 Around 4,000 years ago, deities were created in Indian thought. These embodied the world of nature around us and provided us a deep connection to the forces which control our existence. By the beginning of the first millennium BC, great philosophic ideas which were to last forever were being crystallized in the Indian subcontinent. The material world around us was seen to be Maya or Mithya, an illusion. The high purpose of life was to lift the veils of this illusion to see beyond, to break the spell of the transitory world of sansara. In this age, numerous thinkers gave up the attractions of the material world to search for the truth. The best known renunciator of the period was Gautama Siddhartha, known as the fourth or the seventh Buddha or Enlightened One. Millions of his followers continue till today as one of the great religions of the world, Buddhism. Worshippers meditated on the Buddha and hoped one day to gain true knowledge. In the meantime, the culture of the deities who personified the forces around us continued. These kept us in a deep harmony with the natural order of which we are apart. The deities helped us to live in the world with a true sense of reverence and harmony. The first formalized deity seen in Buddhist Tupa railings in the second century BC is Gajalakshmi. This is Lakshmi with elephants who pour water upon her. She represents the bountiful abundance of nature upon which we all depend. The earliest representations of Indra and Surya are seen in the Buddhist caves of Bhaja in western India in the second century BC. Nagas, divine serpents were made. They embody the protective forces and harmony of the natural order. Along with the ideas of Buddhism and Hinduism, the culture of Indian deities travelled across the whole of Asia. Very interestingly, more than 80% of Japanese gods are originally Indian gods. This close relationship between the people of India and Japan has not been known to most people. Well-researched books on the subject are also not available. Most of Japanese don't know. For example, I live in Kichijoji outskirts of Tokyo. This Kichijoji literally means temple of Kisho Goddess. Kisho is originally Lakshmi. Thus, I came from Lakshmi town. This should be recognized by Japanese people. The bottom of Japanese culture, Indian culture is very strongly imprinted and developed in the Japanese way. Buddhism was born in India. That is why the Japanese people are always very keen to visit India. In Japan, they've always called India Tiniko and they've had much love for India. The ten in Tiniko means heaven, so from that we can see the high regard and respect which the Japanese people have had for India. During the Meiji period, Japanese people started travelling abroad and that is when they went to India. In India, they heard the beautiful chant, Buddham Sharanam Gacchami. This chant was brought back to Japan and the Japanese started using this in temples and Buddhist academic institutions. In Otani University, we are following this tradition since a very long time. The Todaiji Temple at Nara is one of the oldest and most revered temples of Japan. The 48 feet high Verochana here is the largest bronze statue in the world. Already in the 8th century, Indian Buddhist monk named Bodhi Sena has arrived in Japan. He inaugurated the eye-opening ceremony of the great Buddha of Todaiji Temple in 752. He was believed to be born in South India. At that time, the Japanese emperor insisted upon inviting the original Indian monk. So for this, the Japanese emperor dispatched a special mission to ask the high priest of the Indian monk to come to Japan. So he was nominated as high priest and to be Grand Master to conduct the ceremony of the great Buddha eye-opening. He was escorted by two disciples. One is a Vietnamese monk. Another is an Iranian monk. And this team brought with them so many Indian cultures. The Japanese were always very keen to see that they were in close touch with India. So when the Daibutsu at Nara was consecrated, they got the Indian dances from Champa where the Indian kings were ruling on the coastline of modern Vietnam. When the Daibutsu at Nara was to be consecrated, the emperor got eight dance forms from Champa and these eight dance forms were alive till the Meiji Restoration that is the late 19th century. But out of the eight, only three were selected for the imperial repertoire and they still are there. Bodhisenna was given the title of Baramun Sojo, Brahman Bishop. He was also honored as one of the four saints of the Todaiji temple. Bodhisenna and Buddha Stira then went to a temple nearby Daianji where they started the teaching of Sanskrit in Japan for the first time. Bodhisenna visited Japan in 736 AD. He stayed at the Daianji temple. Bodhisenna carried the Buddhist ideas directly from India and that was very important for the Japanese. Bodhisenna passed away in 760 AD when he was 57 years old here in Daianji temple. He is being worshiped by the young generation as giving success in examination, success in getting good service and so on. The Sanskrit language was introduced in Japan in two ways. The first was in the form of Sanskrit studies and the second was as a basis for the formation of the Japanese alphabet. Japanese monks had to study Sanskrit out of necessity in order to master Buddhism from the original Indian sutras and textbooks. As an instance, ancient texts of the Pragyaparamita Sutra written in Sanskrit are kept till today in the Horyuji temple. These are well known to be among the world's oldest existing Sanskrit manuscripts written on palm leaves. When the Japanese studied Sanskrit in the 8th and 9th centuries, Sanskrit was synonymous with the Siddham script. This was used for writing Sanskrit since the 5th century in India. This is called Toba in Japanese and it symbolizes a tower. There are five letters in Sanskrit in front and behind there is a word dana in Sanskrit. Writing here the name of the person will be of significant benefit to that person. Japan and India were very closely connected. If you go to Japanese tomb, you may find Siddhan letters. No Japanese can read these letters written on the tomb timber. Very interestingly, the Siddhan letters who disappeared in India are still used in Japan for tombs to respect the souls. And again in Japan there is Koya San temples. In this Koya San temples, they have still Siddhan Sanskrit school. Many monks are learning this Sanskrit but Sanskrit is Siddhan letters. So perhaps Japan is a time capsule of Indian culture. Already India disappeared. There is a deep relationship between Kana, the Japanese alphabet and Sanskrit. The structure of sounds of Sanskrit and Japanese Kana are almost exactly the same. And this Japanese alphabet pronouns are E-U-A-O like Sanskrit exactly as the Sanskrit. Japanese letters pronunciation follows the Indian sequence. In Japan they also use the Indian letters for writing of sacred syllables or Bidaksharas which have the power of mantras. Every Buddhist monastery in Japan has a seal in which there is a Bidakshara, a sacred syllable, as a short name of the monastery. Japanese language is a different family, has nothing to do with India. But there are some words in Japanese which are derived from Sanskrit like O-Seva from Seva service. And there are about 100 Sanskrit words which are used in Japanese. Most of the Japanese they are using that but without knowing that that is originally from Sanskrit. Suppose like they call the Buddhist temples at Thera. Thera means it is from the Pali term. Thera means a Buddhist monk, a bhikkhu having 10 years experience. And like they call the employer or their boss in olden Japan as Danna, even now also they call Danna. Danna means that is also from the Sanskrit term Dana. So the person who is giving you something. So in that way he is the Danna, the master. In the words of his excellency Mr. Yasukuni Enoki. As I come from the Japanese Lakshmi town, it is no great surprise to me to find that Japanese life is full of so many Hindu deities. Japanese people are unaware of their origins. One of the most revered deities of Japan is Saraswati. There are scores of shrines built to her. In many ways the original concept of Saraswati and her association with the natural order and good fortune are very well preserved in Japan. She is often visualized as a sacred body of water. In Japan we find the continuance of so many early ideas of Indian philosophy. There are two kinds of Benten or Saraswati here in Japan. One is the eight armed Saraswati and the other is the two armed one like the real human form. The two armed form is just like the Hindu deity. She has a musical instrument in her hand which is called vina or beaver in Japanese. The annals of the Todaiji temple mentioned that the celebration of the worship of Lakshmi and Saraswati was held for the first time in this temple in 722 AD. Ever since it has been an annual celebration. In 1836 Saito Satchio wrote a guide book to the Edo area or modern Tokyo. Saraswati was mentioned as the most popular deity here at that time. In 1934 Lady Chibin Sonyo felt that she had become an incarnation of Saraswati. She started writing in Sanskrit though she had never studied the language. She founded the Benten Shu Saraswati sect. This sect holds water as divine as it is the abode of Saraswati. We are reminded that Saraswati is the personification of the great river which once flowed in India. Benten Shu also worships her to bestow eloquence and learning. The belief in the seven deities of fortune arose in Japan in the 16th century. In them Saraswati is the deity of wealth. These seven deities are found in every home. Among them are Daya Koku, Mahakala, Bishamon, Kubera, Benten, Saraswati, Kangi Ten, Shoten, Ganesha and Kichi Jyoten, Lakshmi. A group of Japanese scholars have been researching the subject of Saraswati. This is called Benten Mandala and it was made during the Edo period, that is around the 18th century. It has the Bijya Akshara of Saraswati. I would say to the people of India that the worship of Saraswati in Japan may be somewhat different from back home in India. But you will see that she is very popular here in Japan. I am looking forward to many people from India coming to worship Saraswati here in Japan. Worship of Lakshmi was done to ensure the peace of the land, wind and rain in good season, good harvests, joy of the people and the good of all sentient beings. In the year 768, the office of the Prime Minister decided that the worship of Sri or Lakshmi would be carried out in every temple in the country. Scrolls of Lakshmi were distributed for worship to all temples. Akichi Jyoten's statue in Horinji is from the Heian period. The other connection between India and this Horinji temple would be the Kanheri caves. Our 11-headed Avalokiteshwara in Horinji was made in the early 10th century. Its many faces look at everyone, regard everyone and save everyone through many ways. The great intellectual genius of Japan was Kokai Okobo Daishi of the 9th century. He learned the Sanskrit script from the Kashmiri Acharya Pragya. Kokobo Daishi placed emphasis on the knowledge of Sanskrit. He said that the Japanese have had to rely upon translations to study Buddhism. However, the true words in the original language are exceedingly important. Every word has a profound meaning. The Japanese people use Sanskrit when they pray. Suppose in Sanskrit they say Om Saraswati Swaha. In Japanese it becomes Om Saraswati Ke Swaka. Esoteric Buddhist devotees chant their mantras in Sanskrit because they believe they should not translate these. In Japanese, the Sanskrit mantras will not be effective. When Kokai or Kokobo Daishi went to China, esoteric Buddhism was already established. He brought some scriptures when he came back to Japan and introduced this form of Buddhism. He was given the Toji Temple by the Emperor. In Japan they are preserving the old Indian tradition because they are following the ancient scriptures. They are also doing the puja and the mudras as well as the sadhana. There is nothing called Japanese or Japanese elements in these. It is the Indian Buddhist Tantric tradition. The Vajrayana Buddhist traditions of Japan trace their knowledge back to India, to Nagarjuna and other great Acharyas of the Nalanda University. Nagarjuna is known as Gujiu in Japan. Without his teaching, the Buddhism of the Great Vehicle would not have existed. This project, linking India and Japan, may be an important opportunity, especially for the younger generation. It will help them to discover each other's culture. The Lotus Sutra is a major spiritual creation with a profound impact on life in Japan. It was translated from the Sanskrit by Kumara Jiva, 1600 years ago. This is a temple that follows the Lotus Sutra. The Sutra is originally from India and goes back to the teachings of the Buddha himself. It started from India and came to Japan. The deity of Heizan is Daikukuten. Benzaiten and Bishamonten are also united in this figure. Normally in Japan, they worship them in separate figures, but here the three have been put in one figure. It is a kind of luxury that the three can be worshiped together and whatever you want can be fulfilled. A temple is dedicated to the deity Indra in the Shibamata area of Tokyo. It is a most important Indra shrine today. The Rig Veda in the 13th century BC talks about Indra. Indra is the deity who is called Daikukuten here in Japan. He is the main deity here in our temple, which opened in 1629. This temple has 200,000 visitors on the New Year alone. There would be about 2 million visitors every year. Varuna has been worshipped in many temples in Japan to prevent droughts, typhoons and floods which occur often in Japan. A shrine was dedicated to Varuna in the Fudodo Sanctuary in Tokyo in 1836. The temple also has a representation of Kamadeva. He is worshipped by many young couples. There are many temples dedicated to Yama in Japan. The deity that you see in front of us is Yama or Ema in Japanese. The Rig Veda speaks of Yama who is the first ancestor of human beings. The sound of the word Yama became Ema as the name traveled and came to Japan. It is the most ancient temple to Lord Ganesha which has been used for the last 1000 years. Young boys and girls go there to be successful in their courtship. Merchants go there to gain success in their business. The oldest which has been continuously worshipped for the last 1000 years. And I don't think anywhere in the world we have a temple to Lord Ganesha who has been there in constant worship for the last millennium. Of course, Ganesha comes from India. The prayers and the sutras are in Sanskrit. This is a part of esoteric Buddhism in Japan. For Shoten or Ganesha, the Sanskrit prayer is Om Kri Gyaku Un Swaga. The cultural interflow between India and Japan over the last 1400 years is overwhelming. In the 7th century, Prince Shotoku created the nation state of Japan after vanquishing his rivals. He took the term Teno for emperor from Sanskrit texts. It is very interesting to note that when Buddhism went to Japan, Shotoku Taishi, the prince regent at that time, he wrote commentaries on three Sanskrit works. And these three commentaries written by Prince Shotoku Taishi are the beginning of Japanese literature. And at the same time, he also wrote down a constitution for his country in 17 articles. Article 3 of the constitution clearly points out that the constitution is being based on the Tri Ratna, the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. This is the first Asian constitution ever written. The important point is that its consecration was done with a Sanskrit text which is called the Ushnish Vijaya Dharani. The Sanskrit manuscript used for the consecration of the constitution would have been obtained from the Hindu kingdom of Champa in Vietnam. When Emperor Shomu of Japan wanted to unite the country, he said, well, every monastery in Japan will have some Sanskrit text. So he had about 10,000 Sanskrit sutras printed, and that was a major printing project of Japan. We are in the backyard of Meguro Ryusenji, which is a temple in Meguro Ward in Tokyo. We have here the statue of Mahavayrochana, which was erected in 1683 AD. With the Mahavayrochana at the center as a sun, all the 28 constellations are made around him. There are also the four directional gods, the protectors. It is a mini cosmos that is represented here in Meguro. Mahavayrochana is a deity coming from India, and of course the system of 28 constellations that we see here is a system coming from India. The concept of the four directional deities also comes from India. These are represented here in Meguro. The worship of the constellations, Nakshatra, and of the Navagraha to ward off evil in life, are a shared culture between India and Japan. There is a Japanese ancient astrology that is very closely linked to the Indian system of Nakshatra or Lunar Mansions. It is about 27 or 28 Nakshatras that are linked to our character, depending on the year and date of the birth. There are nine stars used for this Hoshimatsuriyo Star Festival, which are the seven stars linked to the days of the week, plus Rago and Keito, which are quite obviously linked to the nine planets or the Navagrahas that we are using in Indian Vedic astrology or Jyotish. Havan or Homa continues in Japan, where it is called Goma. Goma in the Shingon and Tendai Buddhist sects of Japan has striking parallels with early Hindu rites of Agni worship. There are also deep similarities with the later Tantric tradition. The Havan is perhaps conducted in Japan, at least as often as in India. The Tantric Shingon School of Japan sings Sanskrit hymns. To this day, followers of the sect perform their worship in 1,200 temples throughout Japan. Many people visit this Fudo Mew temple. The Goma is used to burn away all the desires which dwell within us. This is in order to make the world a better place. Life is limited and this is a teaching which shows us how to live better by burning all the desires, for instance by not being greedy. Let me repeat that esoteric Buddhism is from India and the big philosophy of the universe is, of course, from India. Vajrayana Buddhist worship in Japan is similar to Tibetan Buddhist worship. However, the Japanese tradition has preserved some early Vajrayana rites. A study of Japanese Buddhism helps to fill some gaps in our understanding of the development of Buddhism. There are four types of Shingon mantras of Fudo Mew in Japan. These are the mantras used in Japan which are not in the Japanese language. They are taken from the Sanskrit language of India. In Sanskrit, Fudo is called achalanatha. He seems to have his origin in the Hindu deity Shiva. The Mew is called Vidya Raja in Sanskrit. Here, it can be safely stated that Fudo Mew has his origin in the Hindu deities of India. Aksutra compares the cosmic force of the mantra with the mighty roar of a rising flood. The mantras were transcribed into ideograms and to conserve their full power they were also written in Siddham. Indian letters to a Japanese are sacred and stand for divine beings. To this day, the Japanese write mantras in Siddham. This booklet contains prayers in Sanskrit that are commonly used in Shingonshu or esoteric Buddhism. It is written in Japanese but the mantras are in Sanskrit. It is used in many ceremonies in Buddhism. Priests learn the intonation and how to pronounce it by using this booklet which has Sanskrit and also has Japanese letters to convey the sounds of the Sanskrit words. The priests have to study these true words. Of course, Shingon has prayers in Japanese but it also has prayers in Sanskrit. By saying those sacred words in Sanskrit, there is more peace of mind. Every god has his own Bijakshara. People also worship that Bijakshara. Every temple gives much importance to those Bijaksharas because they are equal to God. So they also have a Bijakshara in Siddham to symbolize each deity. It has the qualities of that deity. Visitors bring an album, we call it Shinshin. The visitors go to various temples and collect these Siddham stamps in the albums. These albums are like holy books for the people. When they go to a temple, they get the stamp of the Bijakshara from the temple priest and with a very grateful heart, they take it to their home and keep it there. So this is a long, long association between India and Japan and this script is still believing as an object of the worship. There is a very long and deep history connecting India and Japan. This temple is a very old one in Japan. The founders of the school of Buddhism to which we belong were from India. So we feel very close to the Indian tradition. The founders are Vasubandhu and Asangha. We have two statues of them which are put in the hall called the Hokando. We belong to a Zen Buddhist monastery and we strive hard to sever the bond of birth, senility, disease and death. The bond which is the cause of all suffering. As the Buddha said, desire is the root cause of pain in the world and should be overcome. This forms the basis of our ascetic practices which come down to us from the Shakyamuni himself. Bodhidharma, he transmitted Zen. Zen leader has been transmitted to Japan also and it is one of the most important sects in Japan. Mist surrounds the legend of Bodhidharma. Tradition points out that he was a prince of Kanchipuram in South India. The Japanese form of his name is Bodhidharma. It is very close to the Tamil form which is Bodhidharma. Zen was introduced in the 6th century. It was a wordless tradition directly pointing to the human mind and the perception of one's true nature. Zen was taken to Japan in the 12th century by Isai. Its influence on Japanese art, attitudes and language has been profound. Zen Buddhism became very popular because it says that life is a fleeting phenomenon. And the samurai, when they went to war, they were never sure that they will come back. In this feeling they go to war and there is no fear of death. So fearlessness in war was a very important contribution of the Zen tradition. And when we sit down in a Zen monastery, we have to really do very hard penance. And hard work in Japan is perfection. So the Zen tradition gave them a perfection in work. It became a very important part of the modern development, perfection in everything. When I visited India for the first time, I made sure to visit places like Nalanda University, Bodhigaya and also the garden path, trodden by the Shakyamuni himself. I felt happy to see the university where Tripitaka Masters used to come and study during the 3rd and 4th centuries AD. Whatever Buddhism we practice now has its roots in India and without Indians there would be no Buddhism in Japan. Imperial Prince Shinryo, the 3rd crown prince of the then Emperor of Japan developed a great desire to visit India. Unfortunately, he was unable to reach his much desired destination of India. But in the history of Japan, he was the first Japanese who actually started his journey to reach India, the country of the Shakyamuni. The same Shinryo was the 3rd chief priest of this Zen-Rinji temple. In Japan, when I was there, I think in 1970, there was a yogurt called Sujata in allusion to Lord Buddha whom Sujata had given milk preparations and after offering he attained enlightenment. So many deities are common in India and Japan and people are worshipping them in both the countries. The hearts of the Indian people and the Japanese people have the same base. Otani University has a very long relationship with India. When the first Nobel laureate of Asia, Tegore, came to Otani University and when the first president Rajendra Prasadji came here, Otani University offered them honorary PhD degrees. Japan is the one country where Buddhism is flourishing in all its facets. Here, technology and transcendence are living together. The deep-rooted spirit of Buddha's teachings energize the Japanese people. Buddhist temples are numerous and vast numbers of people visit them every day. Besides the Buddha, so many ancient Indian deities and practices are preserved in these temples. And India feels quite at home in Japan.