Dharma Name Generator

A dharma name is the name a Buddhist practitioner receives from a teacher when taking refuge, precepts or ordination. It marks a new identity and usually describes a quality the teacher hopes the student will grow into. In Tibetan Buddhism the name is normally two words, often beginning with a syllable from the teacher's own name (Tenzin, Lobsang, Ngawang, Karma) followed by a virtue or auspicious word: Pema (lotus), Dorje (vajra), Yeshe (wisdom), Chödrön (dharma lamp), Wangmo (powerful woman). Pema Chödrön and Tenzin Palmo are well-known Western examples.

Japanese Zen names are two kanji read together (Shunryu, 'excellent emerald'; Kōshō, 'shining voice'; Ryōkan, 'good and generous'), and Chinese Chan and Korean Seon follow the same two-character pattern (Xuyun, 'empty cloud'; Seung Sahn). Theravada monks take Pali names such as Sumedho (wise), Anālayo (without attachment) or Ñāṇamoli (crown of knowledge), while lay Pali names draw on the ten perfections: Mettā, Khanti, Sīla, Saddhā. Plum Village names begin with Chân (True) plus a quality, often translated directly, e.g. True Emptiness or True Peaceful Dwelling.

Hindu spiritual names work similarly: sannyasis in the Dashanami order add -ananda (bliss) to a quality (Vivekananda, 'bliss of discernment'; Sivananda), and Vaishnava initiates take a name of God plus Das or Dasi (servant), as in Govinda Das or Radha Priya Dasi. A good dharma name is short, meaningful, and pronounceable in the community that will use it.