the latest of the four main schools of Buddhism in Tibet. This reformed school, founded by Tsongkhapa, puts special stress on studying the scriptures and on the monastic tradition. It flourished in Tibet after it gained political power in Tibet.

The yellow-hat sect of Buddhism, founded by Tsong-kha-pa. This sect and its gompas provide the most comprehensive and systematic education to its students. The curriculum covers five basic courses - dialectics, principal doctrines and disciplinary rules - and takes 20 years to complete. The Dalai Lama is the head of the Gelugpa sect.

One of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism; His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama is considered the spiritual head of this school. Enlightenment: The word used to translate the Sanskrit term bodhi ("awakened"); generally used by Mahayanists instead of the Theravada term nirvana; it connotes an awakening to the true nature of reality rather than the extinguishing of desire implied by the term nirvana.