Who are your Top 5 Mahayana masters of all time?

General forum on the teachings of all schools of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Topics specific to one school are best posted in the appropriate sub-forum.
User avatar
Dodatsu
Posts: 104
Joined: Mon May 04, 2009 3:49 pm
Location: Kyoto, Japan

Re: Who are your Top 5 Mahayana masters of all time?

Post by Dodatsu »

My top 5:
Image
1. Shinran Shonin, whose teachings i follow.
Image
2. Rennyo shonin, who helped spread the teachings of Shinran Shonin throughout Japan, from which it spread throughout to the world.
Image
3. Inagaki Zuiken, a famous Shin master.
Image
4. Inagaki Zuio, son of (3) and instrumental in translating many Shin texts from Sino-Japanese to English (two published by the Numata Translation Committee)
Image
5. The Seven Masters - Nagarjuna, Vasubhandhu, Tan-luan, Dao-cuo, Shan-dao, Genshin, Genku
Contemplating the power of Tathagata's Primal Vow,
One sees that no foolish being who encounters it passes by in vain.
When a person single-heartedly practices the saying of the Name alone,
It brings quickly to fullness and perfection [in that person] the great treasure ocean of true and real virtues.
- Shinran Shonin
User avatar
ChangYuan
Posts: 64
Joined: Sat Jul 04, 2009 10:09 pm
Contact:

Re: Who are your Top 5 Mahayana masters of all time?

Post by ChangYuan »

Bodhidharma
Hui Neng
Huike
Sheng Yen
Hsuan Hua
_/\_ Amituofo

The Inept Buddhist
J.Khedrup
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Oct 22, 2009 4:41 am

Re: Who are your Top 5 Mahayana masters of all time?

Post by J.Khedrup »

HH the 14th Dalai Lama

Nagarjuna

Master Hsu Yun

Master Hsuan Hua

Tsongkhapa
User avatar
Tenzin Sungrab
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2009 12:05 am

Re: Who are your Top 5 Mahayana masters of all time?

Post by Tenzin Sungrab »

1- Je Tsongkhapa
2- the First Panchen Lama, Lobsang Chokyi Gyeltsen
3- Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche
4- Shantideva
5- Dharmakirti
hungryghost
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed Oct 28, 2009 4:39 am

Re: Who are your Top 5 Mahayana masters of all time?

Post by hungryghost »

i'm gonna be a rebel and do two lists, one for masters of the 'past' and one for recent history...

1.nagarjuna
2.Bodhidharma
3.Joshu
4.Hakuin
5.Dogen

and more recently
1.Philip Kapleau Roshi
2.Sheng Yen
3.Thich Nhat Hanh
4.Hsu Yun (a borderline for the other list?)
5.Shodo Harada Roshi

These 2 lists are in no particular order..
User avatar
Namu Butsu
Posts: 91
Joined: Thu Oct 29, 2009 4:30 pm

Re: Who are your Top 5 Mahayana masters of all time?

Post by Namu Butsu »

Shinran Shonin for showing that the laity can attain unsurpassed Enlightenment
Image

Honen Shonin for being so brave to separate from Tendai sect and form the nembutsu way for all people
Image

Thich Nhat Hanh for being the Buddha that he is.
Image

Dharmakara Bodhisatva, though he is symbolic of the shared karmic suffering and his desire to liberate all.

Pema Chodron for sharing compassion through her works and introducing me further into buddhism

Image
Image
"Just say the nembutsu and be liberated" Shinran Shonin
"However hard it may be to bid farewell to this world, when the conditions that bind us to this saha [samsara] realm run out, we are powerless to do anything as the final hour arrives and we are swept away to that Land." -A Record in Lament of Divergences
User avatar
ground
Posts: 1782
Joined: Mon Nov 23, 2009 8:31 am

Re: Who are your Top 5 Mahayana masters of all time?

Post by ground »

Gautama Shakyamuni
Nagarjuna
Padmasambhava
Longchempa
Tsongkhapa

:namaste:
User avatar
mettafuture
Posts: 18
Joined: Tue Jan 19, 2010 11:39 pm
Location: Chicago, IL

Re: Who are your Top 5 Mahayana masters of all time?

Post by mettafuture »

  • Shakyamuni Gautama
  • Bodhidharma
  • Eihei Dōgen
  • Hakuin Ekaku
  • Thich Nhat Hanh
Anders
Posts: 1440
Joined: Tue Apr 07, 2009 12:39 pm

Re: Who are your Top 5 Mahayana masters of all time?

Post by Anders »

Tough. In no particular order

Kumarajiva
Nagarjuna
Hsu Yun
Huineng
Longchenpa

Can't believe I'm the first to mention Kumarajiva!

I would have sneaked in Hanshan Deqing also if I could.
"Even if my body should be burnt to death in the fires of hell
I would endure it for myriad lifetimes
As your companion in practice"

--- Gandavyuha Sutra
User avatar
BFS
Posts: 317
Joined: Sat Oct 10, 2009 1:17 pm

Re: Who are your Top 5 Mahayana masters of all time?

Post by BFS »

Lord Buddha

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

Nagarjuna

Chandrakirti

Je Tsongkhapa
White Lotus
Posts: 1333
Joined: Sat Jan 23, 2010 12:56 pm

Re: Who are your Top 5 Mahayana masters of all time?

Post by White Lotus »

1. Harriet Lassale (intiated me into the path of loving compassion).
2. Yave (initiated me into the embodiment of the true buddhahood, which i dont consider myself to have attained.)
3. Tom (who gave me my enlightenment koan (i dont consider myself to be enlightened).
4. Shu An Wu. (mountain monk who initiated me into philosophical freedom.)
5. Bill and Ben. (wandering monks, who have been there for me. they count as one since they share the same mind.)

this is in order of gratitude, Harriet being the most important to me. except for Bill and Ben whom i have a soft spot for. :thumbsup: :heart:
in any matters of importance. dont rely on me. i may not know what i am talking about. take what i say as mere speculation. i am not ordained. nor do i have a formal training. i do believe though that if i am wrong on any point. there are those on this site who i hope will quickly point out my mistakes.
User avatar
kirtu
Former staff member
Posts: 6997
Joined: Mon Jan 18, 2010 5:29 pm
Location: Baltimore, MD

Re: Who are your Top 5 Mahayana masters of all time?

Post by kirtu »

retrofuturist wrote:I thought it might be worth starting up a topic focussing on who we personally consider to be the 5 greatest Mahayana masters of all time, and a few sentences on what makes them so significant.
It's a very tough question as there are so many great masters esp. in the later half of the 20th century (these masters saved Buddhism from destruction as the worst wars and the fascist, communist and capitalist menaces and intense delusions and defilements swept the world threatening all physical and spiritual life).

Empty Cloud, Xu Yun, would be up there for sure.

AH - ALL TIME - well it gets easier then beginning with Lord Buddha. I had thought you were asking about more recent times.

Lord Buddha, Nagarjuna, Jamyang Khyentse Wango, then it becomes very difficult ...

Kirt
“Where do atomic bombs come from?”
Zen Master Seung Sahn said, “That’s simple. Atomic bombs come from the mind that likes this and doesn’t like that.”

"Even if you practice only for an hour a day with faith and inspiration, good qualities will steadily increase. Regular practice makes it easy to transform your mind. From seeing only relative truth, you will eventually reach a profound certainty in the meaning of absolute truth."
Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.

"Only you can make your mind beautiful."
HH Chetsang Rinpoche
User avatar
Huifeng
Posts: 1477
Joined: Tue Nov 17, 2009 4:51 am

Re: Who are your Top 5 Mahayana masters of all time?

Post by Huifeng »

Anders Honore wrote:
Can't believe I'm the first to mention Kumarajiva!
Yeah, Master Kumarajiva is totally under-rated, that's for sure!
User avatar
catmoon
Former staff member
Posts: 3423
Joined: Thu Nov 19, 2009 3:20 am
Location: British Columbia

Re: Who are your Top 5 Mahayana masters of all time?

Post by catmoon »

Huifeng wrote:
Anders Honore wrote:
Can't believe I'm the first to mention Kumarajiva!
Yeah, Master Kumarajiva is totally under-rated, that's for sure!

Ha ha! I am the only one who has not fallen to the evil of preferences, for I have no favorites!

How very koanish...
Sergeant Schultz knew everything there was to know.
User avatar
retrofuturist
Former staff member
Posts: 1244
Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2009 11:54 pm
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Contact:

Re: Who are your Top 5 Mahayana masters of all time?

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings Catmoon,
catmoon wrote:Ha ha! I am the only one who has not fallen to the evil of preferences, for I have no favorites!
My 2nd favourite Mahayana master of all time would vouch for the potential efficacy of your non-favouritism!

Hsin Hsin Ming by Seng-T'san

The Great Way is not difficult
for those who have no preferences.
When love and hate are both absent
everything becomes clear and undisguised.

Make the smallest distinction, however,
and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart.
If you wish to see the truth
then hold no opinions for or against anything.

To set up what you like against what you dislike
is the disease of the mind.
When the deep meaning of things is not understood,
the mind’s essential peace is disturbed to no avail.


Metta,
Retro. :)
Live in concord, with mutual appreciation, without disputing, blending like milk and water, viewing each other with kindly eyes.
User avatar
ground
Posts: 1782
Joined: Mon Nov 23, 2009 8:31 am

Re: Who are your Top 5 Mahayana masters of all time?

Post by ground »

retrofuturist wrote:Greetings Catmoon,
catmoon wrote:Ha ha! I am the only one who has not fallen to the evil of preferences, for I have no favorites!
My 2nd favourite Mahayana master of all time would vouch for the potential efficacy of your non-favouritism!

Hsin Hsin Ming by Seng-T'san
The Great Way is not difficult
for those who have no preferences.
Great! So we see that preference may entail no preference and that having aversion against preference may entail reinforcement of preference.

:namaste:
User avatar
catmoon
Former staff member
Posts: 3423
Joined: Thu Nov 19, 2009 3:20 am
Location: British Columbia

Re: Who are your Top 5 Mahayana masters of all time?

Post by catmoon »

retrofuturist wrote:Greetings Catmoon,
catmoon wrote:Ha ha! I am the only one who has not fallen to the evil of preferences, for I have no favorites!
My 2nd favourite Mahayana master of all time would vouch for the potential efficacy of your non-favouritism!

Hsin Hsin Ming by Seng-T'san

The Great Way is not difficult
for those who have no preferences.
When love and hate are both absent
everything becomes clear and undisguised.

Make the smallest distinction, however,
and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart.
If you wish to see the truth
then hold no opinions for or against anything.

To set up what you like against what you dislike
is the disease of the mind.
When the deep meaning of things is not understood,
the mind’s essential peace is disturbed to no avail.


Metta,
Retro. :)
Actually I was referring to a story from the Blue Cliff Record about the three monks who were travelling under a vow of silence. I forget why but one of them, under pressure of anger or something, finally blurts something out. The second monk retorts "You fool, you have broken your vow!" and third one smiles blissfully and says "Only I have not spoken".

So I thought I would blissfully take on the role of the third idiot, as is my wont.
Sergeant Schultz knew everything there was to know.
User avatar
BFS
Posts: 317
Joined: Sat Oct 10, 2009 1:17 pm

Re: Who are your Top 5 Mahayana masters of all time?

Post by BFS »

Great! So we see that preference may entail no preference and that having aversion against preference may entail reinforcement of preference.

:thumbsup:
User avatar
catmoon
Former staff member
Posts: 3423
Joined: Thu Nov 19, 2009 3:20 am
Location: British Columbia

Re: Who are your Top 5 Mahayana masters of all time?

Post by catmoon »

BFS wrote:
Great! So we see that preference may entail no preference and that having aversion against preference may entail reinforcement of preference.

:thumbsup:
So you prefer not to prefer?
Sergeant Schultz knew everything there was to know.
User avatar
retrofuturist
Former staff member
Posts: 1244
Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2009 11:54 pm
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Contact:

Re: Who are your Top 5 Mahayana masters of all time?

Post by retrofuturist »

That would be my preference.

:toilet:

Metta,
Retro. :)
Live in concord, with mutual appreciation, without disputing, blending like milk and water, viewing each other with kindly eyes.
Post Reply

Return to “Mahāyāna Buddhism”