What's in a Name? Seeking help on naming a Buddhist Blog.

[Tom]

Dear All,

Hope you'll forgive my presumption in asking for help after chronically lurking for so long. (Weirdly, I've felt a bit shy about talking about Zen teachings.) I'm trying to think of a name for a little Blog and journal I want to start on my travels in Zen and other things (stoicism), along the lines of 'growing pains of a dharma farmer.'

In coming years, I want to use the Blog for several things. I want to explore the Pali Canon (http://palicanon.org) and old Buddhist stories like the Jataka tales. Given once upon a time Chinese monks had to walk for years through bandit-infested mountain ranges accompanied by pig and monkey spirits, it's amazing cool we can just download the scriptures. Then there's the Shobogenzo (http://http://thezensite.com/ZenTeachings/Dogen_Teachings/Shobogenzo_Complete.html), of course. Finally, I want to track where teachings like Stoicism and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy collide with Buddhism.

There's always a danger of getting trapped in thoughts and the academic game. But academic study is a valid part of the path, as long as we don't get caught up in it or forget to just sit, avoid harm, divisive speech etc.

"I don't recommend any imagery of rains, moons, winds, waves or misty Chinese mountain tops," said one elderly Zen teacher, "they've all been done. In the '70s." Indeed, my first thoughts were names like 'Dharma Rain' (done), 'Broken Moon' (done), Untangled Vines (done.). My next thought was 'Dogen's Bogan' - Bogan being a kind of irreverent term for Australian white trash with no taste, often used affectionately between friends (you're such a Bogan in those 80s acid-wash jeans, Jundo.)

So here's the shortlist:

Chasing Tumbleweed. Some Christians have beaten me to it, but they seem to be a forgiving lot. http://community.church/chasing-tumbleweeds-tumbleweed/

Arrowroot and Wisteria. This is a line from the Shobogenzo (I think), which many here will know. It sprang from 'Untangled Vines', the idea being that we're hoping to untangle the infernal Arrowroot and Wisteria of Dhukka.

Slouching Towards Mu. We don't seem to be so big on Mu at Treeleaf (for Vegans throw in moo too), but the name captures imperfect and stumbling efforts to get there and sneaks in a Yeats reference.

My current favorite:

Fragments and Mud. We're looking for fragments in the mud which we then try to piece together. With our imperfect understandings and habitual states of mind, the teachings are only fragments in the mud until we put them together like a jigsaw puzzle.

But is mud too icky an image?

Thoughts and votes much welcomed.

Tom

[Jishin]

Hi,

Name for blog:

Name

Gasho, Jishin, _/st\_

[Jundo]

I like 'Dogen's Bogan' [morehappy]

Gassho, Jundo

STLah

[Gero]

Yep, "Dogen's Bogan" is my favourite, too. :encouragement:

I think it depends on your motivation for blogging. Some bloggers write for themselves and just need the encouragement for discipline which is needed when going public (posting regularly, making sure to critically proof read every line and so on).
Others start blogging because they feel a need to share or interact with their readers.

If your main objective is to share/interact, I think a name which clearly points to the topic will be helpful to lead many Google searches to your blog. So "Arrowroot and Wisteria" might attract people already well versed in the Shobogenzo ... or most likely people googling for gardening tips. So including "Dogen" in the title will surely be helpful to let people interested in Soto know about your writings.

Just my thoughts - digital marketing is not my field of work.

And by the way: there are so many quotes by Marcus Aurelius which might just as well be Zen as Stoicism, so I am looking forward to reading your views about differences and similarities.

Gassho

Gero (sat today / lah)

[Tom]

Hi Gero, Jundo,

Many thanks. Motivation: a journal to track my journey, not forget as much as I have, and a routine to keep me on track in the scholastics bit of practice. As a teenager I wanted to be a 'writer'; I later found being a journalist gave me deadlines and an audience to communicate with, which kept me going. Then there's also just exploring the scriptures. As mentioned, we can now summon the Pali Canon at a finger click.

If it's useful to others, even better.

I also feel the responsibility to 'own' and internalize the teachings and be able to explain them in a non-Buddhist, secular way. One idea for a thread on Treeleaf was Buddhist references in pop culture. ie 'Everybody Hurts' - the band R.E.M., 'You can't take it with you,' - song by Australian singer Paul Kelly on impermanence. Star Wars - fuggedhaboutit - so many.

On Stoics, yes, I'm not sure who cribbed whose study notes. (There's a theory there may be a common point of origin in Buddhist and Stoic Teachings: the Persian Empire and Zoroastrianism. Mara bears an uncanny resemblance to 'Ahriman', the Zoroastrian devil, where there isn't a single one in the Vedas or the Hindu tradition, rather dozens of supernatural nasties.) For a quick start, just compare Epicetus's 'Enchiridion,' and the Dhammapadda, both short and succinct.

Ok, the title will be:

Dogen's Bogan, untangling the Arrowroot and Wisteria: growing pains of a wannabe Dharma Farmer.

Gassho

SAT, LAH.

[Tom]

Hi,

Name for blog:

Name

Gasho, Jishin, _/st\_

thanks, you mean, Blog with No Name, like the Man with No Name from that late 60s cowboy movie?

Gassho,

Tom

[Jishin]

thanks, you mean, Blog with No Name, like the Man with No Name from that late 60s cowboy movie?

Gassho,

Tom

5588

No blog. No name. Just name.

Gasho, Jishin, _/st\_

[Tom]

thanks Jishin, noted!
SAT, LAH.

[Jishin]

:)

[Nengei]

I'm not sure who cribbed whose study notes.

Or that either cheated. Insightful wisdom comes from reflective practice. Sympatheia is emptiness. The rest is adornment.

Gassho,
然芸 Nengei
Sat today. LAH.
You deserve to be happy.
You deserve to be loved.

[Tom]

[QUOTE=Nengei;237741]Or that either cheated. Insightful wisdom comes from reflective practice. Sympatheia is emptiness. The rest is adornment.

Hi Nengei, didn't mean that either cheated, just a figure of speech. They seem to have come to a similar place independently, but the paralells are quiet striking in parts, sometimes seems too close to be a coincidence.

Gassho,
Tom
Sat, LAH

[Kyonin]

Hi Tom,

It depends on your personality, really. In my case, my blog is Chocobuda. It's a mix of Chocolate and Buda (Buddha, in Spanish). That's because once upon a time I bought a small Buddha statue that looked like if it was made of chocolate. This Buddha sits with me wherever I go, so I called him Chocobuda.

When I created my blog I used this name because to me Buddhism is sweet and joyful. And this set the tone for my blog.

So, go with a light heart, a little humor, a little of whatever is next to you right now and you may find the perfect name.

Gassho,

Kyonin
Sat/LAH

[Tom]

Chocobuda. Love it :).

I'm going with Dogen's Bogan, Kyonin. And yes, sweet, joyful, light-hearted and playful is the tone I like.

Gassho,

SAT, LAH.



Hi Tom,

It depends on your personality, really. In my case, my blog is Chocobuda. It's a mix of Chocolate and Buda (Buddha, in Spanish). That's because once upon a time I bought a small Buddha statue that looked like if it was made of chocolate. This Buddha sits with me wherever I go, so I called him Chocobuda.

When I created my blog I used this name because to me Buddhism is sweet and joyful. And this set the tone for my blog.

So, go with a light heart, a little humor, a little of whatever is next to you right now and you may find the perfect name.

Gassho,

Kyonin
Sat/LAH

[Heiso]

Ha, Dogen's Bogan is good - I'd like to submit 'What Would Dogen Do' but then I guess we might get accused of worshipping Dogen.

Gassho,

Neil

SatToday

[Tom]

Neil,

Well, it be broader than Zen. More like nestled in Zen, looking out at the world, including Buddhism, stoicism, psychology and random things. (Zen is the world, of course, blahdy blah.)

One goal will be to work my way through the Pali Canon and Shobogenzo, noting paralells with other great teachings when they appear, although Shobo seems to be an entity unto itself. This morning, for example, a comment on a Zen thread echoed that famous and lovely line from Corinthians. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%2013&version=NIV

What would Dogen do with the internet? Shobo might not've been written, perhaps only possible in the relative isolation of his time, hence our teachers firm insistence on respecting the boundaries of Soto Zen, ie don't play cricket at a basketball game.

Gassho, Tom
SAT, LAH


Ha, Dogen's Bogan is good - I'd like to submit 'What Would Dogen Do' but then I guess we might get accused of worshipping Dogen.

Gassho,

Neil

SatToday

[Shinshi]

I might have gone with:

"The blog of the Sideways Man" :)

Gassho, Shinshi

SaT-LaH

[Kokuu]

I like 'Growing pains of a dharma farmer' but Dogen's Bogan works (you might need to let readers outside of Australia know what a bogan is!).

My own blog is called Zen and illness. I tend to keep things simple and searchable.

Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday-

[Heiso]

Neil,

Well, it be broader than Zen. More like nestled in Zen, looking out at the world, including Buddhism, stoicism, psychology and random things. (Zen is the world, of course, blahdy blah.)

One goal will be to work my way through the Pali Canon and Shobogenzo, noting paralells with other great teachings when they appear, although Shobo seems to be an entity unto itself. This morning, for example, a comment on a Zen thread echoed that famous and lovely line from Corinthians. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%2013&version=NIV

What would Dogen do with the internet? Shobo might not've been written, perhaps only possible in the relative isolation of his time, hence our teachers firm insistence on respecting the boundaries of Soto Zen, ie don't play cricket at a basketball game.

Gassho, Tom
SAT, LAH

That sounds fascinating. I have an interest in the Stoics too so will be keeping an eye out for your posts.

Gassho,

Neil

SatToday

[Jishin]

Hi! Welcome to my blog. I hope you will enjoy your stay.

Before beginning the blog I decided to asks some friends who share some of the same ideas about Buddhism what I should call my blog. I explained to them the concepts I would want to discuss such as xyz. We kicked around a number of possible names but none seemed just quite right. The Tao Te Ching, the ancient book of wisdom puts it something like “if it can be named, that’s not it.”

I realized that it is difficult to write or name anything without creating duality and duality is something that can cause a lot of suffering. Buddhism tries to minimize suffering and one of the ways is by minimizing duality. So I was stuck. I had to name my blog something to give people an idea of what it would be about all the while trying to avoid dualism. The choices came down to “No Name” and “Name”. Both choices are excellent because they minimize the duality created when using words but I settled on “Name” because “No Name” has a qualifier and is more removed from truth then a simpler just “Name”. So that is how I came up with “Name”. Now let’s get down to business and talk about all of that jazz with the waves and the sea, etc.....

Gasho, Jishin, _/st\_5590

[Tom]

Shinshi,

That'd work as a name :). I've tried to put the photo right-side up, can't seem to figure it out.

Tom

Gassho, SAT, LAH, Tom


I might have gone with:

"The blog of the Sideways Man" :)

Gassho, Shinshi

SaT-LaH

[Tom]

Ah, got it, thanks, all: )
Gassho,
Tom,
SAT, LAH.

[6yx]

Google "words that catch attention and get clicks". It'll give you ideas on how to bring people to your blog, and attempt assurance if success.

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