Gelug

The Gelug (དགེ་ལུགས་, dge lugs, “Way of Virtue”) school, founded in the 15th century by Je Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), is the newest of Tibet’s four major Buddhist traditions and is renowned for its rigorous scholarship, monastic discipline, and systematic approach to meditation. Building upon the Kadam school’s emphasis on ethics and study, Tsongkhapa integrated Madhyamaka philosophy—particularly Nāgārjuna’s view of emptiness—with detailed stages of the path (lamrim) and tantric practice. Gelug monasteries such as Ganden, Sera, and Drepung became great centers of learning, producing generations of scholar-yogis. The Dalai Lama lineage, established within this school, came to combine both spiritual and political leadership in Tibet. Gelug thought emphasizes reasoning, ethical conduct, and gradual cultivation leading to direct realization, representing a harmonization of profound insight and disciplined practice.