Buddhism: ranks and lineage

IColours

Colour used for this page of the library: Blue (deep blue) #E29C45. Every colour code is approximate, since most paths name their colours without publishing codes.

Principal colour the colour of the path

Place of worship real sanctuaries

Ritual colours by occasion and season

Mourning and avoided colours

IIRanks

World Buddhism has no central church. In Vietnam, the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha is the common organization. It includes the Northern (Mahayana) tradition, the Southern (Theravada) tradition in its Khmer and Kinh branches, and the Mendicant ("Khất sĩ") tradition, and is governed by a Charter. The Council of Patronage is the spiritual leadership body headed by the Supreme Patriarch. The Executive Council is the highest administrative body.

1. 1
   Supreme Patriarch 法主 · Supreme Patriarch

   Head of the Council of Patronage. Must be an Elder Most Venerable aged at least seventy five with at least fifty years since full ordination. This is an office, not a separate monastic rank.

2. 2
   Most Venerable (monks), Most Venerable Nun (nuns) 和尚 尼長 · Most Venerable

   The highest monastic rank. The standard is about sixty years of age and forty years since full ordination. From the Sanskrit upadhyaya, a guiding teacher.

3. 3
   Venerable (monks), Venerable Nun (nuns) 上座 尼師 · Venerable

   The standard is about forty five years of age and twenty five years since full ordination. From the Sanskrit sthavira, Pali thera, an elder.

4. 4
   Reverend (monks), Sister (nuns) 大德 師姑 · Bhikkhu, Bhikkhuni

   Monks and nuns who have received full ordination, from the age of twenty. The monk's title is from the Sanskrit bhadanta. It is not a rank conferred by promotion.

5. 5
   Probationary nun, sikkhamana (nuns only) 式叉摩那 · Probationary nun

   A stage of precept training before full ordination as a nun, for ages eighteen to sixty.

6. 6
   Novice monk (monks), novice nun (nuns) 沙彌 沙彌尼 · Novice

   Has received the novice precepts, at the age set by the Vinaya.

Followers: Buddhists ("Phật tử"). Those who have taken refuge in the Three Jewels and received precepts are called lay followers. Upasaka (men) and upasika (women) are lay followers who support the Three Jewels.

IIIForms of address

IVVestments by rank

Flat drawings made from the descriptions in the sources, with no people shown. Colours are approximate.

VLine of succession

Buddhism is transmitted from teacher to disciple. The teacher passes on the precepts, the Dharma and the mind seal to the student, so there are many parallel lineages and no single head for the whole world. The Chan (Zen) school traces its patriarchs from the Buddha through twenty eight Indian and six Chinese patriarchs, after which it divided into many schools. In Vietnam, meditation schools succeeded one another through the ages, and since 1981 the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha has had a Supreme Patriarch heading its Council of Patronage.

Chan lineage: 28 Indian and 6 Chinese patriarchs

1. about 6th to 5th century BCEShakyamuni Buddha 釋迦牟尼 Śākyamuni

   Founder of Buddhism. Chan tradition says he transmitted the mind seal to Mahākāśyapa.

2. #India 1 · 5th century BCEMahakashyapa 摩訶迦葉 Mahākāśyapa

   First patriarch, presided over the first council.

3. #India 2 · 5th century BCEAnanda 阿難 Ānanda

   Second patriarch, the Buddha's attendant who recited the sutras.

4. #India 12 · about 1st to 2nd centuryAshvaghosha 馬鳴 Aśvaghoṣa

   Twelfth patriarch, Buddhist poet and philosopher.

5. #India 14 · about 2nd to 3rd centuryNagarjuna 龍樹 Nāgārjuna

   Fourteenth patriarch, founder of the Madhyamaka school.

6. #India 21Vasubandhu 婆修盤頭 Vasubandhu

   Twenty first patriarch in the Chan list.

7. #India 28, China 1 · ? to about 535Bodhidharma 菩提達磨 Bodhidharma

   Twenty eighth Indian patriarch who brought Chan to China, its first Chinese patriarch.

8. #China 2 · 487 to 593Huike 慧可

   Second Chinese patriarch.

9. #China 3 · ? to 606Sengcan 僧璨

   Third Chinese patriarch, traditionally author of the Xinxin Ming.

10. #China 4 · 580 to 651Daoxin 道信

    Fourth Chinese patriarch.

11. #China 5 · 602 to 675Hongren 弘忍

    Fifth Chinese patriarch, passed the robe and bowl to Huineng.

12. #China 6 · 638 to 713Huineng (Sixth Patriarch) 慧能

    Sixth patriarch of the Platform Sutra. After him the robe was no longer passed on and Chan divided into the Five Houses.

13. ? to 866Linji Yixuan 臨濟義玄

    Founder of the Linji school, today the largest Zen line in Vietnam. Chan has no single head today.

Vietnamese Zen lineages: from Vinītaruci to Liễu Quán

1. ? to 594, arrived in Vietnam in 580Vinitaruci 毘尼多流支 Vinītaruci

   South Indian monk who reached Vietnam in 580 and founded its first Zen line, lasting nineteen generations.

2. ? to 1018Vạn Hạnh 萬行

   Twelfth generation master of the Vinītaruci line and teacher of the founder of the Lý dynasty.

3. ? to 826, arrived in Vietnam in 820Vô Ngôn Thông 無言通

   Disciple of Baizhang, came to Kiến Sơ temple in 820 and founded the second Zen line, lasting seventeen generations.

4. 933 to 1011Khuông Việt 匡越

   Fourth generation master of the Vô Ngôn Thông line, first Buddhist primate of Vietnam.

5. arrived in Thăng Long in 1069Caotang (Thảo Đường) 草堂

   Chinese monk taken captive in the Champa campaign, made National Teacher, founder of the Thảo Đường line with Emperor Lý Thánh Tông as disciple.

6. 1230 to 1291Tuệ Trung Thượng Sĩ 慧中上士

   Lay Zen master who taught Trần Nhân Tông.

7. #Trúc Lâm 1 · 1258 to 1308Trần Nhân Tông (Điều Ngự Giác Hoàng) 陳仁宗 調御覺皇

   Trần emperor who led resistance to the Mongols, became a monk at Yên Tử in 1299 and founded the Trúc Lâm school. Venerated as the Buddha Emperor.

8. #Trúc Lâm 2 · 1284 to 1330Pháp Loa 法螺

   Second Trúc Lâm patriarch, organised the sangha and printed the canon.

9. #Trúc Lâm 3 · 1254 to 1334Huyền Quang 玄光

   Third Trúc Lâm patriarch, a laureate scholar turned monk and poet.

10. #Lâm Tế 33 · 1648 to 1728Nguyên Thiều 元韶

    Cantonese master of the 33rd Linji generation who brought Linji to southern Vietnam.

11. #Lâm Tế 35 · 1667 to 1742Liễu Quán 了觀

    Master from Phú Yên who founded the Liễu Quán branch of Linji, the largest Vietnamese Zen line in the centre and south.

12. #Liễu Quán 8 · 1926 to 2022Thích Nhất Hạnh 釋一行

    Forty second Linji generation, eighth of the Liễu Quán line, founder of Plum Village.

13. 1924 to 2022Thích Thanh Từ 釋清慈

    Revived the Trúc Lâm school in modern times. Vietnamese Zen lines today have no single head.

Supreme Patriarchs of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha

1. November 1981, Quán Sứ Pagoda, HanoiConference for the Unification of Vietnamese Buddhism

   Nine Buddhist organisations united to form the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, with a Patriarch heading the Council of Elders.

2. #1 · 1897 to 1993, Supreme Patriarch 1981 to 1993Most Venerable Thích Đức Nhuận 釋德潤

   First Supreme Patriarch, from 1981 until his death in 1993.

3. #2 · 1915 to 2005, Supreme Patriarch 1997 to 2005Most Venerable Thích Tâm Tịch 釋心寂

   Second Supreme Patriarch, elevated at the fourth congress in 1997, died 2005.

4. #3 · 1917 to 2021, Supreme Patriarch 2007 to 2021Most Venerable Thích Phổ Tuệ 釋普慧

   Third Supreme Patriarch from 2007, died October 2021 aged 105.

5. from December 2021Acting Supreme Patriarch after the passing of Thích Phổ Tuệ

   The Council of Elders named Thich Tri Quang acting Patriarch until the ninth congress.

6. #4 · born 1940, Acting Supreme Patriarch from December 2021, Supreme Patriarch since 29 November 2022Most Venerable Thích Trí Quảng 釋智廣

   Fourth Supreme Patriarch, acting from December 2021 and elevated on 29 November 2022. Still in office in September 2026.

A venerated figure: the library shows no portrait, only the name inside a round seal.

VIOrdination and transmission

Transmission is by ordination in stages, novice, probationary nun (for nuns) and full ordination, at a Grand Ordination Platform organized by the Monastic Affairs Committees at each level. Monastic ranks are then conferred according to age, years since ordination and conduct. The Theravada and Mendicant traditions keep their own traditional ordination methods within the framework of the Sangha.

1. Leaving home, receiving the novice preceptsRequirement: Age as set by the Vinaya, with a root teacherRite: Head shaving and going forth rite, receiving the ten novice precepts
2. Probationary nun (nuns only)Requirement: Aged eighteen to sixtyRite: Receiving the probationary precepts at a Grand Ordination Platform
3. Full ordination as monk or nunRequirement: Aged twenty to sixty, at least two years as a noviceRite: Ordination at a Grand Ordination Platform organized by the Monastic Affairs Committee
4. Promotion to Venerable, Venerable NunRequirement: At the Ninth Congress: born in 1978 or earlier and fully ordained in 1998 or earlierRite: The Monastic Affairs Committee prepares the dossier, the Executive Council reviews it, and the rank is conferred at a Congress or annual conference
5. Promotion to Most Venerable, Most Venerable NunRequirement: At the Ninth Congress: born in 1963 or earlier and fully ordained in 1983 or earlierRite: As above, under Articles 53 to 56 of the Charter and Circular 030 of the Executive Council

VIIWhere the sources disagree

• The five flag colors have two interpretations. Wikipedia follows the Sri Lankan tradition (compassion, the Middle Way, blessings, purity, wisdom), while phatgiao.org.vn links them to the Five Faculties (concentration, mindfulness, energy, faith, wisdom). The Charter sets only the order of colors, not their meaning or color codes.
• Age for Venerable: most sources give forty five years of age and twenty five years since ordination, but an article from Bạc Liêu Buddhism gives forty and twenty. Circular 030 for the Ninth Congress matches forty five and twenty five.
• Color of the novice "nhật bình" robe: Giác Ngộ gives blue, phatgiao.org.vn gives brown in the North. Both may be correct by region.
• The yellow long robe for the Most Venerable is only a proposal in a research article. No Sangha document has been found setting this rule.
• No complete source found on the Khmer names of Khmer Theravada monastic grades or on Khmer forms of address.
• The old color in mau-sac.json cites the yellow robe and the golden tone of statues. The yellow robe part is correct. The statue tone should not be used as a basis under the house rule on sacred images. The code #8A5A10 does not match any original color name.
• The hex code for lay blue (#A1AFC9) borrows the name lanhui 藍灰 (blue grey) from the Chinese palette, and brown (#6E511E) borrows hese 褐色. Vietnam has no standard code table for these color names.
• The list of twenty eight Indian patriarchs is a tradition of Chinese Chan (the Jingde Record of the Transmission of the Lamp). Scholars regard most of it as a later reconstruction. Theravada and Tibetan traditions have other lineages, which this page does not yet record.
• The table sets bac_thieng to true for the Buddha, Kashyapa, Ananda, Ashvaghosha, Nagarjuna, Bodhidharma, Huineng and Trần Nhân Tông because they are honored on patriarch altars. Other patriarchs are set to false according to the rule.
• There are vacancies between Supreme Patriarchs, from 1993 to 1997 and from 2005 to 2007. Some sources say Thích Tâm Tịch was Supreme Patriarch from 1993, while the main biographical source gives his acclamation as 1997.
• Sources give Nguyên Thiều's arrival in Vietnam as 1665 or 1677, so no year is given.
• Images: the Wikimedia Commons file pages could not be opened to check licenses (the domain was blocked), so all anh fields are null. Manual checking should prioritize images of Thích Trí Quảng, Thích Phổ Tuệ, Thích Nhất Hạnh and Thích Thanh Từ.

VIIISources

?Quick Questions

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