 | List of Buddhists: Encyclopedia - List of Buddhists
List of Buddhists
A number of noted individuals have been Buddhists.
List of 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.
List of Buddhists - Indian
- The Buddha Shakyamuni, Siddhartha Gautama
- Ananda, Siddhartha's cousin and one of his chief disciples
- 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 Madhyamikha
- 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
- Dignana 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 mahasiddas
- Mahakassapa (Pali, Mahakashyapa Sanskrit) a disciple of the Buddha
- Moggallana, (Pali, Maudgalyayana Sanskrit) one of the two chief disciples of the Buddha
- 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
- Sakyaprabha prominent expositor of the Vinaya
- Saraha famed mahasiddha, forefather of the Tibetan Kagyu lineage
- Sariputta (Pali, Shariputra Sanskrit). one of the two chief disciples of the Buddha
- Shantarakshita abbot of Nalanda, founder of the Yogachara-Madhyamika who helped Padmasambhava establish Buddhism in Tibet
- Shantideva (8th century Indian) author of the Bodhisattvacaryavatra
- Talika (Tib. Tilopa), 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
List of Buddhists - Indo-Greek
- Dharmaraksita, a Greek Buddhist missionary of Emperor Ashoka, and a teacher of Nagasena.
- Mahadharmaraksita (A 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)
List of Buddhists - 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.
- 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 Kukai in Sanskrit texts.
List of Buddhists - Chinese
- Baizhang Huaihai
- Bodhidharma (legendary first patriarch of Zen in China)
- Fazang
- Fa Xian (translator and pilgrim)
- Joshu (9th century Chinese Zen monk)
- Huangbo Xiyun
- Huineng (6th Patriarch of Zen in China)
- Ingen (17th century Chinese Zen monk, founder of the Ōbaku sect of Zen)
- Daoji (Buddhist monk revered as a deity in Taoism)
- Jnanayasas (translator)
- Linji (9th century Chinese monk, founder of the Linji school of Zen)
- Sanghapala (6th century monk (Mon-Khmer?) who translated many texts to Chinese)
- Xuanzang (brought Yogacara to China to found Faxiang school, significant pilgrim, translator)
- Yi Jing (pilgrim and translator)
- Yunmen Wenyan (founder of one of the five Chan schools)
- Zhiyi (founder of Tiantai school)
- Zongmi (WG: Tsung-mi; fifth patriarch of Chinese Huayan school)
List of Buddhists - 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
- Khungpo Nyaljor, founder of the Shangpa Kagyü lineage
- Longchenpa one of the greatest Nyimgma 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
- Padmasambhava (Tib. Guru Rinpoche) Indian semi-legendary founder of Nyingma school of Tibetan_Buddhism
- Sakya Pandita one of the greatest Sakya philosphers
- Tsongkhapa (14th century Tibetan monk, founder of the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism, based upon the Kadam tradition)
List of Buddhists - Japanese
- 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)
- Honen, founder of the Japanese Pure Land Jodo sect (Jodo-shu)
- Kukai (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)
- Nichiren (founder of Nichiren Buddhism)
- Nikko (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)
- Ryokan (18th century Japanese Zen monk and poet)
- Saicho (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)
- Takuan Soho (Zen teacher, and, according to legend, mentor of the swordsman Miyamoto Musashi)
List of Buddhists - 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)
- Weonhyo (617-668) Korean monk; prolific commentator on Mahayana sutras
- Wonchuk
List of Buddhists - Thai
- Somdej Toh (Thai monk specializing in magical amulets)
- Phramonkolthepmuni (1885-1959) (Thai monk who founded the Dhammakaya Tradition)
- Khun Yay Mahā Ratana Upāsikā Chandra Khonnokyoong (1909-2000) (Thai nun who founded Wat Phra Dhammakaya)
List of people, List of people by belief
List of Buddhists - Historical rulers and political figures
- Ashoka the Great, Mauryan Emperor of Ancient India
- 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
- 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
- Mongkut, king of Thailand and founder of the Thammayut Nikaya
List of Buddhists - Modern teachers
List of Buddhists - Theravada / Vipassana teachers
- Ajahn Brahm (1951- )
- Ajahn Chah (1918-1992)
- Ajahn Mun (1870-1949)
- Ajahn Sumedho
- Ven. Ananda Maitreya (1896-1998)
- Ayya Khema (1923-1997)
- Bhante Henepola Gunaratana (1927- )
- Bhikkhu Bodhi (1944- )
- Buddhadasa Bhikkhu (1906-1993)
- Dipa Ma (1911-1989)
- Dhiravamsa
- Phrarajbhavanavisudh (Luang Phaw Dhammajayo) (b.1944), President of the Dhammakaya Foundation
- Phrabhavanaviriyakhun (Luang Phaw Dattajeevo) (b.1941), acting abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya, Thailand
- S. N. Goenka (1924- )
- Joseph Goldstein
- Nyanasamvara Suvaddhana (born 1913), the 19th Supreme Patriarch of Thailand
- Ven. Ledi Sayadaw (1846-1923)
- Mahasi Sayadaw (1904-1982)
- Sharon Salzberg
- Sayadaw U Pandita (1921- )
- U Ba Khin (1899-1971)
List of Buddhists - Tibetan Buddhist teachers
- Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche (1930-2002)
- Chögyam Trungpa (1940-1987)
- Dhardo Rimpoche (1917-1990)
- Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche (1965- )
- Erdini Qoigyijabu, (1990-) 11th Panchen Lama (According to People's Republic of China government)
- Jigdal Dachen Sakya, 1929- co-founder of Sakya Monastery, 41st generation Sakya, Head of the Sakya School in the USA
- Kalu Rinpoche (1905-1989)
- Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche (1938- )
- Ole Nydahl (1942- )
- Paltul Rinpoche (1965- )
- Pema Chodron (1936- )
- Reginald Ray
- Tarthang Tulku
- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama
- Thrangu Rinpoche (1933- )
- Trinley Thaye Dorje (1983- ), regarded by many as the 17th Karmapa (see also Karmapa controversy)
- 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)
List of Buddhists - Zen teachers
Japanese
- Kodo Sawaki (1880-1965)
- Dainin Katagiri
- D.T. Suzuki
- Ven. Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi, Rõshi (1931-1995)
- Kyozan Joshu Sasaki, Rõshi (1907- )
- Kodo Sawaki (1880-1965)
- Taizan Maezumi (1931-1995)
- Soyen Shaku, Rõshi (1859-1919)
- Nyogen Senzaki, Rõshi (18??-1958)
- Eido Shimano, Rõshi
- Shunryu Suzuki, Rõshi (1904-1971)
- Haku'un Yasutani, Rõshi (1885-1973)
Chinese
- Ven. Hsing Yun (1927-)
- Ven. Hsin Ting (1944-)
- Ven. Hsuan Hua (1918-1995)
- Ven. Hsu Yun (1840-1959)
- Ven. Sheng-yen (1931- )
American
- Anne Hopkins Aitken, (1911-1994)
- Robert Baker Aitken, Rõshi (1917- )
- Tenshin Reb Anderson
- Zentatsu Richard Baker, Rõshi
- John Crook (1930- )
- Zoketsu Norman Fischer
- James Ishmael Ford, Rõshi (1948- )
- Tetsugen Bernard Glassman, Rõshi
- Paul Haller, Rõshi
- Philip Kapleau, Rõshi (1912-2004)
- Bodhin Kjolhede, Roshi (1948- )
- Jakusho Kwong, Rõshi (1935- )
- John Daido Loori, Rõshi
- Brad Warner
- Jiyu Kennett, Rõshi (1924-1996)
Korean
- Seung Sahn, Soen Sa (1927-2004)
- Samu Sunim, (1941-)
Vietnamese
- Thich Thien An (1926-1980)
- Thich Nhat Hanh (1926-)
List of Buddhists - Miscellaneous
- Anagarika Dharmapala (1864-1933)
- Natalie Goldberg
- Daisaku Ikeda
- Ven. Ching Kung (1927-)
- Ven. Cheng Yen (1937-)
- Jan Willis
- Ven. Dr K Sri Dhammananda (1919-)
List of Buddhists - Teachers of controversial Buddhist or Buddhist-influenced groups
- Shoko Asahara (1955- )
- Li Hongzhi (1952- )
- Lu Sheng-yen (1945- )
- Sangharakshita (1925- )
- Geshe Kelsang Gyatso (1931- )
List of Buddhists - Modern scholars and authors
- Abe Masao (born 1915)
- Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1891-1956)
- Stephen Batchelor
- Susan Blackmore
- Thomas Cleary
- Edward Conze (1904-1979)
- Nakamura Hajime (1911-1999)
- Nishida Kitaro (1870-1945)
- Nishitani Keiji (1900-1990)
- Manhae (1879-1944)
- Henry Steel Olcott (1832-1907)
- C.A.F. Rhys Davids (1857-1942)
- T.W. Rhys Davids (1843-1922)
- Scott Shaw
- Gary Snyder
- D.T. Suzuki (1870-1966)
- Robert Thurman
- Ven. Yin Shun (1906-2005)
- Sangharakshita (1925- )
List of Buddhists - Modern politicians activists and protestors
- Aung San Suu Kyi
- Phoolan Devi
- Jerry Brown
- Sulak Sivaraksa
- Yohei Kono
- Thich Quang Duc
- Tenzin Delek Rinpoche
- U Thant
List of Buddhists - Celebrity Buddhists
- Ernestine Anderson, jazz singer
- Laurie Anderson
- Roberto Baggio
- Fabien Barthez
- Andrew Black
- Orlando Bloom
- Jackie Chan
- Leslie Cheung
- Leonard Cohen
- Mark Copani
- Penélope Cruz
- Patrick Duffy
- Michael Everson
- William Clay Ford, Jr.
- Richard Gere
- Allen Ginsberg
- Philip Glass
- Ron Glass
- Jake Gyllenhaal
- Herbie Hancock
- Kirk Hammett
- Goldie Hawn
- bell hooks
- Christmas Humphreys
- William Hung
- Phil Jackson
- Maxi Jazz
- Steve Jobs
- Charles Johnson
- Andy Houts
- Andy Lau
- Jet Li
- Jennifer Lopez
- Joanna Lumley, actress
- Melissa Mathison, screenwriter (Kundun, E.T.)
- Gustav Meyrink
- John Milius
- Anita Mui
- Meshell Ndegeocello, singer
- Kathleen Dee-Anne Norris
- Keanu Reeves
- Brad Pitt
- Steven Seagal
- Sesshu Toyo
- Wayne Shorter
- Patti Smith, singer
- Michael Stipe, singer
- Oliver Stone
- Sharon Stone, see documentation at List of Scientologists
- Teresa Teng
- Tina Turner
- Watazumi Doso, Rõshi
- Alice Walker
- Ruby Wax, television presenter
- Faye Wong
- Tiger Woods
- Adam Yauch (MCA of the Beastie Boys)
- Sally Yeh
- Uma Thurman
- LisaRaye McCoy
- Stefan Karakashev
- Ana Petrova
See also
- List of people
- List of people by belief
List of Buddhists - External link
- Celebrities who are Buddhists
Categories: Lists of people by belief | Buddhists
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