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Teachings Bodhisattva Buddhahood Bodhicitta Buddha-nature Skillful Means Transcendent Wisdom Transcendent Virtues Emptiness Two truths Consciousness-only Three bodies Three vehicles Non-abiding Nirvana One Vehicle Bodhisattva Precepts Bodhisattva vow Bodhisattva stages Pure Lands Luminous mind Dharani Three Turnings
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Main traditions Mādhyamaka Sanlun Yogācāra Weishi Tiantai Tendai Huayan Chan Zen Seon Thiền Shingon Tangmi Pure Land Nichiren Trúc Lâm Vajrayāna Newar Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism Dzogchen Bon Shugendō Humanistic Buddhism Chengshi Niepan
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Teachings General Buddhist Three marks of existence Skandha Cosmology Saṃsāra Rebirth Bodhisattva Dharma Dependent origination Karma Tibetan Four Tenets system Five Pure Lights Rangtong-Shentong Svatantrika-Prasaṅgika distinction Nyingma Dzogchen Pointing-out instruction
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Alineage inBuddhism is a line of transmission of the Buddhist teaching that is "theoretically traced back to theBuddha himself."^[1] The acknowledgement of the transmission can be oral, or certified in documents. Several branches of Buddhism, includingChan (includingZen andSeon) andTibetan Buddhism maintain records of their historical teachers. These records serve as a validation for the living exponents of the tradition.

The historical authenticity of various Buddhist lineages has been subject to debate.Stephen Batchelor has claimed, speaking about specifically Japanese Zen lineage, "the historicity of this “lineage” simply does not withstand critical scrutiny."^[2] Erik Storlie has noted that transmission "is simply false on historical grounds."^[3]Edward Conze said "much of the traditions about the early history of Chan are the inventions of a later age."^[4]

In the lineage of thevinaya, the requirements for ordination as abhikkhu ("monk") or abhikkhuni ("nun") include the presence of at least five other monks, one of whom must be a fully ordained preceptor, and another an acharya (teacher). This lineage for ordaining bhikshunis became extinct in theTheravada school and inTibetan Buddhism. Therefore, whenśrāmaṇerikās likeTenzin Palmo wanted full ordination, she had to travel toHong Kong.

Lineages in theMahasiddha tradition do not necessarily originate from Gautama Buddha, but are ultimately grounded, like all Buddhist lineages, in theAdi-Buddha.

The idea of a patriarchal lineage in Chan Buddhism dates back to theepitaph for Fărú (法如 638–689), a disciple of the 5th patriarch, Hóngrĕn (弘忍 601–674). In theLong Scroll of the Treatise on the Two Entrances and Four Practices and theContinued Biographies of Eminent Monks, Daoyu and Huike are the only explicitly identified disciples of Bodhidharma. The epitaph gives a line of descent identifying Bodhidharma as the first patriarch.^[5][6]

In the 6th century biographies of famous monks were collected. From this genre the typical Chan-lineage was developed:

These famous biographies were non-sectarian. The Ch'an biographical works, however, aimed to establish Ch'an as a legitimate school of Buddhism traceable to its Indian origins, and at the same time championed a particular form of Ch'an. Historical accuracy was of little concern to the compilers; old legends were repeated, new stories were invented and reiterated until they too became legends.^[7]

D. T. Suzuki contends that Chan's growth in popularity during the 7th and 8th centuries attracted criticism that it had "no authorized records of its direct transmission from the founder of Buddhism" and that Chan historians madeBodhidharma the 28th patriarch of Buddhism in response to such attacks.^[8]

The earliest lineages described the lineage from Bodhidharma to Huineng. There is no generally accepted 7th Chinese Patriarch.^[9]

The principle teachers of the Chan, Zen and Seon traditions are commonly known in English translations as "Patriarchs". However, the more precise terminology would be "Ancestors" or "Founders" (Chinese:祖;pinyin:zǔ) and "Ancestral Masters" or "Founding Masters" (Chinese:祖師), as the commonly used Chinese terms are gender neutral. Various records of different authors are known, which give a variation of transmission lines:

Eventually these descriptions of the lineage evolved into a continuous lineage from Gautama Buddha to Bodhidharma. The idea of a line of descent from Gautama is the basis for the distinctive lineage tradition of Chan.

According to theSong of Enlightenment (證道歌Zhèngdào gē) attributed toYǒngjiā Xuánjué (665–713),^[10] who was one of the chief disciples ofHuineng, Bodhidharma was the 28th Patriarch of Buddhism in a line of descent from Gautama Buddha through his discipleMahākāśyapa:

Mahakashyapa was the first, leading the line of transmission;

Twenty-eight Fathers followed him in the West;
The Lamp was then brought over the sea to this country;
And Bodhidharma became the First Father here
His mantle, as we all know, passed over six Fathers,

And by them many minds came to see the Light.^[11]

TheDenkoroku gives 28 patriarchs in this transmission,^[12][13] and 53 overall:

Twenty-four different Zen lineages are recorded to be transmitted to Japan. Only three survived until today.Sōtō was transmitted to Japan byDōgen, who travelled toChina for Chan training in the 13th century. After receivingDharma transmission in theCaodong school, he returned to Japan and established the lineage there, where it is called theSōtō.

TheLinji school was also transmitted to Japan several times, where it is theRinzai school.

Unlike the other Buddhist lineages,Pure Land Buddhism does not maintain a strict linear line of succession based on direct master-disciple relationship. Instead, various Pure Land Buddhist authors have developed lists of important Pure Land masters who have been acknowledged throughout history as having furthered the Pure Land tradition either through new insights, or by spreading of the teachings. Such teachers rarely lived at the same time as other "patriarchs" in the list. Nevertheless, their writings and contributions are considered to form a single continuum of Pure Land teaching and practice.

Chinese Buddhism commonly relies on the following list of Pure Land patriarchs:^[14]

1. Lushan Huiyuan (334-416)
2. Shandao (613-681)
3. Chengyuan (承遠, 712-802)
4. Fazhao (法照, dates unknown)
5. Shaokang (少康, d. 805)
6. Yongming Yanshou (永明延壽, 904-975)
7. Shengchang (省常, 959–1020)
8. Yunqi Zhuhong (雲棲袾宏1535-1615)
9. Ouyi Zhixu (蕅益智旭1599–1655)
10. Xingce (行策, 1628–1682)
11. Shixian (實賢, 1686–1734)
12. Jixing Chewu (際醒徹悟, 1741–1810)
13. Shi Yinguang (釋印光, c. 1861–1940)

InJōdo Shinshū andJōdo Shū Buddhist traditions, "Patriarch" refers to seven Indian, Chinese and Japanese masters leading up to the founder of their respective schools. Both traditions agree with the list of patriarchs up toGenshin.

The Japanese patriarchal listing is as follows:^{[15][16][17][18]}

The 14thDalai Lama, in the foreword toKarmapa: The Sacred Prophecy^[19] states:

Within the context of Tibetan Buddhism, the importance of lineage extends far beyond the ordinary sense of a particular line of inheritance or descent. Lineage is a sacred trust through which the integrity of Buddha's teachings is preserved intact as it is transmitted from one generation to the next. The vital link through which the spiritual tradition is nourished and maintained is the profound connection between an enlightened master and perfectly devoted disciple. The master-disciple relationship is considered extremely sacred by all the major schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

Wallace^[20] renders into English a citation ofKarma Chagme (Wylie:karma chags med, fl. 17th century) that contains an embedded quotation attributed toNāropā (956–1041 CE):

The crucial, primary qualification of a spiritual mentor is stated by Naropa, "The qualification of a spiritual mentor is that he possesses the lineage."
The Single Meaning of the Vajra Speech [Wylie: rDo rje'i gsungs dgongs pa gcig pa] states, "There is great profundity in the connection within the lineage of the holy Dharma." The real lineage of the realization of this Dharma, which transfer blessings,^[a] is the unbroken rosary of Buddhas...".^[22]

Gyatrul (b. 1924),^[23] in a purport to Karma Chagme, conveysDilgo Khyentse's 'samaya', diligence and humility in receivingVajrayana empowerment, linealDharma transmission andrlung, as rendered into English byWallace (Chagméet al., 1998: p. 21):

With respect to oral transmission, even if the lineage is impure, it is not a problem. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche often sought out and received any oral transmission he thought was on the verge of disappearing. It made no difference who was giving it. He would receive it and, in turn, pass it on to make sure that the lineage remained unbroken.^[24]

Chöd is an advanced spiritual practice known as "Cutting Through the Ego."^[25] This practice, based on thePrajnaparamita sutra, uses specificmeditations andtantric ritual.

There are severalhagiographic accounts of how chöd came to Tibet.^[26] Onenamtar (hagiography) asserts that shortly afterKamalaśīla won his famous debate withMoheyan as to whether Tibet should adopt the "sudden" route to enlightenment or his own "gradual" route, Kamalaśīla enactedphowa, transferring hismindstream to animate a corpse polluted with contagion in order to safely move the hazard it presented. As the mindstream of Kamalaśīla was otherwise engaged, a mahasiddha namedDampa Sangye came across the vacantkuten or "physical basis" of Kamalaśīla. Dampa Sangye was not karmically blessed with an aesthetic corporeal form, and upon finding the very handsome and healthy empty body of Kamalaśīla, which he assumed to be a newly dead fresh corpse, used phowa to transfer his own mindstream into Kamalaśīla's body. Dampa Sangye's mindstream in Kamalaśīla's body continued the ascent to the Himalaya and thereby transmitted the Pacification of Suffering teachings and the Indian form of Chöd which contributed to the Mahamudra Chöd ofMachig Labdrön. The mindstream of Kamalaśīla was unable to return to his ownkuten and so was forced to enter the vacant body of Dampa Sangye.^[27][28]

• Apostolic succession, a similar practice in Christian tradition
• Dharma transmission
• Gotra
• Religious order
• Sangharaja
• Zen lineage charts

• The Lineages and History of Buddhism
• Chö/Chöd/Lineages associated with Machig Labdrön
• Schools of Zen Buddhism at the Zen Buddhism WWW Virtual Library
• Zen Ancestors in China – The Five Houses
• Caodong and Linji lineage chart of present-day Chan MasterSheng-yen
• Buddhist masters

• Buddhist philosophical concepts
• Buddhist orders
• Buddhist patriarchs

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• Short description matches Wikidata
• Articles containing Chinese-language text
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• Articles containing Standard Tibetan-language text
• CS1 errors: ISBN date