Salomon, Richard. A GandharlVersion of the Rhinoceros Sutra:
British Library KharosthlFragment 5B.Seattle: University of
Washington Press, 2000.
RICHARDSALOMONGANJIN
Ganjin (Chinese, Jianzhen; 688–763) was a Chinese
monk who played a major role in the establishment of
Buddhism in Japan. In 742 Ganjin accepted an invita-
tion from two Japanese emissaries to introduce ortho-
dox ORDINATION rituals to Japan. At that time a
legitimate order of monks (SAN ̇GHA) did not yet exist
in Japan and proper ceremonies to establish an order
could not be conducted since Japan lacked the quo-
rum of ten senior bhiksu (fully ordained monks) to
preside over the ordination ceremony as required by
VINAYAregulations.
During a twelve-year ordeal, Ganjin and his fol-
lowers endured five shipwrecks, which cost Ganjin his
eyesight and took the lives of thirty-six of his disciples,
before they finally arrived in Japan in 754 on their sixth
attempt to cross the sea. Once in Japan, Ganjin con-
structed an ordination platform at Todaiji temple in
the capital city of Nara and founded a new monastery,
the Toshodaiji, to serve as a center for the study of
VINAYAdoctrines. In 754 alone Ganjin and his Chinese
compatriots ordained more than four hundred new
Japanese bhiksu. Today, Ganjin is still revered as the
founding patriarch of Japan’s Vinaya school (Risshu),
which adheres to the commentaries on vinaya by
DAOXUAN (596–667). In addition to establishing
Japan’s first properly constituted san ̇gha, Ganjin also
introduced Chinese medical knowledge, Chinese cal-
ligraphy, and the texts and doctrines of the TIANTAI
SCHOOL(Japanese, Tendai) of Buddhism. His biogra-
phy, the Todaiwajotosei den(Biography of the Great
Master of Tang China Who Journeyed to the East; 779)
by Genkai (Omi no Mifune, 722–785), is one of the
early classics of Japanese Buddhist literature.
Bibliography
Tamura, Kwansei. “Ganjin (Chien-Chen): Transmitter of Bud-
dhist Precepts to Japan.” Young East(Tokyo) 6, no. 4 (1980):
4–6.
WILLIAMM. BODIFORDGAVAMPATIGavampati (Pali, Gavampati) is a disciple of the Bud-
dha, one of the first ten to be ordained and to have
known the state of ARHAT. His name means “guardian
of the cows” or “bull.” Gavampati is mentioned first
of all in the VINAYAor monastic codes of the various
schools. These sources report on Gavampati’s appear-
ance after the ordination of Yas ́a, an early convert,
whose example Gavampati seeks to emulate. Ga-
vampati is introduced as a friend of Yas ́a’s; like Yas ́a,
Gavampati comes from a rich Varanasfamily. The
episode, described precisely in the Pali Vinaya, is also
evoked, with few differences, in Sanskrit texts
(San ̇ghabhedavastu[Section on the Schism in the Com-
munity], Catusparisat-sutra[Sutra on the(Establish-
ment of the) Fourfold Assembly]) and in their Chinese
translations.The Theragatha (v. 38) mentions Gavampati’s
supranormal powers and calls him a man of great wis-
dom “who has surpassed all attachments and reached
the far shore of existence” (Norman, p. 5). His myth-
ical nature is explained in the text’s commentary
(Theragatha-atthakatha): During three prior lives,
Gavampati accumulated merits that allowed him, in a
fourth life, to live in a heavenly realm, where he re-
sides in a sumptuous house, the Serssakavimana
(Palace of Acacias). In his fifth life, in Gautama’s time,
Gavampati saved a group of monks by stopping a
river’s flood waters so that the waters remained stand-
ing in the air, like a mountain. Echoing this theme, the
Vinaya of both the Mahs ́asakas and the Dharmagup-
takas shows how Gavampati helped the Buddha and
his retinue cross the Ganges on their way to Kus ́ina-
gara. Finally, both the Payasi-sutraand the Dhamma-
pada-atthakatha (Commentary on the Word of the
Doctrine) emphasize that Gavampati resides, in a time-
less fashion, in the Palace of Acacias.Gavampati’s unusual personality is even more ob-
vious in the texts of north Asian schools. Jean Przy-
luski showed how Tibetan and Chinese texts glorify
Gavampati at the moment of his parinirvana.
Gavampati was summoned to the Rajagrha Council af-
ter the Buddha’s death. A young monk came to his ce-
lestial palace to invite him, but Gavampati immediately
understood that the Buddha had passed away, and de-
cided that he, too, would accomplish his parinirvana.
Then, he performed a series of wonders: He sprang
into space; his body started to radiate water and fire;GAVAMPATI