Bodhisena or Bodaisenna (704–760) was a

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

scholar and monk from India known for traveling to Japan and China and establishing the

Kegon The Huayan school of Buddhism (, Wade–Giles: ''Hua-Yen,'' "Flower Garland," from the Sanskrit "''Avataṃsaka''") is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty (618-907).Yü, Chün-fang (2020). ''Chinese Bu ...

school, the Japanese transmission of the

Huayan school The Huayan school of Buddhism (, Wade–Giles: ''Hua-Yen,'' "Flower Garland," from the Sanskrit "''Avataṃsaka''") is a Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty, Tang dynasty (618-907).Yü, Chün-fan ...

Chinese Buddhism Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, first=t, poj=Hàn-thoân Hu̍t-kàu, j=Hon3 Cyun4 Fat6 Gaau3, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism. The Chinese Buddhist canonJiang Wu, "The Chin ...

. His stay has been noted in the official history records called the

Shoku Nihongi The is an imperially-commissioned Japanese history text. Completed in 797, it is the second of the '' Six National Histories'', coming directly after the and followed by ''Nihon Kōki''. Fujiwara no Tsugutada and Sugano no Mamichi served as t ...

, where he is referred to as Bodai-Senna.

Early years

Bodhisena was born in

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

around 704 AD. He got mystical inspiration from Manjusri Bodhisattva. He initially went to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, having heard that he could meet the incarnation of

Manjusri Manjushri () is a ''bodhisattva'' who represents ''Prajñā (Buddhism), prajñā'' (transcendent wisdom) of the Buddhas in Mahāyāna Buddhism. The name "Mañjuśrī" is a combination of Sanskrit word "wikt:%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%9E%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%9C%E0 ...

Mount Wutai Mount Wutai, also known by its Chinese name Wutaishan and as is a sacred Buddhist site at the headwaters of the Qingshui in Shanxi Province, China. Its central area is surrounded by a cluster of flat-topped peaks or mesas roughly correspondin ...

. However, on reaching Mount Wutai, he was told the incarnation was in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. While in China, Bodhisena met a Japanese ambassador. The ambassador invited him to Japan on behalf of Emperor Shomu (701-756 AD), who was a devoted Buddhist. He also became acquainted with the tenth Japanese ambassador to China, Tajihi no Mabito Hironari.Ambassadors from the islands of immortals: China-Japan relations in the Han-Tang period by Zhenping Wang, page 167 He also met the Japanese monk Rikyo.

Voyage to Japan

On the invitation of

Emperor Shōmu was the 45th Emperor of Japan, emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 聖武天皇 (45)/ref> according to the traditional List of Emperors of Japan, order of succession. Shōmu's reign spanned the years 724 through 749, duri ...

, he visited

to establish

Huayan The Huayan school of Buddhism (, Wade–Giles: ''Hua-Yen,'' "Flower Garland," from the Sanskrit "''Avataṃsaka''") is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty (618-907).Yü, Chün-fang (2020). ''Chinese Bu ...

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

in the country. He traveled with the Japanese delegation of Tajihi no Hironari,Music from the Tang Court By Laurence Picken, Laurence Ernest Rowland Picken, R. F. Wolpert, page 31 via

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

and

Champa Champa (Cham language, Cham: ꨌꩌꨛꨩ, چمڤا; ; 占城 or 占婆) was a collection of independent Chams, Cham Polity, polities that extended across the coast of what is present-day Central Vietnam, central and southern Vietnam from ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. On the same ship were other important historical figures. They included the traveling companions Genbō and

Kibi no Makibi was a Japanese scholar and noble during the Nara period. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Kibi no Makibi"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 512. Also known as . Early life Kibi no Makibi was born in Shimotsumichi County, Bitchu Province (present- ...

. Genbo was a monk and was returning from

with the over 5,000 fascicles that made up the Chinese Buddhist Canon. Kibi brought with him the arts of embroidery, playing the lyre, and the game of Go.

Life in Japan

The party arrived at Naniwa (

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

) in August 736 and was met by the monk Gyoki.Japanese Buddhism By Charles Eliot, page 225 According to a number of sources, Gyoki and Bodhisena recognised each other from a past life. According to the

Shūi Wakashū The , often abbreviated as ''Shūishū'', is the third imperial anthology of waka from Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th empe ...

, quoting from the Tōdaiji Yōroku, Gyoki stated that they were together at

Vulture Peak The Vulture Peak (Pali: गिज्झकूट, Sanskrit: गृध्रकूट), also known as the Holy Eagle Peak or Gridhrakūta (or Gādhrakūta), was, according to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha's favorite retreat in Rajagaha - no ...

when the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

preached the

Lotus Sutra The ''Lotus Sūtra'' (Sanskrit: ''Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtram'', ''Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma'', zh, p=Fǎhuá jīng, l=Dharma Flower Sutra) is one of the most influential and venerated Buddhist Mahāyāna sūtras. ...

. Bodhisena, called the "Baramon Sojo" (

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

Priest), additionally refers to them being together at Kapilavastu. He also recognised Gyoki as the rebirth of the

boddhisatva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in or ...

Manjusri he was seeking. Their exchange is recorded thus:A Waka Anthology Volume Two: Grasses of Remembrance Gyoki: Baramon Sojo in reply: Gyoki conducted Bodhisena to

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...

and presented him to the

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

. He was treated with great honour and lodged in the temple called

Daian-ji is a Buddhist temples in Japan, Buddhist temple located in the city of Nara, Nara , Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It was founded by Emperor Jomei in 639 as one of the first official temples in Japan at the capital of Asuka-kyō and was subseq ...

, where he founded

Buddhism and also taught Sanskrit. In 752,

asked him to perform the eye-opening ceremony for the giant bronze statue of the

Vairocana Vairocana (from Sanskrit: Vi+rocana, "from the sun" or "belonging to the sun", "Solar", or "Shining"), also known as Mahāvairocana (Great Vairocana), is a major Buddha from Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Vairocana is often interpreted, in text ...

built in

Tōdai-ji is a Buddhist temple complex that was once one of the powerful Nanto Shichi Daiji, Seven Great Temples, located in the city of Nara, Nara, Nara, Japan. The construction of the temple was an attempt to imitate Chinese temples from the much-admir ...

. Dosen also played a significant role. The painting of the eyes was done by Bodhisena. After a visit to Mount Tomi (Nara), Bodhisena petitioned the emperor to name the prayer hall there , as he found the place to strongly resemble the mountain in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

where the

preached, known as

, or ''Ryoujusen'' () in Japanese. Bodhisena resided in

() in

Heijō-kyō was the Capital of Japan during most of the Nara period, from 710 to 740 and again from 745 to 784. The imperial palace is a listed UNESCO World Heritage together with other places in the city of Nara (cf. Historic Monuments of Ancient ...

for the rest of his life. He died on 25 February 760 at

temple, and was buried on the ''Ryoujusen'' () mountain, following his wish when he died. 03-05-JPN119

Legacy

Japan's traditional court dance and music still preserve some of the forms introduced by Bodhisena into

.Cultural Contacts between BIMSTEC Countries and Japan: An Historical Survey by Sanjukta Das Gupta, CSIRD Discussion Paper: 7/2005, November 2005, (pages 5-6) The forty-seven characters of the

Japanese script The modern Japanese writing system uses a combination of logographic kanji, which are adopted Chinese characters, and syllabic kana. Kana itself consists of a pair of syllabaries: hiragana, used primarily for native or naturalized Japanese w ...

are said to have been devised after the pattern of the Sanskrit alphabet by the Japanese Buddhist

Kobo Daishi Kobo may refer to: Places * Kobo (woreda), a district in Ethiopia ** Kobo, Ethiopia, a town * Kōbo Dam, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan * Mount Kōbō, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan People * Kobo (name) * Kōbō-Daishi, a posthumous name of Kūkai (77 ...

(774-835 AD). The arrangement of the Japanese syllabary based on the Sanskrit system is also attributed to the influence of Bodhisena in Japan, which, according to Riri Nakayama, "will continue as long as the Japanese language continues to exist". He is also revered in China, Korea and Vietnam.

References

External links