Not quite getting something about using [buffer~]

Hi all,
I'm trying to make a fairly simple recorder that can be fed the (generated) name of a [buffer~] and record in it, then create a new one, and on and on...But it doesn't seem to be keeping track of itself very well.

I am under the understanding that a sound is written into a [buffer~] object, given a name, and is then accessible anywhere in the patcher (or sub patcher) by setting any [buffer~] object to the name of an existing one. BUT-- Does the sound recorded in a buffer go away if there is no longer a [buffer~] with that name somewhere in the patcher? I guess I thought that, once created, they existed in memory (until the patcher is closed, I guess), regardless of what named [buffer~] objects happened to be in the patch at the moment...?

This seems to become much tougher if that's not the case, because I had in mind they could be dynamically generated (rather than a pre-made number with pre-made names). I did a little trying with it, sending the name of a newly-recorded [buffer~] to [thispatcher] and trying to script the creation of a new [buffer~] object for it. But the naming seems like a problem, since I can't figure out how to get the specific name into the new [buffer~] object, without scripting a msg and patch cords, and etc. headaches.

Am I barking-up a wrong tree here? Is it really tough to deal with several dynamically-created and variably-named [buffer~]'s?

Hope this makes enough sense-- I was trying to frame the question somehow without having to post the patch, thinking it might cut to basic problem of the matter easier. Anyway, thanks a lot...

-Brian