華嚴宗，世稱法界宗、賢首宗、清涼宗，然考隋唐相關文獻，未有宗派之實際相關記載，華嚴杜順、法藏諸祖亦未見有開宗設派之意向。「宗」、「教」、「門」用字，於「宗派」、「教理」皆具有不同意義，中國華嚴宗派確立，實由北宋淨源始創，並定名：「賢首」，此後明清華嚴高原、寶通、雪浪、雲棲四法系，僅「雲棲」稱本宗為「華嚴宗」，其餘三系仍以賢首宗稱之。現今學界多易「賢首宗」而主稱「華嚴宗」，即是受南宋凝然《八宗綱要》、明代雲棲法系與日本近代佛學研究影響。明末即有欲易賢首宗為清涼宗者，民國太虛亦倡此議，蓋因法藏著作時有散佚，附以唐譯《八十華嚴》會品齊全、義理周延而流通廣遠，本宗教理仍以澄觀《華嚴經疏》為要，故欲正名「清涼宗」，確有所本。賢首、清涼燈焰相續，弘演華嚴，實屬同脈，續法《賢首五教儀》所謂「賢首宗」、「清涼宗」之別，係為法藏、澄觀十宗判教差異，而非實際宗派門戶分別。

Huayan School is also referred as Dharmadhatu School, Xianshou School and Qingliang School. However, there is no actual record of the School in the relevant documents in Sui and Tang Dynasties. Huayan patriarches Dushun and Fazang had no intention to establish denomination. The terms "School", "Teaching" and "Approach" all have different meanings in relation to the Lineages and Doctrines. The establishment of Huayen School was originated by Master Jingyuan in the Northern Song Dynasty, and named it as "XianShou". Later in the Ming and Qing dynasty, among four dharma lineages of Huayen - Gaoyuan, Baotong, Xuelang, and Yunqi, only Yunqi referes itself as "Huayen School", while the rest continued as “XianShou School”. Present academic circle primarily uses the term "Huayen School" instead of "XianShou School”. This was influenced by Ningran’s [Eight Schools Outlines] in the Southern Song Dynasty, Yunxi School in the Ming Dynasty and the studies of modern Japanese Buddhism. In the end of Ming Dynasty, there was attempt to change the name of Xianshou School to Qingliang School. Master Taixue in Republic of China also advocated this proposal. Patriarch Fazang’s work are scattered and lost. “The eighty Huayen" (80 Rolls) translated in the Tang Dynasty was complete, comprehensive and broadly circulated. The main doctrine of Huayan School was Chenguan’s “Huayan JingShu”. Because of all of these, it had its base to change name to “Qingling School”. Xianshou and Qingliang complimented each other and both of them propagated Huayan, therefore they were the same school. According to [Five Sets of theory in Xianshou School] by Xufa, the difference between “Xianshou” and “Qingliang” were due to the different definitions of ten teachings by Fazang and Chenguan, rather than different schools.