Surai Sasai

Bhadant Nagarjun Surai Sasai
Surai Sasai (2009 June 7) at Tokyo
Born	Japan
Other names	Bhadant Sasai
Influenced by	Buddha • Moses  • Jesus • Ashoka • Chandragupta Maurya • Mission (Christian) • Dhammapada • Bible • Muhammad • Bhimrao Ambedkar • Dalai Lama  • Japanese mythology • Shinto  • Socrates • Marxism
Influenced	Dalit Buddhist movement
Political movement	Dalit Buddhist movement
Religion	Buddhism, Humanism

Bhadant Nagarjun Arya Surai Sasai born (Minoru Sasai) popularly known as Sasai is a Japanese-born Buddhist bhikkhu (monk) who later chose India as his working destination. Susai came to India in 1966 and met Nichidatsu Fujii, whom he helped with the Peace Pagoda at Rajgir. He fell out with Fuji, however, and started home, but, by his own account, 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 it was Ambedkar who had appeared in his dream. At first, Nagpur folk 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 on the grounds that he had overstayed his visa was dismissed, and he was granted Indian citizenship, upon which he automatically lost his Japanese citizenship. Sasai is one of the main leaders of the campaign to free the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya from Hindu control.

Disciples

He has hundreds of thousands lay disciples and hundreds of ordained monks, novice disciples. His most active disciples are: 1) Ven. Bhikkhu Abhaya Putra , 2) Bhante Bodhi Dhamma ( Dhammaji), 3) Ven. Prajnasheela Bhikkhu, and 4) Ken Bodhi, Among 4 of them two were trained as Theravada monks and rest two are Mahayana monks. Bodhi Dhamma is working in South India teaching Zen while Prajnasheela works in center India. Abhaya Putra in engaged with creating Theravadian monks for India.

Important Dates

• 1935 : Sugao Niimi, Okayama Prefecture, the village was born the eldest of the brothers
• 1951 : Student Academy of positive入塾Tokyo.
• 1957 : High School Yoneko Aduma Tottori Prefecture. 大善寺training in Koshu City, Yamanashi Prefecture.

Takashi Oyama薬王院出家in 1960, trained in religious Ouzi Nichiren in Kagoshima 大正大学1962 and the Auditors, the magazine's issue of Buddhist practice. He浪曲the side (easy東家(2 generations)), the fortune-teller.

• 1965 : study as a monk in Thailand
• 1966 : Calcutta, India, Japan move to the mountains 妙法寺Rajigiru after

The dream reported in 1967, moved to Nagpur 妙法寺built in 1969 to Nagpur, India Mt Siddhartha College of the study in 1970 in Mumbai

• 1988 : Get the nationality India
• 1992 : Buddhagaya large family temple (Temple Mahabodhi) started a campaign to regain control
• 1998 : Mansell ruins, the excavation of the ruins started Shirupuru
• 2003 : Committee as a representative of the minority government of India, Buddhist (National Commission for Minorities) and a committee of people (office: 2003 November 2 - 2006 October 2)
• 2009 : Returning to Japan after 44 years, visiting around, hold a lecture

Awards

• 1986: the issue is gift from Buddha Board Buddhist Nagpur
• 1994: Ambedkar International Award
• 2004: the Maharashtra state awards Nagabhushana