Buddhist Teachers: Historical

Major Buddhist thinkers, historical figures and founders of schools

• Ananda (Early disciple of Sakyamuni who is said to have memorized his sermons)
• Asanga(Brother of Vasubandhu; one of the founders of Yogacara)
• Atisha (founder of the Gelugpa school of Tibetan_Buddhism)
• Bodhidharma (legendary first patriarch of Chan in China)
• Buddhaghosha (Theravadin commentator)
• Chandrakirti
• Dharmakirti
• Chih I -- See Zhiyi
• Dogen Zenji (transmitter of Soto Zen to Japan)
• Eisai (first transmitter of Zen (Rinzai) to Japan)
• Fazang (Wade-Giles: Fa-tsang; third patriarch of Huayan)
• Gihwa (McCune-Reischauer: Kihwa; major Korean monk of the Joseon)
• The Buddha
• Hakuin (Rinzai Zen teacher in Japan)
• Huineng (6th Patriarch of Chan in China)
• Hsuan-tsang. see Xuanzang.
• Jinul Founder of Korean Jogye school
• Kukai (founder of Shingon)
• Longchenpa
• Nagarjuna (Founder of Madhyamaka tradition)
• Nichiren Daishonin (founder of Nichiren Buddhism)
• Padmasambhava (semi-legendary founder of Nyingma school of Tibetan_Buddhism)
• Ryokan (18th_Century Japanese Zen monk and poet)
• Sariputta (Pali. Shariputra Sanskrit. One of the ten chief disciples of the Buddha)
• Shantideva (8th_Century Indian)
• Shinran (Founder of True Pure Land sect in Japan
• Takuan Soho (Zen teacher, and, according to legend, mentor of the swordsman Miyamoto Musashi)
• Tsongkapa
• Uisang (Major Korean monk of the Unified Silla period)
• Vasubandhu (Brother of Asanga; one of the founders of Yogacara)
• Weonchuk (Major Korean monk of the Unified Silla period)
• Weonhyo (Major Korean monk of the Unified Silla period)
• Xuanzang (WG: Hsuan-tsang) (took Tripitaka to China)
• Zhiyi (Wade-Giles: Chih I; de-facto founder of Tiantai school)
• Zongmi (WG: Tsung-mi; fifth patriarch of Chinese Huayan school)

see also Buddhist teachers: contemporary