Keiko Ikegami
Published: 1999
Total Pages: 272
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The popular medieval Barlaam and Josaphat tells of an Indian prince's conversion to Christianity under the guidance of a hermit, Barlaam. The story was actually based on the the enlightenment of Gautama Buddha and travelled West by way of the Arabs, with name changes along the way: Bodhisattva becoming Josaphat. Among the versions that resulted were Georgian, Greek, Latin, Ethiopic, Hebrew, and Middle English, and in the 16th century a Portuguese version entered Japan, with the Jesuits, intended as a teaching device for converts.