Great Construction

The Ideograms for “God” and for “Buddha”

     It appears that interpretations for these two ideograms are not often seen. Since there are probably no other ideograms which receive such respect and yearning from human beings, there is a need to know something about them. I will give my appraisal of these meanings.
     To begin, the ideogram for “god” consists of two parts, the radical for “show” and the ideogram which means “say to a superior.” It does seem that most people are not able to interpret the ideogram for “say to a superior.” Here it does not mean the ninth zodiac sign of monkey. A vertical line goes directly through, above and below, the center of the ideogram for “rice field.” The ideogram for “rice field” is a circle with a balanced cross, or the ideogram for “ten,” inside. Since ten was started at the circle, a circle with a balanced cross is the earth, solid ground. As I always say, ten is the shape that unites vertical and horizontal. The vertical is fire; the horizontal, water; and together fire (ka in Japanese) and water (mi in Japanese) become kami, or god. The earth is controlled by God; it is the world of God. God has no beginning and no end, which is represented by the vertical line. Of course this meaning must be shown to humanity, thus the “show” radical.
     Next is the ideogram for “Buddha,” and this has the “human being radical,” so it shows that Buddha is the human being who has improved. The left side is sometimes read as “France” or “dollar,” but these pronunciations have no relation to its original meaning. The left side is formed by writing two vertical lines through the ideogram for “bow” (as with an arrow). Originally, the ideogram for “bow” meant “moon,” as the half moon is shaped like a “bow,” or what we now call the crescent moon. As I always explain, Buddhism is the teaching of “truth-ness,” “like the truth,” which is the teaching of the moon. Over this ideogram is written two vertical lines, a loosened or softened version of ten, the balanced cross. The language spirit of “buddha” [hotoke] is “loosening” [hodoge] and that of god is “connecting” as I always explain.
     Another significance of these two vertical lines in the ideogram for “buddha” is that Buddhism is the teaching of the sutra, whose ideogram is the same as that for “vertical” and there is no horizontal aspect. The vertical stands for spirit, so becomes a denial of materialism, which is represented in the asceticism of Buddhism, in the ascetic mountain priests, and in the practices of Zen.
     I do hope this helps.

Hikari, Issue 30, October 8, 1949
    translated by cynndd

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“Kami to Hotoke no Moji,” which was published originally in the newspaper Hikari, Issue 30, October 8, 1949, and later, while Meishu-sama still alive, reprinted in the essays anthology Goshinsho: Shūkyō-hen (Divine Writings: Volume on Religion), March 25, 1954, page 503, has appeared in translation. Citation is given below for reference.

“The Chinese Characters Meaning God and Buddha,” A Hundred Teachings of Meishusama, no date, page 52.