What is the role of leaders in Buddhism?

Answer 1

I have found a few facts about the religioud leadership in Buddhism and here they are. Budhhism leadership is: v passed down in lineages, which are groups of teachings or practices handed down from teachers to their students, and are always traced from monks and nuns, back to the Buddha v master or guru occupies the main role in spiritual development vDalai Lama- leader of Tibetan Buddhism, emphasized monastic discipline, reinforced the sutras, or original teachings of Buddha

Answer 2

Buddhism has no overall structure, or leadership. There are different Buddhist traditions, called lineages, such as Tibetan Buddhism, or Theravada Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, etc, but each lineage might or might not have a Lineage Master (like the Dalai Lama, who is the Lineage Master for the Gelug tradition of Tibetan Buddhism). To explain this you need to understand how Buddhism is taught.

Buddhist masters are monks who have learned the teachings sufficiently and has the ability to speak authoritatively about the teachings. They have received permission to do this from their master. This permission is called being given transmission. The monk could then go to another area, open a monastery and then teach others. If one of his monks then learns the teachings sufficiently, the new master could give transmission to his student, and the cycle continues. Please note that learning the teachings of the Buddha is not memorization, these masters must completely understand and be able to explain the teachings in their own words, and apply them to modern conditions.

So Buddhism has a very diffuse structure.

Answer 3

Theravadin monks and nuns are teachers and the only people who can thoroughly practice the Theravadin way. The laity only hopes to become a monk or nun in future lives so they too can find release. Supporting the monks and nuns is also a way of gaining merit.

Zen masters, or "roshis", are certified (by the equivalent of apostolic succession) to have seen reality and have training in how to show it to you.

Ministers in some other sects, like Jodo Shinshu, are teachers, supported by the Temple members to make the teachings available to the community. They are most like rabbis in that sense.

Lamas in Vajrayana Buddhism are trainers, and often require personal devotion on the part of their students to aid in the training process.

Mahayana monks and nuns are respected practitioners, role models and teachers.