What's in a name?
For the past few years I've been seriously considering changing my name. I've always hated my name and never felt like a "Jaime" I know it's a cool name and there are some pretty kick ass people with the same name, but it doesn't fit me. I also know that holding on to something like this is not good and I should be working towards freeing myself from such attachments. A name is a personal matter, people take great pride in their name or Last Name. I want to be able to have that same pride. I did some research and found one that I liked and just fit in a way. I looked up some Sanskrit names and stumbled upon Kamala. It means "Of the Lotus" and since I'm taking part in the One Year to Live exercise, it just felt like the right time and choice. As far as a middle name or last name, those details have not been ironed out just yet. A good friend suggested using names of people I admire and look up to. People who have inspired me along the way.
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4 comments:
My mother changed hear name about 15 years ago - it was a similar sense of her original name not fitting her. I think it makes sense, and it's also a practice in most spiritual traditions to rename people to mark their place on the path. I received the name Tokugo last November during the jukai ceremony at our zen center. It means "devoted to enlightment." Gotta like that :)
-Nathan-
That's awesome. I wasn't aware of it being a spiritual practice to mark their place on the path. I posted bout name changes in a Buddhist forum and got a few people riled up, ever since I've been timid about bringing it up or talking about it.
It just feels right, I don't know how else to explain it.
Peace,
-Kamala : )
People like to get riled up about anything and everything. Maybe some of them had valid issues, but my guess is that those issues had to do with spiritual name changes, lineages, and what a name change represents in Buddhist communities. There have been people who have claimed false dharma names, and say they are enlightened or spiritually "advanced," when they really just want to be viewed as some authority or sage.
Which is totally different, in my opinion, from your desire to change your given name to reflect more who you feel you have become. You're not claiming to be something you aren't - it's too bad those folks on the forum couldn't see this.
Nathan-
Thanks for your insight. Yeah, I guess people do go on power trips and like to claim that they're more advanced or whatever. So far I'm liking the name.
-K
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