Dao-xuan (, 702-760) or ''Dōsen'' in Japanese was a prominent Chinese monk in early

Japanese Buddhism Buddhism has been practiced in Japan since about the 6th century CE. Japanese Buddhism () created many new Buddhist schools, and some schools are original to Japan and some are derived from Chinese Buddhist schools. Japanese Buddhism has had ...

, responsible for importing Northern School Chan teachings,

Huayan school The Huayan or Flower Garland school of Buddhism (, from sa, अवतंसक, Avataṃsaka) is a tradition of Mahayana Buddhist philosophy that first flourished in China during the Tang dynasty (618-907). The Huayan worldview is based prima ...

teachings and the

Bodhisattva Precepts The Bodhisattva Precepts ( Skt. ''bodhisattva-śīla'', , ja, bosatsukai) are a set of ethical trainings ('' śīla'') used in Mahāyāna Buddhism to advance a practitioner along the path to becoming a bodhisattva. Traditionally, monastics obse ...

to Japan in 736. He also served as the for ordination prior to the arrival of

Ganjin Jianzhen (; 688–763), or Ganjin in Japanese, was a Chinese monk who helped to propagate Buddhism in Japan. In the eleven years from 743 to 754, Jianzhen attempted to visit Japan some six times. Ganjin finally came to Japan in the year 753 and ...

, and presided over the opening of the

Tōdai-ji is a Buddhist temple complex that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples, located in the city of Nara, Japan. Though it was originally founded in the year 738 CE, Tōdai-ji was not opened until the year 752 CE. The temple has undergo ...

Temple. Dao-xuan was born in

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi ...

Province in 702, and ordained at an early age in the Vinaya school in China () at Dafu () temple in

Loyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang ...

. After learning the Vinaya, he traveled and practiced Chan meditation for a time followed by intensive study of

Tiantai Tiantai or T'ien-t'ai () is an East Asian Buddhist school of Mahāyāna Buddhism that developed in 6th-century China. The school emphasizes the ''Lotus Sutra's'' doctrine of the "One Vehicle" (''Ekayāna'') as well as Mādhyamaka philosophy ...

doctrines before returning to his home temple where he hosted lectures. In 733, two Japanese monks, Eiei () and Fushō () came to China in search of a Vinaya master who would accompany them to Japan to provide orthodox Buddhist ordinations there. Dao-xuan agreed to go, and arrived in 736. However, the rules of the Vinaya state that a minimum of 10 ''

bhikkhu A ''bhikkhu'' (Pali: भिक्खु, Sanskrit: भिक्षु, ''bhikṣu'') is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male and female monastics ("nun", ''bhikkhunī'', Sanskrit ''bhikṣuṇī'') are members of the Sangha (Buddhist ...

'' monks was required for new ordinations, and so Dao-xuan was unable to conduct an ordination service until 754 when

and his disciples arrived in Japan. In the meantime, Dao-xuan had brought the latest Buddhist teachings from China and lectured actively on such topics as the

Brahma Net Sutra Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...

and the precepts. Dao-xuan's lectures on the

Flower Garland Sutra The ' (IAST, sa, 𑀅𑀯𑀢𑀁𑀲𑀓 𑀲𑀽𑀢𑁆𑀭) or ''Buddhāvataṃsaka-nāma-mahāvaipulya-sūtra (The Mahāvaipulya Sūtra named “Buddhāvataṃsaka”)'' is one of the most influential Mahāyāna sutras of East Asian Bu ...

and his knowledge of Huayan School teachings inspired

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

to construct the Tōdai-ji temple as the center for further studies of the Huayan school. It is also recorded that he chanted ''

dharani Dharanis ( IAST: ), also known as ''Parittas'', are Buddhist chants, mnemonic codes, incantations, or recitations, usually the mantras consisting of Sanskrit or Pali phrases. Believed to be protective and with powers to generate merit for the B ...

'' during the opening ceremony of the Great Buddha at Tōdai-ji temple. In 751, he was appointed as "precept master", and greeted Ganjin upon arrival as well as Bodhisena. By 760, his health declined and he was forced to withdraw to Hisodera temple in

Yoshino Province 250px, Location of Yoshino Province c. 716. was a Japanese province in the area of Nara Prefecture on the island of Honshū. Bodart-Bailey, Beatrice M. (1999) ''Kaempfer's Japan: Tokugawa Culture Observed,'' p. 122 It was a short-lived special ...

, where he died.

References

Tang dynasty Buddhist monks 702 births 760 deaths People from Xuchang {{Japan-reli-bio-stub