On 'Taking Refuge'

namu — Taking Refuge.

On the origin

A Chinese transliteration of the Sanskrit namas / namo (“salutation, homage, surrender”). It is the word of refuge, placed before the name of what one entrusts oneself to — as in Namu Amida Butsu, Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, Namu Sambo. Not a line from a single koan or sutra, but a term running through all of Buddhism.

On the reading

To lower the head and entrust oneself. The word that sets down what was carried, and turns toward. Spoken not to gain anything, but to open the hand that grasps. Before its meaning, there is a posture.

On the garment

The seal for this phrase was hand-carved in Tokyo by the artist Satake Hōsen. The front carries this phrase’s seal; the back and inside label carry the Hōsen seal (寳千), printed in vermilion.

The garment is Bella + Canvas 3001 (short sleeve) or Gildan 2400 (long sleeve). A vessel for the word, not the subject itself.

― hosen, tokyo