Also read Basūsen. 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 *Kichijōten 吉祥天, flanks *Senju Kannon 千手観音 in the *Taizōkai mandara 胎蔵界曼荼羅. Thus he often appears, along with Kichijōten (although sometimes replaced by Kudokuten 功徳天, a form of Kichijōten), in paintings of Senju Kannon. Basusen is also one of the *nijūhachi bushū 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, Hannyakyō 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 *jūroku zenshin 十六善神, along with other protectors.