154 Ganjin the human form While exquisite pieces of art from 50 b.c.e to 400 c.e survived, probably the most recognizable is the Fasting Buddha, which depicts a meditating Buddha whose bones are literally exposed due to his starvation The golden age of Gandhara took place during the rule of the Kushans Countless remains of Buddhist monasteries, large statues, and various Buddhist stupas survived from this era The Kushan monarch Kanishka (128–151 c.e.) ruled his kingdom from Peshawar in Gandhara The empire stretched from southern India to the border of Han China From Peshawar, Buddhist culture, religion, and art were spread to the Far East After 241 c.e Gandhara became a vassal of the Sassanians Until the fifth century it remained a center of culture, artistic activity, and commerce This period was marked by the production of giant statues of the Buddha that were carved into mountainsides and other large statues that were placed in monasteries By the middle of the fifth century the Huns invaded Gandhara, and the culture slid into a period of decay Buddhism fell into decline, while some practice of Hinduism resurfaced The Sassanids drove out the Huns in the middle of the sixth century Even though the Sassanid Empire came under the control of Islam after 644, the Arabs seemed to have little interest in Gandhara Buddhism continued there under Turkish rule until the area’s conquest by Hindushahi around 870 The Hindushahi capital was moved to Udabhandapura in Gand, and the kingdom once again prospered, at least through the early part of the Middle Ages Around 1021 the region was taken over by Muslim leaders, and the kingdom of Gandhara was absorbed into the Islamic world British archaeologists revived interest in the history of the region in the mid19th century See also Kushan Empire Further reading: Dani, A H Gandhara Art of Pakistan Peshawar, Pakistan: University of Peshawar, 1968; Dani, A H., and V M Mason, eds History of Civilizations of Central Asia Paris: Unesco, 1992–2005; GeoffroySchneiter, Berenice Gandhara: The Memory of Afghanistan New York: Assouline, 2001; Hussain, J An Illustrated History of Pakistan Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983; Salmon, Richard Ancient Buddhist Scrolls from Gandhara Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1999 Tim Davis Ganjin (688–763 c.e.) Buddhist monk Ganjin traveled to Japan to spread the Buddhist faith He was born in the Chinese county of Jiangyin in Guangling (Yangzhou, Jiangsu) His name in Chinese is Jianzhenis (Chien-chen); Ganjin is the Japanese version He entered the Buddhist temple of Daming at the age of 14 He studied at Chang’an (Ch’ang-an) for six years, starting at the age of 20 He then returned to the Daming Temple where he eventually became the abbot of the temple He also trained in medicine and opened a hospital, the Beitian Court, at the Daming Temple In 732 c.e the Japanese government sent an emissary to China, including two priests searching for a precept transmitter to come to Japan In 742 they met with Ganjin and his followers None of Ganjin’s followers was willing to go, so he decided to go himself The crossing from China to Japan across the East China Sea was dangerous, and it took six tries before Ganjin reached Japan in 753 During the fifth attempt, he lost his eyesight Ganjin was welcomed at the Japanese capital in 754 That summer, in front of the Great Buddha Hall at Todai-ji, a ceremony was held in which the retired emperor Shomu, the empress dowager Komyo, the reigning empress Koken, and 440 clergy received the precepts An order was issued to build a precept hall and living quarters for Ganjin Ganjin’s arrival in Japan brought the transmission of the precept, in Japan, back toward a more orthodox way of doing it In 756 Ganjin was appointed to the bureau of clergy, which controlled the issuing of certificates for ordination The Japanese viewed protecting the nation as part of the clergy’s mission The Japanese government expected the priests to work in support of the nation’s prosperity The fact that Ganjin, who was Chinese, was appointed to the bureau speaks volumes about his skill and the level of his understanding of the Buddhist religion Ganjin resigned from the bureau in 758 and returned to training priests Ganjin continued to teach up until his death on June 22, 763 He is considered one of the founding fathers of Sino-Japanese medicine See also Buddhism in China Further reading: Hanayama, Shinsho A History of Japanese Buddhism Trans by Kosho Yamamoto Tokyo: Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai, 1960; Kashiwahara, Yusen, and Koyu Sonoda Shapers of Japanese Buddhism Translated by Gaynor Sekimori Tokyo: Ksei Publishing, 1994; Tamura, Yoshiro