The Sōtō Zen school traces its lineage of transmission back to the seven Buddhas of the past. The list below is the one recited in Sōtō temple ceremonies: the dentō (伝灯), the transmission of the lamp.

The Seven Buddhas of the Past  七仏

The Seven Buddhas du Passé 七仏

The Twenty-seven Patriarchs of India  印度の祖師

Ananda 阿難陀
Shōnawashu 商那和修
Ubakikuta 優婆毱多
Daitaka 提多迦
Mishaka 彌遮迦
Bashumitsu 婆須密
Butsudanandai 佛陀難提
Fudamit-ta 伏駄密多
Barishiba 婆栗濕縛
Funayasha 富那夜奢
Anabotei 阿那菩底
Kabimora 迦毘摩羅
Nagyaharajuna 那伽閼刺樹那
Kanadaiba 迦那提婆
Ragorata 羅睺羅多
Sōgyanandai 僧伽難提
Kayashata 伽耶舎多
Kumorata 鳩摩羅多
Shayata 闍夜多
Bashubanzu 婆修盤頭
Manura 摩孥羅
Kakurokuna 鶴勒那
Shishibodai 師子菩提
Bashashita 婆舎斯多
Funyomit-ta 不如密多
Han-nyatara 般若多羅
Bodhidharma 菩提達磨

The Patriarchs of China  中国の祖師

Taiso Eka 太祖慧可
Kanchi Sōsan 鑑智僧璨
Dai-i Dōshin 大醫道信
Daiman Kōnin 大満弘忍
Seigen Gyōshi 青原行思
Yakusan Igen 薬山惟儼
Ungan Donjō 雲巌曇晟
Ungo Dōyō 雲居道膺
Dōan Dōhi 同安道丕
Dōan Kanshi 同安觀志
Ryōzan Enkan 梁山縁観
Taiyō Kyōgen 大陽警玄
Tōshi Gisei 投子義青
Fuyō Dōkai 芙蓉道楷
Tanka Shijun 丹霞子淳
Chōro Seiryō 長蘆清了
Tendō Sōkaku 天童宗珏
Set-chō Chikan 雪竇智鑑
Tendō Nyojō 天童如淨
Hongzhi Zhengjue 宏智正覺

The Patriarchs of Japan  日本の祖師

Eihei Dōgen 永平道元
Koun Ejō 孤雲懐奘
Tettsū Gikai 徹通義介
Menzan Zuihō 面山瑞方

Individual biographies are available for each master.

Other Masters  諸師

Some masters who brought Sōtō Zen to the West or shaped modern practice:

Kōdō Sawaki 澤木興道
Taisen Deshimaru 弟子丸泰仙
Shunryū Suzuki 鈴木俊隆
Dainin Katagiri 片桐大忍
Hakuyū Taizan Maezumi 前角博雄
Kōbun Chino Otogawa 乙川弘文

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