Basusen　婆薮仙

KEY WORD :　art history / iconography

Also read Basuusen. Basu, the Immortal, sennin 仙人. An Indian sage, whose Sanskrit name, Vasu, may be an alternative name for one of the Seven Rishi or seers. Basusen appears as an Indian ascetic who, with *Kichijouten 吉祥天, flanks *Senju Kannon 千手観音 in the *Taizoukai mandara 胎蔵界曼荼羅. Thus he often appears, along with Kichijouten (although sometimes replaced by Kudokuten 功徳天, a form of Kichijouten), in paintings of Senju Kannon. Basusen is also one of the *nijuuhachi bushuu 二十八部衆 (the twenty-eight attendants) of Senju Kannon. He usually appears either as an ascetic or as a fully dressed old man, and carries a text, usually a palm-leaf book. The later is a symbol of the Prajnaparamita texts, HANNYAKYOU 般若経 (the sutra of The Perfection of Wisdom), which is central to the attainment of enlightenment and therefore to all forms of Buddhism. Basusen is a protector of these texts and, as such, appears in paintings such as the images of *juuroku zenshin 十六善神, along with other protectors.

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