en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surai_Sasai
2 corrections found
He took tonsure as a novice monk at the age of 14 and was given the ordination name Tenjit Surai, "Light of the Sun, beautiful Mountain Peak", by his Tendai teacher Shujuma Yamamoto.
Sources on Sasai’s own chronology place his ordination much later: at age 24 in 1960, not at age 14.
Full reasoning
Multiple biographical sources contradict this sentence.
- Sasai’s digital archive timeline says that at ages 14–15 (1948) he was bedridden with a prolonged illness, not tonsured as a monk. It then places his entry into monastic life in 1960, when, at age 24, he was ordained at Takao-san Yakuōin and given the dharma name "Shurei" (秀嶺).
- An Okayama profile on Sasai likewise says he was ordained at Tokyo’s Takao-san Yakuōin and describes later milestones from there.
- A Bungeishunju profile/interview also says he encountered Buddhism at 24, and that he received the dharma name "Shurei" at that time.
So the article’s claim that he was tonsured at 14 and given the ordination name Tenjit Surai is inconsistent with the published biographical record these sources provide.
3 sources
- 時系列で探す | 佐々井秀嶺デジタルアーカイブ
1948年 原因不明の高熱、二年間病に伏す（14-15歳）... 1960年 大善寺井上秀祐師の紹介で、高尾山薬王院山本秀順貫主の手により得度。法名「秀嶺」を授かる（24歳）。
- インド仏教の最高指導者は日本人 | 文藝春秋PLUS
仏教に出会ったのは24歳の時... 高尾山薬王院で得度して「秀嶺」の法名をいただいたのもこの頃だ。
- すてき・かがやく おかやま人『インド仏教指導者 佐々井秀嶺さん』
今年8月30日の誕生日で88歳。東京の高尾山薬王院で得度。1965年、交換留学生としてタイに仏教留学、1967年、インドへ渡る。
Sasai came to India in 1966 and met Nichidatsu Fujii, whom he helped with the building of a peace pagoda at Rajgir.
Sources on Sasai’s life place his move from Thailand to India in 1967, not 1966.
Full reasoning
The year in this sentence is contradicted by multiple biographical sources.
- Sasai’s digital archive timeline says he studied in Thailand from 1965–67 and then in 1967 left Thailand for India, where he helped at Rajgir under Yagi Tensetsu at Nipponzan Myohoji.
- The Okayama profile likewise says 1965 for Thailand and 1967 for going to India.
- A Bungeishunju profile/interview also states that he went to India in 1967.
Those sources consistently place his arrival in India in 1967, so the article’s date 1966 is incorrect.
3 sources
- 時系列で探す | 佐々井秀嶺デジタルアーカイブ
1965-67年 ... タイに留学（29歳）。... 1967年 人間関係に悩みタイ出国、インドへ（31歳）。ラージギル日本山妙法寺八木天摂上人のもと多宝山の仏塔建設を手伝う。
- すてき・かがやく おかやま人『インド仏教指導者 佐々井秀嶺さん』
1965年、交換留学生としてタイに仏教留学、1967年、インドへ渡る。
- インド仏教の最高指導者は日本人 | 文藝春秋PLUS
再び奈落の底に落ちた佐々井氏は、日本に帰るわけにもいかず、1967年、逃げるようにインドに渡った。