painting by Wu Daozi, which showed it held in his right hand taking the place of the usual sword. Laufer noted the artistic similarly between the curved handle of a ruyi and the long stem of a lotus blossom, which was frequently depicted in the hands of Bodhisattvas, e.g., the Longmen Grottoes. I do not mean to say that the Buddhist emblem called Ju-i has developed from the lotus, though I think that the alternation of both is suggestive. But it is not necessary at all to assume that the Chinese Ju-i in general is of Buddhist origin... It may very well be that the implement is Chinese in origin and even prebuddhistic, and that, as in so many other things, a kind of compromise took place, resulting in the assimilation and amalgamation of two ideas and two forms. (1912:339) Admitting that the "original significance of this implement has been lost long ago", Laufer hypothesized that the ruyi may have developed from a ritual jade that began as a Zhou dynasty "symbol of light, generative power and fertility". Two of the emperors in the famous Thirteen Emperors Scroll by Yan Liben (d. 673) are holding ruyi (Davidson 1950:247), Emperor Wen of Chen (r. 559–566) and Emperor Xuan of Chen (r. 569–582). Japanese painters variously pictured Manjusri holding a ruyi in either hand (Laufer 1912:338). Sesshū Tōyō (1420–1506) showed one in his left hand and nothing in his right. Kichizan Minchō 吉山明兆 (1352–1431) and Kanō Sanraku (1559–1635) showed the Bodhisattva with a ruyi in his right and a book-roll in his left. A 12th-century Manjusri painting attributed to the Kose School a sword in his right and a sacred lotus-flower in his left hand. Word usage in East Asian Buddhism With the introduction of Buddhism to China, scholars used Chinese ruyi to translate various Sanskrit terms, which Buddhism in Japan subsequently borrowed as nyoi. The primary terms and Chinese/Japanese translations are: anuruddha "a ceremonial mace; a priest's staff", ruyi/nyoi 如意 kalpavriksha "wish fulfilling tree; the manifestation of what one wishes", ruyishu/nyoiju 如意樹 cintamani "wish-fulfilling jewel; jewel that grants all desires", ruyizhu/nyoiju 如意珠 or ruyibaozhu/nyoi-hōshu 如意宝珠 First, the anuruddha/ruyi/nyoi scepter is defined in the Digital Dictionary of Buddhism: An instrument held, especially by the abbot of a temple, during ceremonies and sermons shaped as a short staff curled in an S-shape and made out of wood, or more precious materials, such as