When a school of Buddhism has a senior who passes away, is it common for the school to go into a type of dissarray, until a successor is chosen? Some years ago I joined the Shingon school. It was awkward at the start, then upon the death of the (senior/master/sorry-correct-title-undefined), everything went sidewards. The body of the school seemed to splinter into minor sub schools, some casting doubt about other seniors. For a newbie this was disconcerting as the study of Shingon requires a 1 to 1 relationship, but my sensei stopped teaching, so I had to find another. Twas 3 years ago and I've still not found a replacement sensei. No new senior has been chosen. Is this type of behaviour common in Buddhism?

I saw an article on the Internet about the fact that Buddhism is compared to solipsism or nihilism. In particular, they talked about Japanese and Chinese Buddhism, since the teachings of Yogacara are present there. On this I want to ask questions about these schools. My questions: 1. Do the schools of Buddhism Soto, Rinzai, Jodo-shu, Jodo Shinshu, Nichiren, Shingon in Japan teach Buddhists, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas any varieties of solipsism and any varieties of nihilism? 2. Do the schools of Buddhism Chan, Pure Land in China teach Buddhists, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas any varieties of solipsism and any varieties of nihilism?

The list of 13 Buddhas (which is actually Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Wisdom Kings) plays a role in Shingon gongyo and funerary rites. What accounts for why these particular 13 are set aside for special attention? - Fudo (Acala) - Shaka (Sakyamuni) - Monju (Manjushri) - Fugen (Samantabhadra) - Jizo (Ksitigarbha) - Miroku (Maitreya) - Yakushi (Bhaisajyaguru) - Kannon (Avalokitesvara) - Seishi (Mahasthamaprapta) - Amida (Amitabha) - Ashuku (Akshobhya) - Dainichi (Vairocana) - Kokuzo (Akasagarbha) Minor update: I did some googling on this, it appears that lists of Buddhas, sometimes very long lists of Buddhas, occur throughout the Mahayana cannon .

How is Japanese Shingon Buddhism different from other forms of Buddhism such as Zen?