Shin Yu Pai
My parents gave me the birth name of “Doris” June Pai, but I also received a Chinese name from my 3rd uncle a few weeks after I was born. He gave me the name “Shin Yu” which translates roughly as “happy treasure” or “optimistic jewel.” I went by the name Shin Yu until I went to kindergarten, when my name marked me as being different and was too difficult to pronounce for other kids and teachers. So I switched to Doris and used that name throughout my college years. My father has always associated the name “Doris” with his favorite celebrity, Doris Day, an actress that he associates with being American, innocent, multi-talented, and virginal. In my early 20s, I traveled to Taiwan on a root-searching tour and upon coming back to the States, decided to reclaim my Taiwanese name, which I have used full-time since being 23. It’s not an easy name. People call me “Shin,” “Shin You,” or “Yu Pai.” I believe that names carry a dharma to them. I also have a Buddhist name―Sangye Drolma. It means Liberatress of the Buddha. In this way, I also view my Chinese name as having its own energy. I am fundamentally a more pessimistic kind of person so I think of my Chinese name, which was divined by my 3rd uncle to consider the elements and energies present on the day that I was born, functions like a dharma name―summoning and inviting forth the best parts of me.
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