List of Buddhists

 

Pandita redirects here. For the butterfly genus, see Pandita (butterfly).

Part of a series on Buddhism
History of Buddhism
Timeline of Buddhism Buddhist councils
Foundations
Four Noble Truths Noble Eightfold Path Buddhist Precepts Nirvāṇa · Three Jewels
Key Concepts
Three marks of existence Skandha · Cosmology Saṃsāra · Rebirth · Dharma Dependent Origination · Karma
Major Figures
Gautama Buddha Disciples · Later Buddhists
Practices and Attainment
Buddhahood · Bodhisattva Four Stages of Enlightenment Paramitas · Meditation · Laity
Regions
Southeast Asia · East Asia India · Sri Lanka · Tibet Bhutan · Western Countries
Branches
Theravāda · Mahāyāna Vajrayāna · Early schools Pre-sectarian Buddhism
Texts
Pali Canon · Mahayana Sutras Tibetan Canon
Comparative Studies Culture · List of topics

A number of noted individuals have been Buddhists.

Historical Buddhist thinkers and founders of schools

Individuals are grouped by nationality, except in cases where the vast majority of their influence was felt elsewhere. Gautama Buddha and his contemporary disciples ('Buddhists') are listed separately from later Indian Buddhist thinkers, teachers and contemplatives.

Buddha's Disciples and Early Buddhists

• The Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama
• Disciples of the Buddha
• Family of the Buddha
• Ambapali
• Ananda, Siddhartha's cousin, personal attendant of the Buddha and one of his chief disciples
• Anathapindika
• Angulimala
• Anuruddha
• Assaji
• Ajatasattu
• Bimbisara
• Channa
• Cunda
• Dabba Mallaputta
• Devadatta
• Dhammadinna
• Hatthaka of Alavi
• Janussoni
• Jayasena
• Jivaka Komarabhacca
• Maha Kaccana
• Kaccayana Gotta
• Kankharevata
• Maha Kappina
• Kasi Bharadvaja
• Kevatta
• Khema
• Khujjuttara
• Kisa Gotami
• Kondañña
• Maha Kotthika
• Magandiya
• Mahākāśyapa
• Mallika
• Maudgalyayana
• Maya Devi
• Migara
• Nanda
• Maha Pajapati Gotami
• Pasenadi
• Pukkusati
• Punna
• Rahula
• Ratthapala
• Revata
• Samavati
• Sariputta (Pali, Shariputra Sanskrit), one of the two chief disciples of the Buddha.
• Suddhodana
• Sundari
• Sunita
• Udena
• Upali, foremost disciple in knowledge of the Vinaya.
• Uppalavanna
• Vacchagotta
• Velukandakiya
• Visakha
• Yasa
• Yashodhara

Later Indian Buddhists (after Buddha)

• Aryadeva, foremost disciple of Nagarjuna, continued the philosophical school of Madhyamika
• Asanga, founder of the Yogachara school, widely considered the most important Mahayana philosopher (with Nagarjuna)
• Atisha, holder of the “mind training” (Tib. lojong) teachings, considered an indirect founder of the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism
• Bhavaviveka, early expositor of the Svatantrika Madhyvh,.amikha
• Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen/Chán
• Bodhiruci, patriarch of the Ti-Lun school
• Buddhabhadra, founding abbot and patriarch of the Shaolin temple
• Buddhaghosa, (Theravadin commentator)
• Buddhapalita, early expositor of the Prasangika Madhyamikha
• Candragomin, renowned grammarian
• Chandrakirti, considered the greatest exponent of Prasangika Madhyamika
• Dharmakirti, famed logician, author of the Seven Treatises; student of Dignana's student Ishvarasena; said to have debated famed Hindu scholar Shankara
• Dignaga, famed logician
• Gunaprabha, foremost student of Vasubandhu, known for his work the Vinayasutra
• Kamalashila (8th century), author of important texts on meditation
• Luipa, one of the eighty-four tantric Mahasiddhas
• Nagarjuna, founder of the Madhyamika school, widely considered the most important Mahayana philosopher (with Asanga)
• Nagpopa, one of the eighty-four tantric mahasiddas
• Nadapada, (Tib. Naropa), Tilopa's primary disciple, teacher of Marpa the Translator and Khungpo Nyaljor
• Padmasambhava (Tib. Guru Rinpoche) Indian founder of Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism
• Sakyaprabha, prominent expositor of the Vinaya
• Saraha, famed mahasiddha, forefather of the Tibetan Kagyu lineage
• Shantarakshita, abbot of Nalanda, founder of the Yogachara-Madhyamika who helped Padmasambhava establish Buddhism in Tibet
• Shantideva, (8th century) author of the Bodhisattvacaryavatra
• Talika, (Tilopa in Tibetan), recipient of four separate transmissions from Nagarjuna, Nagpopa, Luipa, and Khandro Kalpa Zangmo; Naropa's teacher
• Vasubandhu, author of the Abhidharmakosha
• Vimuktisena, commentator on texts of Asanga's

Indo-Greek

• Dharmaraksita (3rd century BCE), Greek Buddhist missionary of Ashoka the Great, and a teacher of Nagasena.
• Mahadharmaraksita (2nd century BCE), Greek Buddhist master during the time of Menander.
• Nāgasena (2nd century BCE), Buddhist sage questioned about Buddhism by Milinda, the Indo-Greek king in the Milinda Pañha.

Central Asian

• An Shih Kao, a Parthian monk and the first known Buddhist missionary to China, in 148 CE.
• Dharmaraksa, a Yueh-Chih Buddhist monk, the first known translator of the Lotus Sutra into Chinese.
• Jnanagupta (561-592), a monk and tranlator from Gandhara, Pakistan.
• Kumarajiva (c. 401), a Kuchean monk, and one of the most important translators.
• Lokaksema, a Kushan monk, the first translator of Mahayana scriptures into Chinese, around 180 CE.
• Prajna (c. 810). A monk and translator from Kabul, who translated important texts into Chinese and educated the Japanese Kūkai in Sanskrit texts.

Chinese

• Baizhang Huaihai
• Bodhidharma(1st Patriarch of Zen in China)
• Dahui Zonggao 12th century koan master
• Dao Xin(4th Patriarch of Zen in China)
• Daoji (Buddhist monk revered as a deity in Taoism)
• Fa Ru
• Fa Xian (translator and pilgrim)
• Fazang
• Fu Yu (福裕)
• Hong Yi (also calligraphist, painter, master of seal carving)
• Hongren (5th Patriarch of Zen in China)
• Huangbo Xiyun 9th century, teacher of Linji
• Hui Guang (慧光)
• Huike (2nd Patriarch of Zen in China)
• Huineng (6th Patriarch of Zen in China)
• Yi Jing (pilgrim and translator)
• Ingen (17th century Chinese Zen monk, founder of the Ōbaku sect of Zen)
• Jinaluo
• Jizang founder of the Three Treatise School
• Jnanayasas (translator)
• Joshu (9th century Chinese Zen monk)
• Linji (9th century Chinese monk, founder of the Linji school of Zen)
• Mazu 8th century Zen master, teacher of Zhaozhou
• Mo-ho-yen 8th century Chinese monk, advocate of “sudden” enlightenment
• Ou-Yang Jin-Wu
• Pu Ji
• Sanghapala (6th century monk (Mon-Khmer?) who translated many texts to Chinese)
• Seng Chou (僧稠)
• Sengcan (3rd Patriarch of Zen in China)
• Shenxiu (Tang Dynasty, Patriarch of "Northern School" Zen sect)
• Wumen Huikai (author of the Gateless Gate Japanese: Mumonkan)
• Xuanzang (brought Yogacara to China to found Faxiang school, significant pilgrim, translator)
• Yunmen Wenyan (founder of one of the five Chán schools)
• Zhaozhou 9th century Chán master; noted for "Mu" koan
• Zhiyi (founder of Tiantai school)
• Zongmi (WG: Tsung-mi; fifth patriarch of Chinese Huayan school)

Tibetan

• Gampopa, a student of Jetsun Milarepa and founder of the Karma Kagyü lineage of Tibetan Buddhism
• Dolpopa founder of the Jonang school and the Shentong philosophy
• Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye, the first Jamgon Kongtrul
• Karsey Kongtrül, the second Jamgon Kongtrul
• Khungpo Nyaljor, founder of the Shangpa Kagyü lineage
• Longchenpa one of the greatest Nyingma philosophers
• Marpa (Marpa the Translator, Marpa of Lhobrag), student of Naropa and a founder of the Kagyü lineage of Tibetan Buddhism
• Milarepa, a foremost student of Marpa Lotsawa who is said to have achieved buddhahood in one lifetime
• Sakya Pandita one of the greatest Sakya philosophers
• Taranatha important Jonang scholar
• Tsongkhapa (14th century Tibetan monk, founder of the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism, based upon the Kadam tradition)
• Yeshe Tsogyal, important female student of Padmasambhava

Japanese

• Bankei Yōtaku (1622-1693), 'Unborn' Zen
• Deiryu, Jun-san - zen monk and artist. (1895-1954)
• Dogen Zenji (founder of Soto Zen, based upon the Chinese Caodong tradition)
• Eisai (12th century Japanese monk, travelled to China and returned to found the Japanese Rinzai sect of Zen)
• Ippen, founder of the Japanese Pure Land Ji sect (Ji-shu)
• Ikkyu
• Hakuin Ekaku (1686-1769, Rinzai Zen)
• Hōnen, founder of the Japanese Pure Land Jodo sect (Jodo-shu)
• Kūkai (9th century Japanese monk, founder of Shingon)
• Myoe (Japanese monk of the Shingon and Kegon schools, known for his propagation of the Mantra of Light)
• Nakahara Nantenbo, Toju Zenchu- Zen master and artist. 1839-1925
• Nichiren (founder of Nichiren Buddhism)
• Nikkō (founder of Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism)
• Rōben (8th century Japanese monk, invited Simsang to Japan and founded the Kegon tradition, based upon the Korean Hwaeom school)
• Ryōkan (18th century Japanese Zen monk and poet)
• Saichō (9th century Japanese monk, founder of Tendai tradition, based upon the Chinese Tiantai school)
• Shinran, founder of the Japanese Pure Land Jodo Shin sect (Jodo Shinshu) and disciple of Hōnen
• Takuan Sōhō (Zen teacher, and, according to legend, mentor of the swordsman Miyamoto Musashi)
• Yamamoto Gempo Zen Master (1866-1961)

Korean

• Gihwa (1376-1433) Korean Seon monk; wrote commentaries on the Diamond Sutra and Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment
• Jinul Korean Seon monk (1158-1210); founder of modern Korean gong'an meditation system
• Simsang (8th century Korean monk, who at the request of Rōben helped transmit Hwaeom to Japan, thereby founding the Japanese Kegon tradition)
• Uisang (7th century Korean monk, founder of Hwaeom tradition, based upon the Chinese Huayan school)
• Wonhyo (617-668) Korean monk; prolific commentator on Mahayana sutras
• Woncheuk

Thai

• Ajahn Chah Subhatto
• Ajahn Maha Bua (Luang Ta Maha Bua)
• Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta, Thai Buddhist monk who is credited with establishing the Thai Forest Tradition
• Ajahn Sao Kantasilo
• Phramonkolthepmuni (1885-1959) (Thai monk who founded the Dhammakaya Tradition)
• Somdej Toh (Thai monk specializing in magical amulets)

Historical rulers and political figures

• Ashoka the Great (304–232 BC), Mauryan Emperor of ancient India, and the first Buddhist ruler to send Buddhist missionaries outside of India throughout the Old World
• Brhadrata, the last ruler of the Mauryan dynasty
• Menander (Pali: Milinda), 2nd century BCE, an Indo-Greek king of northwestern India, who questioned Nāgasena about Buddhism in the Milinda Pañha, and is said to have become an arhat.
• Theodorus (1st century BCE), Indo-Greek governor, author of a Buddhist dedication.
• Kanishka, ruler of the Kushan Empire
• Shōtoku (574-622), crown prince and regent of Japan
• Liang Wudi (梁武帝) (502-549), emperor during the Chinese Liang Dynasty
• Harshavardhana (606-648), Indian emperor who converted to Buddhism.
• Wu Zetian
• Jayavarman VII (1181-1219), king of Cambodia
• Anawrahta (1044-1077), first unifier and Buddhist King of Myanmar. Introduced Buddhism to Myanmar.
• Mindon Min (1808–1878), king of Myanmar and facilitator of "Fifth World Theravada Buddhist Council" or Fifth Sangayana
• Mongkut, king of Thailand and founder of the Thammayut Nikaya
• Emperor Ming of Han China.
• Tang Dynasty
• Kublai Khan Mongol Ruler.

Modern teachers

Theravada teachers

• Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta (1870-1949)
• Venerable Ananda Maitreya (1896-1998)
• Kiribathgoda Gnananada Thero
• Bhikkhu Bodhi (1944- )
• Ajahn Brahm (1951- )
• Buddhadasa Bhikkhu (1906-1993)
• Ajahn Chah (1918-1992)
• Venerable Chanmyay Sayadaw
• Dipa Ma (1911-1989)
• S. N. Goenka (1924- )
• Joseph Goldstein
• Bhante Henepola Gunaratana (1927- )
• Venerable Ledi Sayadaw (1846-1923)
• Ayya Khema (1923-1997)
• Ayya Tathaaloka (~1968? -), Founder of Dhammadharini Vihara, Thai Forest Tradition
• Preah Maha Ghosananda (1929-2007), Supreme Patriarch of Cambodia
• Mahasi Sayadaw (1904-1982)
• Nyanasamvara Suvaddhana (born 1913), the 19th Supreme Patriarch of Thailand
• Phrabhavanaviriyakhun (Luang Phaw Dattajeevo) (b.1941), acting abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya,
• Phrarajbhavanavisudh (Luang Phaw Dhammajayo) (b.1944), President of the Dhammakaya Foundation
• Sharon Salzberg
• Acharya Godwin Samararatne
• Ajahn Sumedho
• U Ba Khin (1899-1971)
• Sayadaw U Pandita (1921- )
• Venerable Webu Sayadaw (Late)
• Shinzen Young

Tibetan Buddhist teachers

• Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama
• Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche (1930-2002)
• Chögyam Trungpa (1940-1987)
• Dhardo Rimpoche (1917-1990)
• Dudjom Rinpoche (1904-1987)
• Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche (1965- )
• Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche (1961- )
• Qoigyijabu, (1990-) 11th Panchen Lama (According to the People's Republic of China government)
• Lhundub Sopa, (1923-)
• Jigdal Dachen Sakya, 1929-, head of the Sakya School in the USA
• Kalu Rinpoche (1905-1989)
• Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche (1938- )
• Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche (1926-2006)
• Kyabje Gehlek Rinpoche (1939- )
• Paltul Rinpoche (1965- )
• Pawo Rinpoche (1912-1991; 1993- )
• Pema Chodron (1936- )
• Rangjung Rigpe Dorje (1924–1981), the 16th Karmapa
• Reginald Ray
• Rob Nairn
• Sonam Rinchen (1933- )
• Sogyal Rinpoche
• Shenphen Rinpoche (1969- )
• Tarthang Tulku
• Thinley Norbu Rinpoche
• Thrangu Rinpoche (1933- )
• Trinley Thaye Dorje (1983- ), regarded by many as the 17th Karmapa (see also Karmapa controversy)
• Ole Nydahl (1941- )
• Thubten Zopa Rinpoche (1946- )
• Thubten Chodron (1950- )
• Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, (1920-1996), Dzogchen, Mahamudra and the New Treasures of Chokgyur Lingpa (Chokling Tersar).
• Urgyen Trinley Dorje (1985- ), also regarded by many as the 17th Karmapa (see also Karmapa controversy)

Zen teachers

Japanese

• Soyen Shaku, Rōshi (1859-1919)
• D.T. Suzuki (1870-1966)
• Harada Daiun Sogaku (1871-1961)
• Nyogen Senzaki, Rōshi (1876-1958)
• Kodo Sawaki (1880-1965)
• Haku'un Yasutani, Rōshi (1885-1973)
• Shunryu Suzuki, Rōshi (1904-1971)
• Kyozan Joshu Sasaki, Rōshi (1907- )
• Taisen Deshimaru (1914-1982)
• Soko Morinaga, Rōshi (1925-1995)
• Dainin Katagiri (1928-1990)
• Taizan Maezumi (1931-1995)
• Soyu Matsuoka, Rōshi (?-1998)
• Harada Shodo, Rōshi (1945- )
• Eido Tai Shimano, Rōshi
• Kyudo Nakagawa, Roshi

Chinese

• Ven. Hsu Yun (1840-1959)
• Ven. Guang Qin (1892-1986)
• Ven. Hsuan Hua (1918-1995)
• Ven. Fayun (1933-2003)
• Ven. Hsing Yun (1927-)
• Ven. Wei Chueh (1928-)
• Ven. Sheng-yen (1931- )
• Ven. Hsin Ting (1944-)

European

• John Garrie Roshi (1923 - 1998)
• Ven. Myokyo-ni (1921 - 2007)

American

• Anne Hopkins Aitken, (1911-1994)
• Robert Baker Aitken, Rōshi (1917- )
• Tenshin Reb Anderson
• Zentatsu Richard Baker, Rōshi
• Joko Beck (1917- )
• John Crook (1930- )
• Zoketsu Norman Fischer
• Charles Tenshin Fletcher, Roshi (1955- )
• James Ishmael Ford, Rōshi (1948- )
• Tetsugen Bernard Glassman, Rōshi
• Paul Haller, Rōshi
• Ven. Heng Sure (1949-)
• Cheri Huber
• Philip Kapleau, Rōshi (1912-2004)
• Robert E. Kennedy, Rōshi (1933- )
• Jiyu Kennett, Rōshi (1924-1996)
• Bodhin Kjolhede, Rōshi (1948- )
• Jakusho Kwong, Rōshi (1935- )
• John Daido Loori, Rōshi
• Paul Lynch, Jidō Pŏpsanim (1957- )
• Dennis Genpo Merzel, Roshi
• Robert Moore, Sŏnsanim (1941- )
• Sevan Ross, Sensei (1951- )
• Soeng Hyang (Barbara Rhodes)
• John Tarrant, Roshi (1949 - )
• Brad Warner, Sensei

Korean

• Seung Sahn, Soen Sa (1927-2004)
• Samu Sunim, (1941-)
• Seongcheol, Soen Sa (1912-1993)

Vietnamese

• Thich Thien An (1926-1980)
• Thich Nhat Hanh (1926-)

Miscellaneous

• Anagarika Dharmapala (1864-1933), (The World's Debt to Buddha)
• Issan Dorsey (1933-1997)
• Natalie Goldberg
• Ven. Ching Kung (1927-)
• Ven. Cheng Yen (1937-)
• Ram Bahadur Bamjan (1989-)
• Sangharakshita (1925- )
• Ven. K. Sri Dhammananda (1919-2006)

Teachers of controversial Buddhist or Buddhist-influenced groups

• Shoko Asahara (1955- )
• Inoue Nissho (1887-1967)
• Li Hongzhi (1952- )
• Lu Sheng-yen (1945- )
• Suma Ching Hai
• Kelsang Gyatso (1931- )
• Daisaku Ikeda (1928- )

Modern scholars in Buddhist studies

• Alexander Berzin
• Edward Conze (1904-1979)
• C.A.F. Rhys Davids (1857-1942)
• T.W. Rhys Davids (1843-1922)
• Louis de La Vallée Poussin
• J. W. de Jong
• Robert Thurman
• Walpola Rahula
• Hermann Oldenberg (1854-1920)
• Viggo Fausböll (1821 - 1908)
• Eugène Burnouf (1801–1852)
• Etienne Lamotte
• Takakusu Junjirō (1866-1945)
• Fyodor Shcherbatskoy
• A. K. Warder
• K. R. Norman
• Jean Przyluski (1885-1944)
• Wilhelm Geiger (1856-1943)
• Robert Caesar Childers (1838-1876)
• A. K. Coomaraswamy (1877-1947)
• Gunapala Piyasena Malalasekera (1899-1973)
• Robert Chalmers (1858-1938)
• A.P. Buddhadatta Mahathera (1887-1962)
• D.T. Suzuki (1870-1966)

Modern Buddhist authors

• Bhante Vimalaramsi (1946- )
• Stephen Batchelor
• Susan Blackmore
• Thomas Cleary
• Mark Epstein
• Gil Fronsdal
• Joseph Goldstein
• Nakamura Hajime (1911-1999)
• Nishida Kitaro (1870-1945)
• Nishitani Keiji (1900-1990)
• Johnny Lovewisdom
• Ven. Tai Xu (1890-1947)
• Jack Kornfield
• Noah Levine (1971- )
• Jack Maguire
• Manhae (1879-1944)
• Abe Masao (born 1915)
• Henry Steel Olcott (1832-1907)
• Scott Shaw
• Gary Snyder
• Tanaka Chigaku (1861-1939)
• Ven. Yin Shun (1906-2005)
• Ven. Dr. Yifa (1951-)
• Alan Watts (1915-1973)
• Christmas Humphreys

Modern politicians, activists, and protesters

• Aung San Suu Kyi
• Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1891-1956)
• Hank Johnson
• Sulak Sivaraksa
• Tenzin Delek Rinpoche
• Thich Quang Duc

Celebrity Buddhists

• Allen Ginsberg, ^[1] poet
• Jet Li, Chinese martial artist, Hollywood actor [1][2]
• Courtney Love, American singer-songwriter ^[2]
• Victor Pelevin, novelist^[3]
• Keanu Reeves, American actor [3]
• Tina Turner, American singer-songwriter

References

1. ^ Morgan, Bill. I Celebrate Myself: The Somewhat Private Life of Allen Ginsberg. Viking. New York:2006
2. ^ The Guardian, 2005: Enduring Love
3. ^ Kropywiansky, Leo. Victor Pelevin interview (English). BOMB magazine. Retrieved on August 14, 2006.

See also

• Buddhism
• Buddha

Donate to Wikimedia