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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.
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According to historical documents, the Nichiren sect was established in 1252.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.
Also a sect of Buddhism
淨土 literally means “pure land” or “clean earth.”
淨土 is also the abbreviated title of a Buddhist sect that involves faith in the rebirth of Buddha Amitabha (Amitābha) in the Western Heaven. Sometimes this sect is translated as “Paradise of the West.” Other titles of this school of Buddhism include Amidism or Elysium.
See Also: Nirvana | Shin Buddhism
禪宗 is one way to title “Zen Buddhism.” Because the original pronunciation of Zen in Chinese is Chan, you'll also see this expressed as Chan Buddhism.
From the Buddhist Dictionary:
The Chan, meditative or intuitional, sect is usually said to have been established in China by Bodhidharma, the twenty-eighth patriarch, who brought the tradition of the Buddha-mind from India. This sect, believing in direct enlightenment, disregarded ritual and sūtras and depended upon the inner light and personal influence for the propagation of its tenets, founding itself on the esoteric tradition supposed to have been imparted to Kāśyapa by the Buddha, who indicated his meaning by plucking a flower without further explanation. Kāśyapa smiled in apprehension and is supposed to have passed on this mystic method to the patriarchs. The successor of Bodhidharma was 慧可 Huike, and he was succeeded by 僧璨 Sengcan, 道信 Daoxin, 弘忍 Hongren, 慧能 Huineng, and 神秀 Shenxiu, the sect dividing under the two latter into the southern and northern schools: the southern school became prominent, producing 南嶽 Nanyue and 靑原 Qingyuan, the former succeeded by 馬祖 Mazu, the latter by 石頭 Shitou. From Mazu's school arose the five later schools.
宗家 is a Japanese word that means “head of the family” or “originator.”
In Chinese, this is an honor name for Shandao (善導), a writer of commentaries on the sutras of the Pure Land sect of Buddhism.
真 is a simple way to express the idea that something is real, true, truth, or genuine.
Occasionally, this character refers to a Buddhist sect that originated in the 13th century.
真 is commonly used as a compound with other characters to create ideas like “true love.” It's also used similarly to the English words “really” or “truly” to say “really good” or “He is really knowledgeable.” Those phrases start with “他真的是... (note the second character is 真).
There are two ways to write this character, shown here is the most common way in China; however, a slight stroke variation is used in Korean Hanja. If you want that version, just let us know when you place your order.
See Also: Honesty
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
門 is the Chinese, Japanese Kanji, and old Korean Hanja for gate, door, gateway, doorway, opening, entrance, valve, or switch.
Most commonly, this is simply a gate or door.
門 is also a Chinese surname that romanizes as Men.
In Japanese, this can be surnames romanizing as Yuki, Mon, To, or Kado.
In the Buddhist context, beyond meaning a door or gate, this can be a counter for a Buddhist sect, teaching, or school (we might say “slice” of bread, this would be a “gate” of teaching). In this way, it kind of refers to one of several doors that lead to salvation or nirvana.
真如 comes from the Sanskrit and Pali word often romanized as “tathata” or “tathatā.” Originally written, “तथता.”
It's a Buddhist term often translated as “thusness” or “suchness,” but this does not explain it.
A better explanation may be “the ultimate nature of all things” or “ultimate truth.” However, this gives it too strong of a feeling. This concept is sometimes described as being in awe of the simple nature of something - like a blade of grass blowing in the wind or ripples on water. It is what it is supposed to be, these things follow their nature. Amazing in their mundane simplicity.
Every sect of Buddhism will have a slightly different flavor or explanation, so don't get fixated on one definition.
Notes: Sometimes Buddhists use the word dharmatā, a synonym to tathatā.
In Japan, this can also be the female given name Mayuki, or the surname Majo.
...as in Zen Buddhism
First, let's correct something: The Japanese romanization for this character, “Zen” has penetrated the English language. In English, it's almost always incorrectly used for phrases like “That's so zen.” Nobody says, “That's so meditation” - right? As the title of a sect, this would be like saying, “That's so Baptist!"
禪 by itself just means “meditation.” In that context, it should not be confined to use by any one religion or sect.
Regardless of the dictionary definition, more often than not, this character is associated with Buddhism. And here is one of the main reasons:
Zen is used as the title of a branch of Mahayana Buddhism, which strongly emphasizes meditation practice.
However, it should be noted that Buddhism came from India, and “Chan Buddhism” evolved and developed in medieval China. The Chinese character “Chan” was eventually pronounced as “Zen” in Japanese. Chan Buddhists in China have much in common with Zen Buddhists in Japan.
More about the history of Zen Buddhism here.
Please also note that the Japanese Kanji character for Zen has evolved a little in Japan, and the two boxes (kou) that you see at the top of the right side of the character have been replaced by three dots with tails.
The original character would still be generally understood and recognized in Japanese (it's considered an ancient version in Japan) but if you want the specifically modern Japanese version, please click on the zen Kanji to the right. Technically, there is no difference between the Tensho and Reisho versions of Zen since they are ancient character styles that existed long before Japan had a written language.
There is also an alternate/shorthand/simplified Chinese version, which has two dots or tails above the right-side radical. This version is also popular for calligraphy in China. If you want this version, just click the character to the right.
Further notes: Zen is just one of seven sects of Buddhism practiced in Japan. The others are 律 Ritsu (or Risshū), 法相 Hossō, 論 Sanron 華嚴 Kegon, 天台 Tendai, and 眞言 Shingon.
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
Shiite sect of Islam | 什葉派 什叶派 | shí yè pài shi2 ye4 pai4 shi ye pai shiyepai | shih yeh p`ai shihyehpai shih yeh pai |
|
Sunni sect of Islam | 遜尼派 逊尼派 | xùn ní pài xun4 ni2 pai4 xun ni pai xunnipai | hsün ni p`ai hsünnipai hsün ni pai |
|
Monshu Gate Keeper | 門主 门主 | monshu | mén zhǔ / men2 zhu3 / men zhu / menzhu | men chu / menchu |
Nichiren | 日蓮 日莲 | nichi ren / nichiren | rì lián / ri4 lian2 / ri lian / rilian | jih lien / jihlien |
Pure Land Jodo | 淨土 净土 | jou do / joudo / jo do | jìng tǔ / jing4 tu3 / jing tu / jingtu | ching t`u / chingtu / ching tu |
Zen Buddhism | 禪宗 禅宗 | zen shuu / zenshuu / zen shu | chán zōng chan2 zong1 chan zong chanzong | ch`an tsung chantsung chan tsung |
Soke Shuke | 宗家 | Shuuke / Shuke | zōng jiā / zong1 jia1 / zong jia / zongjia | tsung chia / tsungchia |
True Real Genuine | 真 or 眞 真 | shin / makoto | zhēn / zhen1 / zhen | chen |
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 |
Gate | 門 门 | mon | mén / men2 / men | |
Tathata Ultimate Nature of All Things | 真如 | shinnyo | zhēn rú / zhen1 ru2 / zhen ru / zhenru | chen ju / chenju |
Zen Chan Meditation | 禪 禅 | zen | chán / chan2 / chan | ch`an / chan |
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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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.
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 Sect Kanji, Sect Characters, Sect in Mandarin Chinese, Sect Characters, Sect in Chinese Writing, Sect in Japanese Writing, Sect in Asian Writing, Sect Ideograms, Chinese Sect symbols, Sect Hieroglyphics, Sect Glyphs, Sect in Chinese Letters, Sect Hanzi, Sect in Japanese Kanji, Sect Pictograms, Sect in the Chinese Written-Language, or Sect in the Japanese Written-Language.