TEMPLE OF TSONGKAPA

About Tsongkapa Teachings Links Quotes Images

Tsongkhapa (Je Tsongkapa Lobsang Drakpa) (1357-1419) was one of the greatest religious figures of Tibet. He founded the Gelug order, which revived the Buddhist religion in a purer form. Distinguished by their yellow hats, his followers are well known for their celibacy, monastic discipline, and scholarship. Both the Dalai and the Panchen Lamas belong to this order.

The Gelugpa and the Mongols came to depend on one another for support and power. The Gelugpa offered a religion that the khans used to unify the Mongols. In return, the Gelugpa were given military assistance so they could rise to power in Tibet. It was Altan Khan who in the sixteenth century bestowed the name Dalai on the Dalai Lamas.