सुरई ससाई

सुरई ससाई

Bhadant Nagarjun Arya Surai SASAI (佐々井 秀嶺, Sasai Shūrei) (born as Minoru SASAI (佐々井 実, Sasai Minoru)), popularly known as Sasai, is a Japanese-born buddhist monk who later chose India as his home. Sasai came to India in 1966 and met Nichidatsu Fujii, whom he helped with the Peace Pagoda at Rajgir. He fell out with Fuji, however, but he related that on his return journey he was stopped by a dream in which a figure resembling Nagarjuna appeared and said, "Go to Nagpur". In Nagpur, he met Wamanrao Godbole, the person who had organized the conversion ceremony for Dr. Ambedkar in 1956. Sasai claims that when he saw a photograph of Dr. Ambedkar at Godbole's home, he realized that Ambedkar had appeared in his dream. At first, Nagpur residents considered Surai Sasai very strange. Then he began to greet them with "Jai Bhim" (victory to Ambedkar) and to build viharas. In 1987, a court case to deport him for overstaying his visa was dismissed. He was granted Indian citizenship, which cost him his Japanese citizenship. Sasai is one of the main leaders of the campaign to free the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya from Hindu control.

हेही पहा

• भारतात बौद्ध धर्म
• दलित बौद्ध चळवळ

Bibliography

• Karlsson, Hans (August 12, 2015), Surai Sasai: a Buddhist monk battling the caste dragon, The Japan Times
• Kinnard, Jacob N. (2014), Places in Motion: The Fluid Identities of Temples, Images, and Pilgrims. Oxford University Press, p. 138