His teachings passed down in the Tohoku region as hidden nenbutsu (Buddhist prayer) as witching, spiritual usage, and sorcery of Jodo shin shu, and some religious schools such as Shinshu Sanmonto (the three disciples of the Pure Buddhist Sect) counted Zenran as the second Jodo shin shu.
その教えは浄土真宗の呪術的異教である隠し念仏として東北地方などで後世に伝えられ、真宗三門徒派など宗派によっては善鸞を浄土真宗2世に数えているところもある。