Shingon Buddhism - Lineage

Lineage

The Shingon lineage is an ancient transmission of esoteric Buddhist doctrine that began in India and then spread to China and Japan. Shingon is the name of this lineage in Japan, but there are also esoteric schools in China, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong that consider themselves part of this lineage (as the originators of the Esoteric teachings) and universally recognize Kūkai as their eighth patriarch. This is why sometimes the term "Orthodox Esoteric Buddhism" is used instead.

Shingon or Orthodox Esoteric Buddhism maintains that the expounder of the doctrine was originally the Universal Buddha Mahavairocana but the first human to receive the doctrine was Nagarjuna in India. The tradition recognizes two groups of eight great patriarchs - one group of lineage holders and one group of great expounders of the doctrine.

The Eight Great Lineage Patriarchs (Fuho-Hasso 付法八祖)

• Mahavairocana (Dainichi-Nyorai 大日如来)
• Vajrasattva (Kongō-Satta 金剛薩埵)
• Nagarjuna (Ryūju-Bosatsu 龍樹菩薩) - received the Mahavairocana Tantra from Vajrasattva inside an Iron Stupa in Southern India)
• Nagabodhi (Ryūchi-Bosatsu 龍智菩薩)
• Vajrabodhi (Kongōchi-Sanzō 金剛智三蔵)
• Amoghavajra (Fukūkongō-Sanzō 不空金剛三蔵)
• Huiguo (Keika-Ajari 恵果阿闍梨)
• Kōbō-Daishi (弘法大師)

The Eight Great Doctrine-Expounding Patriarchs (Denji-Hasso 伝持八祖)

• Nagarjuna (Ryūju-Bosatsu 龍樹菩薩)
• Nagabodhi (Ryūchi-Bosatsu 龍智菩薩)
• Vajrabodhi (Kongōchi-Sanzō 金剛智三蔵)
• Amoghavajra (Fukūkongō-Sanzō 不空金剛三蔵)
• Śubhakarasiṃha (Zenmui-Sanzō 善無畏三蔵)
• I-Hsing (Ichigyō-Zenji 一行禅師)
• Huiguo (Keika-Ajari 恵果阿闍梨)
• Kōbō-Daishi (弘法大師)