Tengu, let me just make that a little easier for you. The rakshasa are a kind of "demon" found in various cultures from the Malay to India. They are famous in Buddhism, since they were assigned to protect the Lotus Sutra and they supposedly teach followers the way of magic.

 

Here's a little piece from Wiki:

A rakshasa (Sanskrit: राक्षस�? rākṣasa�?/SPAN>; alternately rakshas, Malay: raksasa, Bengali: rakshosh, Japanese: rasetsuten) is a demon or unrighteous spirit in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. Rakshasas are also called man-eaters ("Nri-chakshas," "Kravyads") or cannibals. A female rakshasa is called a rakshasi, and a female rakshasa in human form is a manushya-rakshasi.

According to the Ramayana, rakshasas were created from Brahma's foot; other sources claim they are descended from Pulastya, or from Khasa, or from Nirriti and Nirrita. Legend has it that many rakshasas were particularly wicked humans in previous incarnations. Rakshasas are notorious for disturbing sacrifices, desecrating graves, harassing priests, possessing human beings, and so on. Their fingernails are venomous, and they feed on human flesh and spoiled food. They are shapechangers, illusionists, and magicians.

And here's where to find the whole article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakshasa

I picked the name after a having a dream about a "standing tiger" that cast spells. I still have the dream journal where I recorded the thing years ago. After that, one popped up in a game of "Chill" (a horror-genre RPG that is no longer around). I thought it was a weird coincidence, considering how they aren't exactly common to our American mind, so I sort of took it as my unwanted totem. Kind of like a shaman might be go out of his way to protect himself after having a dream about a manitou.

Anyway, I studied Buddhism for a while thru Soka Gakkai and Nichiren Shoshu sects, and somehow got on this study of mysticism. So, the name seemed fitting when I started up my Hotmail account.

Demon to demon (kind of fitting considering what we've been talking about here), do you know about the name you picked for your own ID? I see from your profile that you been on the Net much longer than I have, but let me give you a link on that form you've used as your own name or totem. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tengu

I'd take it that you were some sort of modern shugenja/ yamabushi or martial artist.