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A number of noted individuals have been Buddhists.

Contents 1 Historical Buddhist thinkers and founders of schools 1.1 Buddha's disciples and early Buddhists 1.2 Later Indian Buddhists (after Buddha) 1.3 Indo-Greek 1.4 Central Asian 1.5 Chinese 1.6 Tibetan 1.7 Japanese 1.8 Korean 1.9 Thai 2 Historical rulers and political figures 3 Modern teachers 3.1 Theravada teachers 3.2 Tibetan Buddhist teachers 3.3 Zen teachers 3.4 Miscellaneous 4 Teachers of controversial Buddhist or Buddhist-influenced groups 5 Modern scholars in Buddhist studies 6 Modern Buddhist authors 7 Modern politicians, activists, and protesters 8 Celebrity Buddhists 9 References 10 See also

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.

See also: Disciples of the Buddha and Family of the Buddha

• The Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama
• Ambapali
• Ananda, Siddhartha's cousin, personal attendant of the Buddha and one of his chief disciples
• Angulimala
• Anuruddha
• Assaji
• Ajatasattu
• Bimbisara
• Channa
• Cunda
• Dabba Mallaputta
• Devadatta, another cousin of Siddhartha and later rival who attempted to assassinate the Buddha
• 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, only child of Prince Siddhartha and Yashodhara before Siddhartha renounced and began his search for Enlightenment
• 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, wife of Prince Siddhartha before he renounced and began his search for Enlightenment

• 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

• 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.

• 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.

• 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)(慧可大師)
• Huineng (6th Patriarch of Zen in China)(慧能大師)
• 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)(臨濟)
• 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)

• 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
• Mandarava, important female student and consort of Padmasambhava
• 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
• Padmasambhava, (Tib. Guru Rinpoche) Indian founder of Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism
• 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 and consort of Padmasambhava

• 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)

• 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

• 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)

• 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 (阿育王)
• 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.

• Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta (1870-1949)
• Venerable Ananda Maitreya (1896-1998)
• Buddhadasa Bhikkhu (1906-1993)
• Ajahn Chah (1918-1992)
• Dipa Ma (1911-1989)
• Venerable Ledi Sayadaw (1846-1923)
• Ayya Khema (1923-1997)
• Preah Maha Ghosananda (1929-2007), Supreme Patriarch of Cambodia
• Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw (1904-1982)
• U Ba Khin (1899-1971)
• S. N. Goenka (Born 1924)

• Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche (1930-2002)
• Chögyam Trungpa (1940-1987)
• The 14th Dalai Lama[1] (born 1935)
• Dhardo Rimpoche (1917-1990)
• Dudjom Rinpoche (1904-1987)
• Kalu Rinpoche (1905-1989)
• Pawo Rinpoche (1912-1991)
• Rangjung Rigpe Dorje (1924–1981), the 16th Karmapa
• Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, (1920-1996), Dzogchen, Mahamudra and the New Treasures of Chokgyur Lingpa (Chokling Tersar).

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)
• Taisen Deshimaru (1914-1982)
• Soko Morinaga, Rōshi (1925-1995)
• Dainin Katagiri (1928-1990)
• Taizan Maezumi (1931-1995)
• Soyu Matsuoka, Rōshi (?-1998)

Chinese

• Ven. Hsu Yun (1840-1959) (虛雲老和尚)
• Ven. Guang Qin (1892-1986)
• Ven. Hsuan Hua (1918-1995) (宣化上人)
• Ven. Fayun (1933-2003)
• Ven. Jih Chang (1929-2004) (日常老和尚)

European

• John Garrie Roshi (1923 - 1998)
• Bárbara Kosen Richaudeau (Seikyu Kosen)1951

American

• Anne Hopkins Aitken, (1911-1994)
• Jiyu Kennett, Rōshi (1924-1996)

Korean

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

Vietnamese

• Thich Thien An (1926-1980)

• Anagarika Dharmapala (1864-1933),
• Issan Dorsey (1933-1997)

• Inoue Nissho (1887-1967)

• Eugène Burnouf (1801–1852)
• Robert Caesar Childers (1838-1876)
• Robert Chalmers (1858-1938)
• Edward Conze (1904-1979)
• A. K. Coomaraswamy (1877-1947)
• Viggo Fausböll (1821 - 1908)
• Wilhelm Geiger (1856-1943)
• Takakusu Junjirō (1866-1945)
• A.P. Buddhadatta Mahathera (1887-1962)
• Gunapala Piyasena Malalasekera (1899-1973)
• Hermann Oldenberg (1854-1920)
• Jean Przyluski (1885-1944)
• C.A.F. Rhys Davids (1857-1942)
• T.W. Rhys Davids (1843-1922)
• D.T. Suzuki (1870-1966)

• Nakamura Hajime (1911-1999)
• Nishida Kitaro (1870-1945)
• Nishitani Keiji (1900-1990)
• Ven. Tai Xu (1890-1947)
• Manhae (1879-1944)
• Henry Steel Olcott (1832-1907)
• Tanaka Chigaku (1861-1939)
• Chittadhar Hridaya (1906-1982)
• Alan Watts (1915-1973)

• Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1891-1956)

• Leonard Cohen Canadian singer/songwriter/poet [2]
• Richard Gere,^[1] actor
• Allen Ginsberg,^[2] poet
• Philip Glass composer [3][4]
• Jet Li, Chinese martial artist, Hollywood actor^[3][5][6]
• Courtney Love, American singer-songwriter ^[4]
• Victor Pelevin, novelist^[5]
• Keanu Reeves, American actor [7]
• Orlando Bloom, English actor^[6]

• Buddhism
• Buddha (general)
• Gautama Buddha