Schools of Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism, also known erroneously as "lamaism". The term lamaism apparently derives from Chinese lama jiao and was used to distinguish Tibetan Buddhism from Han Chinese Buddhism, fo jiao.
This is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India (particularly Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh (particularly Bir and Dharamsala), and Sikkim). It is the state religion of Bhutan. It is also practiced in Mongolia and parts of Russia (Kalmykia, Buryatia, and Tuva) and Northeast China. Texts recognized as scripture and commentary are contained in the Tibetan Buddhist canon, such that Tibetan is a spiritual language of these areas.

Tibetan Buddhism includes the teachings of the three vehicles of Buddhism: the Foundational Vehicle, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. Among its prominent exponents is the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet.

In the wake of the 1959 Tibetan uprising, a Tibetan diaspora has made Tibetan Buddhism more widely accessible to the rest of the world. It has since spread to many Western countries, where the tradition has gained popularity. The number of its adherents is estimated to be between ten and twenty million.

Also known as the Yellow Hat sect, Gelug ("the Virtuous Way") is a school of Buddhism founded by philosopher and religious leader Tsongkhapa (1357-1419). The first monastery he established was at Ganden, and to this day the Ganden Tripa is the nominal head of the school, although its most influential figure is the Dalai Lama.

The central teachings of the Gelug School are Lamrim, or "Stages of the Path", based on the teachings of Indian master Atisha (circa 11th century) and the systematic cultivation of the view of emptiness. This is combined with the deity yogas of Highest Yoga Tantra deities such as Guhyasamaja, Cakrasamvara, Yamantaka and Kalacakra, where the key focus is the realization of the indivisible union of bliss and emptiness.

The Gelug school has placed Vinaya ethics and monastic discipline as the central plank of spiritual practice. In particular, the need to pursue spiritual practice in a graded/sequential manner is emphasized.
Gelug is the only school of Vajrayana Buddhism that prescribes monastic ordination as a necessary qualification and basis in its teachers (lamas / gurus). Lay people are usually not permitted to give initiations if there are teachers with monastic vows within close proximity. This discipline was laid down by Tsongkhapa as a mechanism to prevent Buddhist teachings from further degenerating.

The image in this section is a statue of Tsongkhapa in Kumbum Monastery, near Xining, Qinghai (Amdo), China. Image by Mario Biondi released under CC Share-alike license.

Kagyu is also known as the "Oral Lineage" or Whispered Transmission school.
What differentiates Kagyu from the other schools of Himalayan Buddhism are primarily the particular esoteric instructions and tantras they emphasize and the lineages of transmission which they follow.
Due to the Kagyu tradition's particularly strong emphasis on guru devotion and guru yoga, and the personal transmission of esoteric instructions (dam ngag or man ngag) from master to disciple, the early Kagyu tradition soon gave rise to a bewildering number of independent sub-schools or sub-sects centered round individual charismatic Kagyu teachers and the hereditary lineages as well as mindstream emanation lineages.

Strictly speaking, the term Kagyu, "Oral Lineage" or "Precept Transmission", applies to any line of transmission of an esoteric teaching from teacher to disciple. Today the term Kagyu is almost always used to refer to Dagpo Kagyu, the main branch of the Marpa Kagyu which developed from the teachings transmitted by the translator Marpa Chökyi Lodrö; or sometimes to the separate lesser-known Shangpa Kagyu tradition which developed from the teachings transmitted by Keydrup Khyungpo Naljor.

The Karma Kagyu, or Kamtsang, is the largest lineage within the Kagyu school.
The spiritual head of the Karma Kagyu is the Gyalwa Karmapa. The Karma Kagyu are sometimes called the "Black Hat", in reference to the Black Crown worn by the Karmapa.

Ogyen Trinley Dorje (shown above right) and Thaye Dorje are the persisting claimants to the office and title of 17th Karmapa. The Karmapa lineage is the most ancient tulku lineage in Tibetan Buddhism, predating the Dalai Lama lineage by more than two centuries.
The 14th Dalai Lama confirmed the recognition of Ogyen Trinley Dorje.

Watch for a forth-coming page covering this issue.

The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. "Nyingma" literally means "ancient". This is often referred to as the "school of the ancient translations" or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Tibetan, in the eighth century. The Tibetan script and grammar was actually created for this endeavour. In modern times the Nyingma lineage has been centered in Kham in eastern Tibet.

Historically, the Nyingma tradition is unique amongst the four schools in that its supporters never held political power, and therefore it maintained at a greater distance from the political machinations of Tibet.
There has never been a single "head of the lineage" in the manner of the Ganden Tripa (or Dalai Lama) of the Gelugpa, the Karmapa of the Karma Kagyu, or the Sakya Trizin of the Sakya. It was only recently in exile in India that this role was created at the request of the Tibetan Government in Exile, and it is largely administrative. Nevertheless, the lamas who have served in this role are among the most universally highly regarded. They are:
Dudjom Rinpoche (c. 1904-1987), served from the 1960s until his death.
Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (c. 1910-1991), served from 1987 until his death.
Penor (Pema Norbu) Rinpoche served from 1991 until retirement in 2003.
Mindroling Trichen Rinpoche (c. 1930-2008), served from 2003 until his death. His successor is yet to be named.

The Nyingma tradition actually comprises several distinct lineages, all of which trace their origins to the Indian master Padmasambhava, who is lauded in the popular canon as the founder of Tibetan Buddhism and is still propitiated in the discipline of reciprocity that is guru yoga sadhana, the staple of the tradition.

Padmasambhava statue image by John Hill, taken 2004 at new Urgyen Sanag Choling Gompa (dedicated by H.H. The Dalai Lama on 8 June, 2004), near Kullu, H.P., India.

The Sakya tradition developed during the second period of translation of Buddhist scripture from Sanskrit into Tibetan in the late 11th century. It was founded by a famous scholar and translator named Drogmi who had studied at Vikramashila University directly under Naropa, Ratnakarashanti, Vageshvarakirit and other great panditas from India for twelve years.

The name Sakya ("pale earth") derives from the unique grey landscape of Ponpori Hills near Shigatse in southern Tibet, where Sakya Monastery, the first monastery of this tradition, and the seat of the Sakya School was built by Khon Konchog Gyalpo (1034-1102) in 1073.

Sakya, along with Nyingma and Kagyu, is one of the Red Hat sects.

The head of the Sakya school, known as Sakya Trizin ("holder of the Sakya throne"), is always drawn from the male line of the Khön family. The present Sakya Trizin, Ngawang Kunga Tegchen Palbar Samphel Wanggi Gyalpo, born in Tsedong in 1945, is the forty-first to hold that office.

Today, he resides in Rajpur, India along with his wife, Dagmo Tashi Lhakyi, and two sons Ratna Vajra Rinpoche and Gyana Vajra Rinpoche. Ratna Vajra Rinpoche being the older son, is the lineage holder.

Bon, or Bonpa, is the oldest spiritual tradition of Tibet, and very similar in external appearance to the Nyingma school.
Traditionally, Tönpa Shenrab Miwoche is believed to have established Bön. He is said to have been born in the land of Tagzig Olmo Lung Ring, considered an axis mundi (point of connection between sky and earth where the four compass directions meet. At this point travel and correspondence is made between higher and lower realms), traditionally identified as Mount Yung-drung Gu-tzeg ("Edifice of Nine Swastikas"), possibly Mount Kailash, in western Tibet.

After the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet during the 7th century, there was often fierce competition between the two traditions, especially during the reign of Langdarma. Over time, Bön has been losing influence and has been marginalized by the Tibetan political elite.

Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama, recognizes the Bön tradition as the fifth principal spiritual school of Tibet, despite the long historical competition of influences between the Bön tradition and Buddhism in Tibet.
Lozang Gyatso, the fifth Dalai Lama, first declared Bön a fifth school of spirituality in Tibet. However, Bönpo remained stigmatised and marginalised until 1977, when they sent representatives to HH Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, who advised the Tibetan parliament-in-exile, the Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies, to accept Bön members.
Since then, Bön has had official recognition of its status as a religious group, with the same rights as the Buddhist schools. This was re-stated in 1987 by the Dalai Lama, who also forbade discrimination against the Bönpo, stating that it was both undemocratic and self-defeating. He even donned Bön ritual paraphernalia, emphasizing "the religious equality of the Bön faith."

However, Tibetans still differentiate between Bön and Buddhism, referring to members of the Nyingma, Shakya, Kagyu and Gelug schools as "nangpa," meaning "insiders," but to practitioners of Bön as "Bönpo," or even "chipa" ("outsiders")