei / so heisēng bīng
seng1 bing1
seng bing
sengbing
seng ping
sengping
Dana: Almsgiving and Generosity布施fusebù shī / bu4 shi1 / bu shi / bushipu shih / pushih
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
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.


Dictionary

Lookup Priest in my Japanese & Chinese Dictionary


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All of our calligraphy wall scrolls are handmade.

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.
After we create your wall scroll, it takes at least two weeks for air mail delivery from Beijing to you.

Allow a few weeks for delivery. Rush service speeds it up by a week or two for $10!

When you select your calligraphy, you'll be taken to another page where you can choose various custom options.


A nice Chinese calligraphy wall scroll

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.

A professional Chinese Calligrapher

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.

Trying to learn Chinese calligrapher - a futile effort

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.

A high-ranked Chinese master calligrapher that I met in Zhongwei

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 Priest Kanji, Priest Characters, Priest in Mandarin Chinese, Priest Characters, Priest in Chinese Writing, Priest in Japanese Writing, Priest in Asian Writing, Priest Ideograms, Chinese Priest symbols, Priest Hieroglyphics, Priest Glyphs, Priest in Chinese Letters, Priest Hanzi, Priest in Japanese Kanji, Priest Pictograms, Priest in the Chinese Written-Language, or Priest in the Japanese Written-Language.

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