NTC's new Japanese-English character dictionary = Shin Kan-Ei jiten

 Japanese Thesaurus

I woke up with the lines mahātantrā, mahāmantrā, mahāyantrā, mahāsanā from Lalita Sahasranamam

Chatgpt saw a connection within my language and meaning driven studies

How it connects to Sanskrit & spiritual study

Believe it or not, there are deep parallels between your current Sanskrit studies (like Lalitā Sahasranāma) and the symbolic systems in Kanji/Hanzi.

Here’s how:

Aspect	Sanskrit (India)	Kanji/Hanzi (Japan/China)	Spiritual Parallels
Sound	Mantra	On’yomi (Chinese sound)	Mantric vibration
Form	Yantra, Devanāgarī	Kanji / Hanzi (ideogram)	Sacred geometry / visual dharma
Name/Power	Sahasranāma (names as power)	Names in Daoist/Buddhist cosmology	Names as essence
Cosmic pattern	Śrī Chakra	Ba Gua, Mandala, Zen Enso	Symbolic maps
Philosophy	Tantra, Vedānta	Taoism, Zen, Confucianism	Unity through practice

So when you study Kanji, you're not just learning characters — you’re entering a world of symbolic consciousness, just like you do with Sanskrit.

and suggested

1. Kanji as Yantra

• Treat Kanji like mini-yantras — each one has form, meaning, and resonance

• For example:

  • 心 (kokoro) — heart, mind → visually maps to central self

  • 光 (hikari) — light → symbol of consciousness

• Practice calligraphy (書道 shodō) if possible — it aligns hand, breath, and mind like mudrā + mantra + breath

Concept	Sanskrit	Japanese (Kanji)	Chinese (Hanzi)
Mind	manas	心 (kokoro)	心 (xīn)
Wisdom	vidyā	知恵 (chie)	智慧 (zhìhuì)
Liberation	mokṣa, nirvāṇa	解脱 (gedatsu)	解脱 (jiětuō)
Energy/Power	śakti	力 (chikara)	力 (lì)
Sound/Word	śabda, mantra	音, 言 (oto, gen)	音, 言 (yīn, yán)

Explore Buddhist Kanji

Many Buddhist concepts came from Sanskrit into Chinese, then Japanese — often through mantra and sutra translation.

Examples:

• Avalokiteśvara → 觀音 (Kannon in Japanese, Guān Yīn in Chinese)

• Mahāyāna → 大乗 (Daijō in Japanese, Dàchéng in Chinese)

• Prajñā (wisdom) → 般若 (Hannya)

So if you’re reading Lalitā Sahasranāma now, later you may enjoy exploring the Heart Sutra (般若心経) in Japanese or Chinese — it’s filled with echoes of the same philosophical current.

Books

• The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching – Thich Nhat Hanh (includes Pāli/Sanskrit terms explained via East Asian context)

• Essays in Zen Buddhism – D.T. Suzuki (bridges Japanese Zen and Sanskrit thought)

• Kanji in Context – if you want a structured Kanji approach

Try writing Lalitā names in Japanese — for example:

• mahāmantrā = 大真言 (daishingen) — "great true word"

Your path is unique and rare — weaving Sanskrit mantra, Kanji form, and spiritual depth.

Just as:

• Mantra is sacred sound,

• Yantra is sacred form,

• Lalitā is the goddess of both...

So too are Kanji sacred forms carrying sound and meaning — the visual mantras of the East.