Buy a Supreme calligraphy wall scroll here!
Personalize your custom “Supreme” project by clicking the button next to your favorite “Supreme” title below...
大乘無上法 means the supreme Mahāyāna truth.
This refers to the ultimate reality in contrast with the temporary and apparent. Other translations include “the reliance on the power of the vow of the bodhisattva” or “the peerless great vehicle teaching.”
Note: This may suggest that Mahayana Buddhism, as practiced in China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and other regions is superior (with subtle arrogance) to the original Theravada (or old school) Buddhism. Mahayana and Theravada Buddhists generally get along better than Catholics and Protestants, but there have been schisms.
The Bodhi or 菩提 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 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 a tree at the end, please see the Bodhi Tree entry.
See Also: Buddhism | Buddha | Nirvana | Enlightenment
Supreme / Highest
最高 means the highest level, supreme, top, the most, or the best.
Depending on the context, it can mean the most expensive or highest quality.
菩提心 means Bodhi-mind or Bodhi-heart.
This title represents the will to realize supreme enlightenment. The awakening of the Bodhi-mind is of utmost importance in Buddhist training.
Other definitions include the mind for or of bodhi, the awakened, enlightened mind, or having Buddha-nature.
悉達多 is the name Siddhartha (as in Siddhartha Gautama), the personal name for Śākyamuni.
This same Buddha is also known as “Shakyamuni Gautama,” “Gotama Buddha,” or “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.
The actual meaning of this name in Chinese is the realization of all aims, or simply being prosperous.
This name is sometimes romanized from the original Sanskrit or Pali as Siddhattha (from Siddhattha Gotama), Siddharth, Siddhārtha, or Sarvāthasiddha.
Siddhārtha or Sarvāthasiddha can also be written as 悉達, 悉多, 悉多頞他, or 悉陀.
釋迦牟尼 is a transliteration of “Shakyamuni” or “Sakyamuni” in Chinese, Japanese, and old Korean.
The perceived meaning of the name is roughly translated as “Sage of the Sakyas.”
This same Buddha is also known as “Siddhartha Gautama,” “Gotama Buddha,” “Tathagata,” or simply, “The Supreme Buddha.”
Shakyamuni 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).
Note: 釋迦牟尼 came from the Sanskrit शाक्यमुनि and can also be romanized with diuretics as Śākyamuni.
虚実 is a Japanese word that means “falsehood [and] truth” or “fiction [and] fact.”
This concept is used in warfare, gameplay, and martial arts strategies. 虚実 can be a strategy of real and/or deceptive moves. This gets to some Sun Tzu Art of War stuff where in warfare a strategic move is either a real and serious move or it is a deceptive blow.
Let's explore each character in more depth:
虚 was originally written 虛 (there is a very subtle difference in the strokes at the bottom of the character) and means unpreparedness, falsehood, emptiness, void, abstract theory, empty or unoccupied, diffident or timid, false, humble or modest, virtual, or in vain.
In the Buddhist context, 虛 represents the Pali/Sanskrit word “śūnya,” meaning empty, vacant, unreal, unsubstantial, untrue, space, humble, or in vain.
In ancient Eastern/Chinese astronomy, 虛 represents the “Emptiness” constellation (one of the 28 mansions in the sky).
実 was originally 實 in Chinese (they currently write it as 实 in Simplified Chinese) with the meaning, truth, reality, sincerity, honesty, fidelity, and substance.
The Buddhist context is similar, adding real, true, honest, really, solid, definitely, sincere, solid, fixed, full, to fill, fruit, kernel, verily, in fact, the supreme fact, or ultimate reality to the definition.
The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
The Supreme Mahayana Truth | 大乘無上法 大乘无上法 | dai jou mu jou hou daijoumujouhou dai jo mu jo ho | dà shèng wú shàng fǎ da4 sheng4 wu2 shang4 fa3 da sheng wu shang fa dashengwushangfa | ta sheng wu shang fa tashengwushangfa |
Bodhi - Awakening Enlightenment | 菩提 | bodai | pú tí / pu2 ti2 / pu ti / puti | p`u t`i / puti / pu ti |
Great Wisdom | 大智 | daichi | dà zhì / da4 zhi4 / da zhi / dazhi | ta chih / tachih |
Feeling of Bliss | 至福感 | shi fuku kan shifukukan | ||
Simply the Best | 最高 | sai kou / saikou / sai ko | zuì gāo / zui4 gao1 / zui gao / zuigao | tsui kao / tsuikao |
Family Over Everything | 家庭至上 | jiā tíng zhì shàng jia1 ting2 zhi4 shang4 jia ting zhi shang jiatingzhishang | chia t`ing chih shang chiatingchihshang chia ting chih shang |
|
The Bodhi Mind | 菩提心 | bo dai shin bodaishin | pú tí xīn pu2 ti2 xin1 pu ti xin putixin | p`u t`i hsin putihsin pu ti hsin |
Siddhartha | 悉達多 悉达多 | shiddatta / shiddaruta | xī dá duō xi1 da2 duo1 xi da duo xidaduo | hsi ta to hsitato |
Shakyamuni The Buddha | 釋迦牟尼 释迦牟尼 | sha ka mu ni shakamuni | shì jiā móu ní shi4 jia1 mou2 ni2 shi jia mou ni shijiamouni | shih chia mou ni shihchiamouni |
Kyojitsu: Falsehood and Truth | 虚実 | kyo jitsu / kyojitsu | ||
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. |
Successful Chinese Character and Japanese Kanji calligraphy searches within the last few hours...
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 Supreme Kanji, Supreme Characters, Supreme in Mandarin Chinese, Supreme Characters, Supreme in Chinese Writing, Supreme in Japanese Writing, Supreme in Asian Writing, Supreme Ideograms, Chinese Supreme symbols, Supreme Hieroglyphics, Supreme Glyphs, Supreme in Chinese Letters, Supreme Hanzi, Supreme in Japanese Kanji, Supreme Pictograms, Supreme in the Chinese Written-Language, or Supreme in the Japanese Written-Language.
69 people have searched for Supreme in Chinese or Japanese in the past year.
Supreme was last searched for by someone else on Mar 7th, 2025