• Ambedkar, Dr. (1891-1956)
Founder of the Indian movement for converting Harijans (untouchables) from Hinduism to Buddhism. Member of the Bombay Legislative Assembly, later Law Minister in the Central Government at Indian independence. 1956: at Nagpur, he and his wife along with 500,000 followers [mostly composed of Harijans] formally renounced the Hindu religion and espoused Buddhism. Author of the book: The Buddha and His Dharma.

• Anagarika Dharmapala (1865-1933)
Named used by D.H. Hewavitarne, the famous Buddhist propagandist. Born in Sri Lanka in 1865, he joined the Theosophical Society in 1884. Inspired by H.P. Blavatsky he studied Pali and in 1891 founded the Maha Bodhi Society. He then proclaimed himself as an Anagarika, a homeless wanderer, and worked hard for the main object of the Society, the restoration of Buddha Gaya into Buddhist hands, which was only achieved in 1949. In 1925 he founded the British Maha Bodhi Society in London. In 1931 he entered the Order as Sri Devamitta Dhammapala, and died in 1933.

• Ananda
A cousin of the Buddha, the brother of Devadatta. One of the ten great disciples of the Buddha. Ananda accompanied the Buddha for more than twenty years and was the Master's favourite disciple. He attained enlightenment after the demise of the Buddha under the guidance of Mahakasyapa. He was famed for his excellent memory and recited the Suta-Pitaka (the discourses contained in the Tipitaka) at the First Buddhist Council.

• Atisha (982-1054 )
Famous Indian scholar of profound learning. Arrived in Tibet in 1038 and stayed until his death. Entirely reformed the prevailing Buddhism, enforcing celibacy in the existing Order and raised the level of morality. Founded the Kahdam-pa school ('those bound by ordinance'). In the fifteenth century Tsong-kha-pa reformed this School, renaming it the Gelug-pa.

• Bodhidharma (Tamo, Ch.) (Daruma, Jap.)
Deeply learned Indian Buddhist monk who arrived at the Chinese Court in 520 C.E. Known in China as Tamo, and in Japan as Daruma. After his famous interview with Emperor Wu, he meditated for nine years in silence and departed. Bodhidharma was the first Chinese Ch'an (Zen) Patriarch. The father of Zen Buddhism, although it was left to Masters of the eighth century, to consolidate his teaching and technique into a school of Buddhism.

• Buddhaghosa (5th Century C.E.)
A great Buddhist scholar born in India early fifth century, who translated Sinhalese commentaries into Pali and wrote the Visuddhi Magga (Path of Purification) and other works, including commentaries on Theravada Buddhism and much of the Pitakas (the Pali Tipitaka).

• Buddhadasa, Bhikkhu (1926-1993)
Buddhadasa ordained as a bhikkhu (Buddhist monk) in 1926, at twenty. After a few years of study in Bangkok, which convinced him "purity is not to be found in the big city," he was inspired to live close with nature in order to investigate the Buddha-Dhamma. Thus, he established Suan Mokkhabalarama (The Grove of the Power of Liberation) in 1932, in Chaiya District. At that time, it was the only forest Dhamma Center and one of the few places dedicated to vipassana meditation in Southern Thailand. Word of Buddhadasa, his work, and Suan Mokkh spread over the years so that they are easily described as "one of the most influential events of Buddhist history in Thailand." He studied all schools of Buddhism, as well as the other major religious traditions. This interest was practical rather than scholarly. He sought to unite all genuinely religious people in order to work together to help, as he put it, "drag humanity out from under the power of materialism." This broadmindedness won him friends and students from around the world, including Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs.

• Bu-ston (1008-1064)
Tibetan Buddhist, member of the school of the 11th-century reformer Atisha. He translated much of the Buddhist sacred literature, including Tantra texts, into classic Tibetan and possibly (c. 1060) made the definitive arrangement of the Kanjur and Tanjur, the two basic Tibetan collections of Buddhist principles.

• Dalai Lama (1935-)
The word Dalai, 'great ocean' is Mongolian and was a title granted to the third Grand Lama of the Gelugpa School in 1587 by Gusri Khan, a Mongol prince. There have been fourteen Dalai Lamas, of whom the Fifth (1615-1680), a great administrator and reformer, was the first to gain full temporal power of all Tibet in addition to being the Grand Lama of its leading School, the Gelug-pa. The current Fourteenth Dalai Lama was born in Amdo on 6th June 1935, and was enthroned in 1940. In 1959, he left Tibet following the Lhasa Uprising. Since then he has conducted a government-in-exile at Dharamsala, North India. He has also very sucessfully worked to resettle 100,000 Tibetan refugees and to preserve Tibetan religion and culture, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.

• Dogen (1200-1253)
The Japanese Founder of Soto Zen, the largest Zen school of Buddhism in Japan. Dogen studied the teachings of the Ts'ao Tung (Ch'an) school for four years before bringing it in 1227 to Japan. He stands alone as the Founder of the Japanese school, and is by far its greatest name. He would have no dealings with the Court, but retired to the mountains where he founded Eiheiji temple, near Fukui. There he taught that moral training (precepts), meditation and wisdom are three facets of the one process. All is Buddha, and we have but to realize what we are.

• Fa-Hsien
A Chinese monk of the Eastern dynasty (4th-5th Century). In 399 he left China for India, finally arriving there after six years of hard travel. After studying Sanskrit and obtaining many Sanskrit texts of the Tripitaka (Buddhist canon), he returned to China by sea in 414. After his return he not only translated these texts but also wrote a record of his travels. He died when either eighty-two or eighty-six years old.

• Hakuin (1686-1769)
Hakuin joined the Rinzai Zen sect about 1700. He subsequently became an itinerant monk, during which time he first experienced enlightenment, and returned in 1716 to the Shoin Temple in his native Hara, which remained his base until his death. Hakuin taught that direct knowledge of the truth is available to all, even the lowliest, and that a moral life must accompany religious practice. He utilized koans (unsolvable riddles) to aid meditation and invented the well-known paradox of contemplating the sound of one hand clapping. Hakuin also is known as an artist and calligrapher. Typically using bold brushstrokes and dark ink colours, he sought to evoke in the viewer's mind his feelings on Zen practice and on the attainment of enlightenment.

• Hönen (1133-1212)
Honen Shonin, also called Genku, established in 1175 the Jodo or 'Pure Land' school of Japan. His fundamental tenet was a belief in the power and grace of Amitabha, lord of Sukhavati (the Western paradise). He advocated repeated invocation of Amitabha's name, by which anyone, ignorant or wise, high or low, could be saved. His teaching was based on that of Master Hui Yuan, the Chinese founder of the Pure Land school.

• Hui-Neng (638-713)
The Sixth Patriarch of Ch'an/Zen Buddhism in China. His words are preserved in a work called the Platform Sutra. Known in Japan as Eno and in Vietnam as Huê-Nãng, he was the sixth and last patriarch of Ch'an Buddhist in China. As leader of the Southern branch of the Ch'an school, he taught the doctrine of Spontaneous Enlightenment, through meditation in which thought, objectivity and all attachment are eliminated.

• Humphreys, Christmas (1901-1983)
A prominent English Buddhist. Adopted Buddhism as a way of life in 1918. Attended Buddhist lectures by Francis Payne in 1923. On 19th November 1924 founded, with Miss Aileen Faulkner, later his wife, the Buddhist Lodge of the Theosophical Society, which in 1926 became the Buddhist Society. Publisher of the journal The Middle Way and was Vice President of the World Fellowship of Buddhists.

• Hsuan-tsang (602-664)
Buddhist monk and Chinese pilgrim to India who translated the sacred scriptures of Buddhism from Sanskrit into Chinese and founded in China the "Buddhist Consciousness Only" school. His fame rests mainly on the volume and diversity of his translations of the Buddhist sutras and on the record of his travels in Central Asia and India, which, with its wealth of detailed and precise data, has been of inestimable value to historians and archaeologists.

Hsu Yun, Ch'an Master (1840-1959)
'Universally regarded as the most outstanding Buddhist of the Chinese Sangha in the modern era' (Richard Hunn). Dharma successor of all five Ch'an schools; main reformer in Chinese Buddhism revival (1900-50). Born in Chuan Chou, Fukein province. Left home at 19 took Refuge at Yung Chuan Ssu on Mt Ku with Master Chang Kai. In 56 year achieved final awakening at Kao Min Ssu in Yang Chou. Thereafter began revival and teaching work. Founded many schools and hospitals, and died in 120th year.

• Khema (5 B.C.E)
The perfect or model Buddhist nun (bhikkhuni) according to the Buddha. She was the Queen of Bimbisara, of great beauty; but through the Buddha's teaching, she realized the transience of the body and achieved the condition of the Arhat. She became a wise teacher herself, giving answers to questions posed by King Pasenadi which turned out to be identical to the Buddha's own answers when he was asked the same questions.

• Kumarajiva (344–413)
Buddhist scholar and missionary. In 383, From 401 he was at the Ch'in court in the capital Chang'an (the modern Xi'an), where he taught and translated Buddhist scriptures into Chinese. More than 100 translations are attributed to him. Of these only about 24 can be authenticated, but they include some of the most important titles in the Chinese Buddhist canon. Kumarajiva's career had an epoch-making influence on Chinese Buddhist thought, not only because he made available important texts that were previously unknown, but also because he did much to clarify Buddhist terminology and philosophical concepts. He and his disciples established the Chinese branch of the Madhyamika, known as the San-lun, or “Three Treatises” school.

• Mahapajapati
She was the sister of Mahamaya, the mother of Shakyamuni Buddha. They both married King Suddhodana. Mahamaya died seven days after the birth of Shakyamuni. Mahapajapati then became the step/foster mother of Shakyamuni, and treated Shakyamuni as her own son, Nanda. Nanda was one of the Ten Great Disciples of Shakyamuni. After the death of King Suddhodana, Mahapajapati was ordained as the first woman admitted to Buddhist Order.

• Maha Kassapa (Skt: Kasyapa)
A Brahmin of Magadha who became a close disciple of the Buddha, and was at the time of his death the most senior member of the Order. He therefore presided over the first Buddhist Council, held immediately after the passing. The Zen School regards him as their First Patriarch from the story of the 'transmission' of the 'Mind-seal' when the Buddha held up the golden flower and Maha-Kasyapa smiled.

• Mahasi Sayadaw (1904-1982)
Mahasi Sayadaw (Ven. U Sobhana) best known for reviving Theravada Vipassana meditation. In 1949, on the invitation of the Prime Minister, U Nu, Mahasi Sayadaw taught at the Sasana Yeiktha (Meditation Centre) in Rangoon. Within a few years of the establishment of the Sasana Yeiktha, similar meditation centres were inaugurated in many parts of the country with Mahasi-trained members of the Sangha as meditation teachers. These centres were not confined to Burma alone, but extended to neighbouring Theravada countries like Thailand and Sri Lanka. At the Sixth Buddhist Council in 1954, Mahasi Sayadaw had the exacting task of Osana (Final Editor) and Pucchaka (Questioner). A unique feature of this Council was the editing of the commentaries (Atthakatha) and sub-commentaries (tikas), as well as the canonical texts.

• Mahinda
Son of the Indian King Asoka and leader of a Buddhist missionary enterprise to Sri Lanka. Sometime around 250 B.C., Asoka sent his son and daughter, Sanghamitta, to Sri Lanka to establish the Dharma on the island. Mahinda converted the king, Devanampiya Tissa, and established a monastery that eventually developed into the Mahavihara or 'Great Monastery.' A branch of the Bodhi tree was brought from Bodhgaya. In a short time, a valid lineage was established, and the religion began to grow on the island, remaining today as a stronghold of Theravada Buddhism.

• Marpa (1012-1096)
This Tibetan layman is thought to have imported songs and text from Bengal to Tibet, particularly those belonging to the Mahamudra doctrine. He is mainly venerated for having translated many Indian text into Tibetan and as the master (guru) of Milarepa. He was himself a disciple of Naropa and Maitripa, and is considered to be the founder of the Bka-rgyud-pa sect.

• Milarepa (1040–1143)
Saint and poet of Tibetan Buddhism. He was the second patriarch of the Kargyupa sect, the first being Milarepa's guru Marpa (1012–97), who studied under Naropa, the Bengali master of Tantra, at Nalanda. Milarepa's autobiography recounts how in his youth he practiced black magic in order to take revenge on relatives who deprived his mother of the family inheritance. He later repented and sought Buddhist teaching. After undergoing many tests and ordeals under Marpa, he received initiation from him. He spent the rest of his life meditating in mountain caves and teaching his disciples.

• Milinda
The Greco-Bactrian King Menander or Menandros who reigned over Afghanistan and Northern India in the latter half of the second century B.C. King Milinda had a series of discussions with a Buddhist monk, Nagasena, concerning Buddhist doctrines, which were compiled into a work entitled the Milindapanha. Their dialogue is famous as one of the first encounters between Buddhism and Hellenistic culture. Milinda is said to have eventually become a Buddhist.

• Narada, Maha Thera (1898-1983)
Sinhalese Buddhist, born in Sri Lanka. Pali scholar and a leading exponent of Theravada Buddhism. Travelled throughout the world, lecturing, broadcasting and founding Buddhist organisations. Stimulated Buddhist studies in Australia, China, Vietnam, Nepal and the U.S.A. Translated the Dhammapada and wrote many books on Theravada Buddhism.

• Nargarjuna (2nd-3rd Century)
One of the most important philosophers of Buddhism and founder of the Madhyamika (Middle Way) school. Nargajuna's major accomplishment was his systemisation of the teaching presented in the Prajnaparamita Sutras. He is revered in all of the Mahayana as a great religious figure, in many places as a Bodhisattva. Not only Zen, but also the Tantric branch of Buddhism and the devotional communities of Amitabha Buddha, count Nagarjuna among their patriarchs.

• Nhat Hanh, Thich
Well known Vietnamese monk and poet, born 1926. Ordination and advance religious training in Vietnam. Coined the term "Engaged Buddhism" in his book Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire. What makes Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh distinctive is his extensive arsenal of methods. He recommends meditation, of course, koan study and breath regulation, but he also puts great stress on Theravada methods (mindfulness and the psychology of the Abhidhamma).

• Nichiren (1222-1282)
Nichiren Shonin, the founder of the Nichiren Sect in Japan. At age eleven, his parents sent him to Seichoji-Temple to study. From an early age, he began to wonder why there were so many schools of Buddhism, while the Buddhism expounded by Sakyamuni Buddha was but one? He was ordained a priest at Seichoji Temple at the young age of fifteen. After considerable study of the Buddhist schools, Nichiren Shonin concluded that the Lotus Sutra indeed represented the perfect culmination of the true teaching of the Buddha.

• Padmasambhava (8th Century)
Tantric Saint, instrumental in introducing Buddhism to Tibet. He is regarded by the Nyingma-pa Order as their founder. The Tibetan King Trisong Detsen (740-98) had invited the scholar Shantarakshita to Tibet, where he disseminated Buddhism and inspired the founding of the first Buddhist monastery at Samye. The king then invited Padmasambhava to exorcise the local demons and gods who resisted the teachings (Dharma). He did so, making them protectors of the Dharma, a story which illustrates how Buddhism incorporated local Tibetan traditions.

• Panchen Lama
The Panchen Lama ranks second only to the Dalai Lama among the Grand Lamas of the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism. His seat is in the Tashilhumpo monastery at Shigatse. In 1640 the 5th Dalai Lama, having with the aid of the Mongols acquired temporal as well as spiritual control of the whole country, honored his own tutor with the title of Panchen (from Pandita, learned) Lama, and built the Tashilhumpo monastery for him. On the death of the title holder, the new Lama is found in the body of a small child, as in the case of the Dalai Lama, and no new Lama is recognized as such by the people until approved by a Tibetan commission appointed for this purpose.

• Rahula, Ven. Walpola (1907-)
Sri Lankan scholar monk. Well-known preacher who criticized some popular Buddhist practices and took especial interest in social and economic matters; entered struggle for political freedom. Worked with Miss I.B. Horner of the Pali Text Society, and lectured widely in the USA and Japan. Best known book: What the Buddha Taught.

• Shantideva
Representative of the Madhyamika school of Mahayana Buddhism. Shantideva was a king's son from South India. He flourished in the 7th to 8th centuries and was a monk at the monastic university Nalanda.He was the author of two surviving works, the Collection of Rules and Entering the Path of Enlightenment. The latter is still used in Tibetan Buddhism as a teaching text.

• Shinran (1173-1263)
Founder of the True Pure Land School of Japanese Buddhism. A disciple of Honen (Jodo School), he carried the doctrine of salvation by faith in Amitabha Buddha to the extreme one of recitation of Amitabha's name being sufficent if done with a pure heart. He advocated marriage of priests, and was himself married. He popularized congregational worship. Except in Japan and to a certain extent Korea, Shinran's reforms (salvation by faith alone, marriage of priests, meat-eating, etc.) are not accepted by the Buddhist traditions of East Asia.

• Suzuki, D.T. (1870-1966)
Japanese Buddhist Scholar, who, as one of the best known modern interpreters of Zen in the West, did a great deal to arouse interest in Zen. He was a lay student of Master Shaku Soen (Soyen) from Engaju Temple in Kamakura (Japan) and underwent Zen training there. He focused primarily on the intellectual interpretation of Zen teachings. Author of a score of major works in English, more in Japanese, and innumerable articles, nearly all on Zen Buddhism, attempting to explain its nature and importance to the Western world.

• T'ai-Hsu (1889-1947)
Famous modern Chinese Buddhist monk. Organised revival of Buddhism in China between the World Wars. Founded Chinese Buddhist Association and the journal Hai Cha'o (the Voice of the Tide). Travelled in Europe 1928-9 where he founded Les Amis du Bouddhisme in Paris. Worked hard to improve relations between Buddhists of the East and West. His main doctrinal theme focused on promoting a synthesis of various Chinese Buddhist schools in a harmonious fashion.

• Tsong-kha-pa (1355-1417)
Tibetan Buddhist reformer and founder of Dge-lugs-pa (or Gelug-pa, or 'Yellow Hat') Order. One of the greatest names of Tibetan history, he was born on the site of the present Kum-bum monastery and at an early age dedicated his life to the complete reform of Tibetan Buddhism. He founded the Ganden monastery 26 miles from Lhasa and the the new Order the Gelug-pa, 'the virtuous ones.' To this day the senior members wear on important occasions a yellow headdress. Both the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama are members of this Order.

• Vasubandhu (420-500)
Famous Indian philosopher and writer. With his brother Asanga founded the Yogacara School of Mahayana Buddhism. His early work, the Abhidharma-Kosa, is one of the fullest expositions of the Abhidamma teachings of the Theravada School. Later on, being converted to the Mahayana point of view by his brother, he wrote the Vijnaptiimatra Shastra, expounding the Mahayana doctrine of Mind-only.