Shingon Buddhism (Shingon-shū) is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayāna lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks such as Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra. Shingon Buddhist doctrine and teachings arose during the Heian period (794-1185) after a Buddhist monk named Kūkai travelled to China in 804 to study Esoteric Buddhist practices

Tendai (Tendai-shū) is a Mahāyāna Buddhist school established in Japan in the year 806 by the monk named Saichō, posthumously known as Dengyō Daishi. The Tendai School rose to prominence during the Heian period (794-1185), gradually eclipsing the powerful Yogācāra School (Hossō-shū) and competing with the upcoming Shingon Buddhism to become the most influential at the Imperial court. Tendai hold the Lotus Sūtra as the

Hīnayāna is a Sanskrit term literally meaning the "small/deficient vehicle". Classical Chinese and Tibetan teachers translate it as "smaller vehicle". The term was applied to the Śrāvakayāna, the Buddhist path followed by a Śrāvaka who wished to become an Arhat. This term appeared around the 1-2nd century: The term Hīnayāna should not be used when referring to any form of Buddhism existing today.

Śrāvakayāna is one of the 3 Yānas known to Indian Buddhism: It translates literally as the "vehicle of listeners [i.e. disciples]". Historically it was the most common term used by Mahāyāna Buddhist texts to describe one hypothetical path to Enlightenment. Śrāvakayāna is the path that meets the goals of an Arhat—an individual who achieves Liberation as a result of listening to the teachings (or lineage)

Pratyekabuddha or Paccekabuddha (Sanskrit and Pāli, respectively), literally "a lone Buddha", "a Buddha on their own", "a private Buddha", or "a silent Buddha", - is one of 3 types of Enlightened Beings according to some schools of Buddhism. Pratyekabuddhas are said to achieve Enlightenment on their own, without the use of teachers or guides, according to some traditions by seeing and understanding dependent origination.