Editing Generation name (section)

== Affiliation character ==
In place of a biological generation, the character could be used as an indicator of seniority and peer groups in  religious lineages. Thus, in the lay [[Chinese Buddhism |Buddhist]] circles of Song and Yuan times, it could be Dào ([[wikt:道|道]] '[[Dharma#Buddhism |dharma]]'), Zhì ([[wikt:智|智]] '[[Prajñā (Buddhism)|prajñā]], wisdom'), Yuán ([[wikt:圓|圓]] 'complete, all-embracing'<ref name="Soothill">[[William Edward Soothill]] & [[Lewis Hodous]], 1937, [http://mahajana.net/texts/kopia_lokalna/soothill-hodous.html ''A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms''].</ref>{{NoteTag|圓 corresponds to ''pūrṇa'' ('teeming, filled') in Sanskrit, as in the [[Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment|Complete Enlightenment]] (Pūrṇabuddha 圓覺).}}), Pǔ ([[wikt:普|普]] 'universal'{{NoteTag|普 is the equivalent of ''viśva'' in Sanskrit.<ref name="Soothill" />}}), Jué ([[wikt:覺|覺]] '[[bodhi]], enlightenment'), Shàn ([[wikt:善|善]] 'skillful, virtuous'<ref name="Muller">[[A. Charles Muller]], ''Digital Dictionary of Buddhism''.</ref>). The characters demonstrated belonging to a devotionalist group with a social status close to the family one. The affiliation character Miào ([[wikt:妙|妙]] 'profound, marvelous') usually was used by women, relating them to [[Guanyin]], as [[Guanyin#Legend of Miao Shan|Miàoshàn]] (妙善) was her name at birth.

In the same way, taking the monastic vows meant the break with the family lineage, which was shown by application of the [[Buddhist surname]] Shì ([[wikt:釋|釋]], [[Thich|Thích]] in Vietnam) in one's [[Dharma name]], the first character of [[Gautama Buddha]]'s title in Chinese: ''Shìjiāmóuní'' (釋迦牟尼, 'Śākyamuni', {{abbr|lit.|literally}} 'Sage of the Śakyas').