Keisho Ananda

I am Keisho Ananda / Dhammacakkhu Ananda, an ordained Sensei (Anagarika) or Dhamma Teacher and Shamana or Monk in the Hongaku Jodo Compassionate Lotus Tradition, and a member of the Hongaku Peacemaker Sangha.

Names mean a lot. They are to be aspirations or statements of the truth. Because I am a member of a Japanese tradition organization I received a Japanese first name and a Pali last name. In my tradition, we always get the name of the person who ordained or taught us and I was mentored and ordained by Sensei Mui Ananda. My first name, Keisho, means “Promoter of Wisdom” and Ananda means “Ultimate Bliss”. In Theravada the closest to that would be Dhammacakkhu Ananda (“Blissful” “Eye of Wisdom”) and that is a mouthful.

In Hongaku Buddhism the title Anagarika is given to a teacher of the Dharma. The reason for this is simple. Traditionally an anagarika is a position between laity and full monasticism. In the Japanese trend of Buddhism almost all teachers and “monks” are actually anagarikas. Zen and Tendai monks as well as Jodo priests, no matter how many vows they have taken are not monks. They can marry, have sexual relations, handle money and in many respects are as much laypersons as they are clergy. Technically, they are anagarikas who are using the word “monk” to describe themselves. Hence, I am an Anagarika but also received a second ordination as a Samana.