This phrase literally
means "name [and physical] shape," two of the most distinguishable
and permanent characteristics of a person.
The word namarupa is often used pejoratively in
philosophical discourse to characterize all features of per sonality that are
ultimately transient but aid in reinforcing the illusion of a different
universe and a Self with an independent identity.
Because one's name and shape will be altered in the next
life, these conceptions of independence are regarded to be utterly illusory.
In this sense, namarupa refers to everything that is only
temporarily real.
