Founders of Buddhist sects

Nāgārjuna (, ; ) was an Indian philosopher and Mahāyāna Buddhist monk of the Madhyamaka (Centrism, Middle Way) school. Nāgārjuna is widely considered one of the most important Buddhist philosophers. He was the founder of the Madhyamaka school of Buddhist philosophy and a defender of the Mahāyāna movement. His Mūlamadhyamakakārikā (Root Verses on Madhyamaka, MMK) is the most important text on the Madhyamaka philosophy of emptiness. The MMK inspired a large number of commentaries in Sanskrit, Chinese, Tibetan, Korean and Japanese and continues to be studied today.

Bodhidharma was a semi-legendary Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century CE. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China, and is regarded as its first Chinese patriarch. He is also popularly regarded as the founder of Shaolin kung fu, an idea popularized in the 20th century, but based on the 17th century Yijin Jing and the Daoist association of daoyin gymnastics with Bodhidharma.

thumb|Rewalsar Lake#Colossus of Padmasambhava|Colossus of Padmasambhava, 123 ft. (37.5 m) high, in mist overlooking [[Rewalsar Lake, Himachal Pradesh, India]]

Mongkut (18 October 18041 October 1868), posthumously honoured as King Mongkut the Great, was the fourth king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama IV. He reigned from 1851 until his death in 1868.

was a Japanese Zen Buddhist monk, writer, poet, philosopher, and founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan. He is also known as Dōgen Kigen (), Eihei Dōgen (), Kōso Jōyō Daishi (), and Busshō Dentō Kokushi ().

, born posthumously called , was a Japanese Buddhist monk, calligrapher, and poet who founded the esoteric Shingon school of Buddhism. He travelled to China, where he studied Tangmi (Chinese Vajrayana Buddhism) under the monk Huiguo. Upon returning to Japan, he founded Shingon—the Japanese branch of Vajrayana Buddhism. With the blessing of several Emperors, Kūkai was able to preach Shingon teachings and found Shingon temples. Like other influential monks, Kūkai oversaw public works and constructions. Mount Kōya was chosen by him as a holy site, and he spent his later years there until his deat

was a Japanese Buddhist monk and philosopher of the Kamakura period. His teachings form the basis of Nichiren Buddhism, a unique branch of Japanese Mahayana Buddhism based on the Lotus Sutra.

thumb|238px|A famous statue of Milarepa self made by Milerapa's root student Bhu Rechungpa which later belonged to Nyanang Phelgyeling Monastery, Tibet and now is in Phelgyeling Monastery, Nepal. Jetsun Milarepa (, 1028/40–1111/23) was a Tibetan , who was famously known as a murderer when he was a young man, before turning to Buddhism and becoming a highly accomplished Buddhist disciple. He is generally considered one of Tibet's most famous yogis and spiritual poets, whose teachings are known among several schools of Tibetan Buddhism. He was a student of Marpa Lotsawa, and a major figure in th

Atiśa (c. 982–1054 CE) was a Buddhist religious teacher and leader from Bengal. He is generally associated with his body of work authored at Vikramaśīla Monastery in Bihar. He was a major figure in the spread of 11th-century Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism in Asia and traveled to Sumatra and Tibet. Atiśa, along with his chief disciple Dromtön, is regarded as the founder of the Kadam school, one of the New Translation schools of Tibetan Buddhism. In the 14th century, the Kadam school was supplanted by the Gelug tradition, which adopted its teachings and absorbed its monasteries.

Tibetan Buddhist monk, philosopher, and guru (c. 1357–1419)

Tibetan Buddhist teacher

was a key Japanese Buddhist figure of the Kamakura Period who is regarded as the founder of the Jōdo Shinshū school of Japanese Buddhism. A pupil of Hōnen, the founder of the Japanese Pure Land movement, Shinran articulated a distinctive Pure Land vision that emphasized faith and absolute reliance on Amida Buddha’s other-power.

was a Japanese Buddhist priest, credited with founding the Rinzai school, the Japanese line of the Linji school of Zen Buddhism. In 1191, he introduced this Zen approach to Japan, following his trip to China from 1187 to 1191, during which he was initiated into the Linji school by the master Hsü an. It is also said that he popularized green tea in Japan, following this same trip. He was also the founding abbot of Shōfuku-ji and Kennin-ji, two of the earliest Zen temples in Japan. He is often known simply as Eisai/Yōsai Zenji (栄西禅師), literally "Zen master Eisai".

Chinese Chan Buddhist monk (?–866)

was a Japanese Buddhist monk credited with founding the Japanese Tendai school of Buddhism. He was awarded the posthumous title of Dengyō Daishi (伝教大師).

Chinese Buddhist philosopher (709–788)

Jianzhen (688–763), also known by his Japanese name Ganjin (), was a Tang Chinese monk who helped to propagate Buddhism in Japan. In the eleven years from 743 to 754, Jianzhen attempted to visit Japan some six times, arriving in the year 753 and founding Tōshōdai-ji in Nara. When he finally succeeded on his sixth attempt, he had lost his eyesight as a result of an infection acquired during his journeys, although Fukushima Giichi, a Japanese expert in the history of ophthalmology, suggested that he may have suffered from age related cataracts . Jianzhen's life story and voyage are described in

Ingen Ryūki (, ) (December 7, 1592 – May 19, 1673) was a Chinese poet, calligrapher, and monk of Linji Chan Buddhism from China. He is most known for founding the Ōbaku school of Zen in Japan.

'''''' (814–891) was a Japanese Buddhist monk, founder of the Jimon school of Tendai Buddhism and Chief Abbot of Mii-dera at the foot of Mount Hiei. After succeeding to the post of Tendai , in 873, a strong rivalry developed between his followers and those of Ennin's at Enryaku-ji (note: Ennin had died in 864).

Jinul Puril Bojo Daesa (, "Bojo Jinul" ; 1158–1210), often called Jinul or Chinul for short, was a Korean monk of the Goryeo period, who is considered to be the most influential figure in the formation of Korean Seon (Zen) Buddhism. He is credited as the founder of the Jogye Order, by working to unify the disparate sects in Korean Buddhism into a cohesive organization.

Daoxuan (; 596–667) was an eminent Tang dynasty Chinese Buddhist monk. He is perhaps best known as the Patriarch of the four-part Vinaya school (). Daoxuan wrote both the Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks (Xù gāosēng zhuàn 續高僧傳) and the Standard Design for Buddhist Temple Construction. Legends retold in his biographies also associate him to a relic of the Buddha which came to be called Daoxuan's tooth (Daoxuan foya 道宣佛牙), one of the four tooth relics enshrined in the capital of Chang'an during the Tang dynasty. He is said to have received the relic from Nezha (; Sanskrit: Naṭa), a divinit

1234/9–1289 was a Japanese Buddhist itinerant preacher (hijiri) whose movement, the became one of the major currents of medieval Japanese Pure Land Buddhism.

13th century Zen Buddhist monk

Buddhist monk

Kuiji (; 632–682), also known as Ji (), an exponent of Yogācāra, was a Chinese monk and a prominent disciple of Xuanzang. His posthumous name was Ci'en Dashi (), the Great Teacher of Cien Monastery, after the Daci'en Temple or Great Monastery of Compassionate Grace, which was located in Chang'an, the main capital of the Tang Dynasty. The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda was built in Daci'en Temple in 652. According to biographies, he was sent to the imperial translation bureau headed by Xuanzang, from whom he later would learn Sanskrit, Abhidharma, and Yogācāra.

Japanese karateka

Chinese writer and Chan monk

thumb|Kakuban sculpture (Mitsugon-dō), Oku-no-in, Kōya-san thumb|Mausoleum of Kakuban in Negoro-ji Kakuban (覚鑁/覺鑁; 1095–1143), known posthumously as Kōgyō-Daishi (興教大師) was a priest of the Shingon sect of Buddhism in Japan and credited as a reformer, though his efforts also led to a schism between and . Kakuban is also famous for his introduction of the "esoteric nembutsu".

Indian monk

Dushun () (557–640) was the First Patriarch of the Huayan School of Chinese Buddhism, which has the Indian Avatamsaka Sutra as its central scripture.

Ryōnin (良忍, 1072–1132) was a Tendai Buddhist monk in the late Heian period and the founder of the Yuzu Nembutsu sect.

(fl. 1190s) was a Japanese Buddhist monk who started the first Zen school in Japan called the Darumashū, or "Bodhidharma school."

Japanese Buddhist monk