It Is All In The Name
I have been watching a series on Apple TV called The Morning Show, starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon as the anchors of a morning show similar to the Today Show. Witherspoon is a new hire at the morning show based in New York so she has to relocate from Virginia. Aniston is the established veteran while Witherspoon is the rebel newcomer.
I usually watch TV with the subtitles turned on and I have noticed how the lyrics of the soundtrack matches the scene which are also displayed as subtitles. When Witherspoon first enters the New York offices, the song Creep by Radiohead begins to play with these lyrics scrolling beneath her.
But I’m a creep
I’m a weirdo
What the hell am I doin’ here
I don’t belong here
This is her theme song. It is who her character is. They tell this to you directly. It is obvious from this who she is and the role she will play in the story. Notice in the promo image above, the distance between Witherspoon on the left and Aniston on the right, along with her ex-cohost Steve Carell who Witherspoon will replace soon.
This also occurs often with the names of movie and TV characters. We can see many examples of this in the Star Wars universe. Notice that “Hans Solo” is the lone wolf, he is independent and likes to go “solo”. There is also “Darth Vader”, the character of the “Dark Father”. “Darth” is a variation of “Dark” and “Vader” is Dutch for “Father”. And of course, the name “Luke Skywalker” is obvious and needs no explanation. “Luke Skywalker” is a “Sky Walker”.
This means that artists work very hard to ensure that their message is received by the viewer. This also occurs with Buddhist sutras. We can see this throughout the Larger Sutra. Nothing is hidden. It is all there in plain sight for the reader to experience.
In the beginning of the Larger Sutra, we meet a worldly king who shall remain nameless. This is a bit unusual but he represents all of us, any of us. In a sense he has no spiritual identity yet. Thus, he has no name.
Then he meets a great Buddha name Lokeśvararāja. This is a Sanskrit name so it’s meaning is not obvious to us. But as we study this text we learn that this name too reveals the type of Buddha we are being introduced to. “Loka” means “worldly”, “Vara” means “to have mastered” and “Raja” means “King”. Thus, the name “Lokeśvararāja” is signaling to us that this great Buddha is one who has transcended all worldly things.
This worldly king then praises this great Buddha in the Sanbutsuge, proclaims his intention to also become a Buddha by stating 48 spiritual vows in the Shijūhachigan and repeating his intentions in the Jūseige. And now he has been given a name. It is a Buddhist name. Not a descriptive name but an aspirational name. He is now known as Dharmakara.
This name is also packed with meaning. The first half of his name is “Dharma”. This is the teachings or true reality itself. “Kara” has the meaning of a “Storehouse”. In a sense, when Dharmakara realizes his spiritual goal he will then realize and release the Dharma to all others. He will become the timeless source of the Dharma.
And when he realizes this goal after many, many kalpas or eons of practice, he will receive yet another name. We say this name often. In short, it is Amida Buddha. Again, we can parse this name to find its meaning. “A’ is a negator just like in English. For example, if someone is atypical then this means they are not typical. And “mida” is the Sanskrit root for the English word “meter” and means “to measure”. We now have “Amida Buddha” as the “Immeasurable Buddha”.
We can also find the meaning in “Namoamidabutsu” in this way as well. “Namo” comes from the Sanskrit word “Namah” which means to “Bow”. “Amida” is “Immeasurable” and “Butsu” is the Chinese pronunciation of the word “Buddha”. When we say “Namoamidabutsu” we are affirming that our finite selves are in the embrace of the infinite. We are so overwhelmed by this reality of our lives that we are compelled to bow. Gratitude is the only appropriate response to this state of affairs.
It is one that we have not achieved on our own, there are no requirements or prerequisites for this relationship. It is one that has been gifted to us – all of us. This is much different than other spiritual traditions, I recently read this quotation from a New York Times essay by retiring Rabbi David Wolpe, titled As a Rabbi, I’ve Had a Privileged View of the Human Condition.
“No religious tradition, certainly not my own, looks at an individual and says: ‘There. You are perfect.’”
www.nytimes.com/2023/07/02/opinion/rabbi-retirement-lessons.html
I was happy to say that I do know of such a religious tradition. It is my own and it is due to the Dharma Storehouse being opened to each and every one of us – just as we are. It is all in the name.
Namoamidabutsu, Rev Jon Turner
