Dharma name

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A Dharma name (J. kaimyō) is a new name acquired during a Buddhist refuge ceremony such as jukai. The name is traditionally given by a high-ranking Buddhist monastic.

If the student doesn't have a relationship with the monastic teacher and the ceremony is a public one with a congregation present, their new name will tend to reflect the lineage/tradition rather than the individual person. When it is given by a monastic who knows the disciple, however, the name is often tailor-made.

Dharma names are generally in the language of the Buddhist tradition, for example Tibetan Buddhists are given a name in Tibetan, Zen Buddhists are often named in Japanese.^[1] People in the Karma Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism are often given the name Karma.