On the selection of Dharma Names for the Jukai of Jaren Hoppe-Leonard, Ken Oates, and Anne Mickkelson on October 29, 2016.
When I was thinking about names for you three, I was noticing that all three of you, different as you are in many ways, share in common a tremendous degree of sincerity and whole heartedness. I was tryiing to think of how to acknowledge that in your names. I looked at the Japanese character for "sincerity" and somehow that wasn't quite right, but flipping through the little Dharma Names dictionary I have I ran into the perfect character (which was new to me): it's Jun which in modern Japanese means "purity" in modern Japanese but our names book says in the context of Dharma Names it means "pure hearted" - it's radical root is the water character and it includes elements of the child, and a kettle lid. So the water energy of enthusiastic children about to boil over with their joy?
Anyway I put "jun" in all 3 of your names to mark this. So you're like cousins with the same name now.
Jaren, your name Junryū Shinchi - Junryū means pure-hearted willow. Like a willow tree. I thought that would be a good tree for you. I tried to put a picture of a Willow on your rakusu, kind of dancing. Willows are rooted and strong and can grow in wet conditions but they're also flexible and know how to dance. And Shinchi means the wisdom or knowledge of the body. Using these Chinese charaters in our names there are lots of ways to interpret them into English and I'm thinking "Pure Hearted Willow, Wisdom in the Body" or maybe "Body of Wisdom" or perhaps that's the trajectory i hope for you - a growing into your body of wisdom because it's already there anyway that wisdom in the body, in the heart. It's been a journey of discovery already for you these last 4 or 5 years and I've felt really blessed to be included in that. I'm also so moved by your sincerity and your willingness to turn towards whatever it is that happening with curiosity and interest. Plus when you get confused and overwhelmed it's easy to support you because you get so sweet and warm.Now today we reach this point of the process of your wisdom body's unfolding. Wonderful.
Ken, your name Junka Shirin again begins with the same "Jun" but instead of Junryū, Junka. Ka is a multilayered character meaning to carry things or to care for things, one translation has it meaning specifically to carry things on your shoulders and the top portion of the character is like a bamboo pole that you rest on your shoulders to carry loads. I'm going caregiver here, not just because of your profession as a doctor where I am completely sure you care for people with a lot of heart and kindness but the way you care for everyone in your life with such devotion and willingness. Literally carrying them on your shoulders. In our modern society we have concerns about boundaries and co-dependency and so on, and rightly so, but I know you are completely willing to carry everything that needs carrying but with the wisdom of doing that in a skillful way that benefits the person your helping without the messiness of intrustive helping or overdoing it. And yet we do need to understand the emptiness of our helping. It can't be ME carrying all the loads so your second two characters Shirin mean resting in the forest stopping in the forest. And to encourage you to practice deeply with this I wrote on your rakusu "resting in the forest, caring for the whole world." so we're always helping whether the pole's on the shoulders or not. Those are strong shoulders and I admire your spirit very much. And actually now that we're paying more and more attention to gender roles and our various biases and blind spots there I also want to honor what a good man you are. We're lucky to have you as a pillar in our sangha and today we all get to celebrate that.
Anne, your name Tojun Kakuyō also includes the "jun" character. Tojun. The "to" means companion. And that's such a big part of your current and past life and I'm sure your future life. You are such a good companion for everyone. Everyone. Your husband through so many adventures which you wrote about so beautifully in your book. Your kids and grandkids and friends and the people who worked with you in your restaurants and I'm sure a MILLION other projects and adventures and chapters of life that I don't know about yet. So a warm-hearted companion. And yet you are so much more than that so I'm glad in our lineage family we have two more characters so I could say something in your name about your bright spirit. Kakuyō means Crane Dancing. Like those amazing crested cranes who to the dancing as part of their mating ritual. Such joy and leaps and enthusiasm. As you'll see on your rakusu I've tried to do a little dancing crane art to encouage you to stay always in touch with the dancing crane in you. I am so grateful that you are sharing your warm companionship and your dancing crane spirit with us in the sangha here and everyone you come in touch with.
