The T'ien-t'ai lineage of Indian Patriarchs (Western lineage) beginning with Śākyamuni Buddha was published by the 3rd T'ien-t'ai Patriarch Guanding (561-632) and is shown below.

This lineage is very similar to the Indian Dhayana/Ch'an/Zen lineage however extends a few generations longer. Due to the fact that Chih-i's teacher Huisi (515-577) is considered in China and Japan to have had a Dharma connection with Nagarjuna, the purpose of publishing this lineage was apparently to help establish the T'ien-t'ai as a legitimate tradition by underscoring this connection.