Bodhisena

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Bodhisena (704–60). Indian Buddhist monk, commonly referred to as Baramon-sōjō (Jap., ‘the brahman abbot’). Bodhisena, Emperor Shōmu (who conceived the idea), Rōben (the first chief abbot), and Gyōgi, a charismatic monk, are known as the four founders of Tōdai-ji. Tōdai-ji was the central monastery (Sōkokubun-ji), unifying all the provincial monasteries and nunneries built by imperial edict. The casting of the Great Buddha (daibutsu) demonstrated the majestic power of the emperor and the unity of the nation.

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