Training Hall Motto

Shi-kin Hara-mitsu Dai-ko-myo - as on the floor-to-ceiling battle flag at the front of the Hombu Dojo in Ohio - is an empowerment phrase used to start and close SKH Quest To-Shin Do Level 3 and Level 4 classes. The phrase has been translated by Stephen K. Hayes as, "Every experience contains the potential for taking me to the enlightenment I seek," or, "Everything I encounter serves as the perfection of wisdom that leads to enlightenment."

The SHI of the phrase translates literally as "word(s)".

The KIN translates as "sound(s)".

Together, the two kanji for Shi-kin mean literally "The sounds of words," or "Sounds and words". The combination means "an encounter" or "something that occurs to/at me".

HARAMITSU is the Japanese sound of paramita, a Sanskrit term that translates as “perfection of wisdom,” or “having reached the opposite shore”, a Buddhist metaphor for going beyond normal limits of thought and perception to reach the higher or broader awareness of enlightened vision.

DAI KO MYO means “great bright light” - illumination “dawns on us.”

An-shu Rumiko Urata Hayes offers another interesting interpretation. We can see SHIKIN at one end and DAIKOMYO at the other, both leading inwards to the center of HARAMITSU. “All that we hear and all that we see can lead to the perfection of wisdom.” Multidirectional reading is possible in Chinese and Japanese, though difficult to imagine in Western languages.

A contemporary parallel might be an expression like, "This could be it!" as you're digging for treasure, or studying something important, or interviewing for a dream job. You might recite over and over, "This could be it!" as a way of staying on your toes to make sure you get the most you can out of the opportunity.