canonical compilation process, Bu ston wrote a history
of the dharma, where scriptures and treatises were set
out in a grand schematism of history, cosmology, and
mythology. About the same time, the learned Sa skya
hierarch, Bla ma dam pa Bsod nams rgyal mtshan
(1312–1375), wrote the Rgyal rabs gsal ba’i me long
(Mirror Illuminating Royal Genealogy), representing
the popular mythology of the imperial period and ori-
gin of the Tibetan people.
Moreover, the peculiarly Tibetan office of the rein-
carnate lama became institutionalized. One of Sgam
po pa’s important disciples, the KARMA PAI Dus gsum
mkhyen pa (1110–1193) was said to have prophesied
his own rebirth as Karma pa II Karma Pakshi (1204–
1283). While earlier teachers were said to be the reem-
bodiment of specific saints or BODHISATTVAS, this was
the first formalization of reincarnation, with the pre-
vious saint’s disciples maintaining continuity and in-
structing his reembodiment. Following the lead of the
Bka’ brgyud pa, most traditions eventually appropri-
ated the institution.
Great institutions and the Dga’ ldan pa in the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
If the previous three centuries represented an intense
struggle with intellectual and canonical issues, the fif-
teenth and sixteenth centuries demonstrated the strug-
gle for institutional authenticity. In part because of the
political power wielded by the Sa skya and Bka’ brgyud
orders, many of the cloisters had become more social
or political institutions, with religious involvement in
the hands of the great clans or landed interests. Indeed,
Tibetan monasteries were ripe for reformation, with
great wealth and political authority eclipsing aspects of
spirituality.
The most important event of this period was the rise
and development of the reform order of TSONG KHA
PABlo bzang grags pa (1357–1419). Born in Amdo,
Tsong kha pa originally studied in many traditions, but
his most important intellectual influence was the Sa
skya monk Red mda’ ba (1349–1412), who had cham-
pioned the radical Prasan ̇gika-Madhaymaka system of
CANDRAKIRTI(ca. 600–650). However, Tsong kha pa
became dissatisfied with the contemporary under-
standing of monastic institutions and more general as-
pects of scholarship. With successive visions of
Mañjus ́r, Tsong kha pa understood that he was to em-
phasize the system that Atisha had brought to Tibet.
Eventually, after many years of wandering through Ti-
bet bestowing instruction, he was persuaded to settle
down and in 1409 founded the monastery of Dga’ ldan,
the Tibetan translation of Tusita, the name of
MAITREYA’s heaven. Tsong kha pa’s order was called the
Dga’ ldan pa, although it was also known as the new
Bka’ gdams pa or the DGE LUGS(GELUK; Virtuous Or-
der). He changed the color of their hats to yellow as
well, giving them the name Yellow Hats in the West.
In a series of important treatises, he articulated a
systematization of the exoteric Mahayana meditative
path (Lam rim chen mo) and the esoteric practice ac-
cording to the VAJRAYANA(Sngags rim chen mo). In the
latter instance, he employed interpretive systems de-
veloped by exponents of the Guhyasamaja tantrato ar-
ticulate a systematic HERMENEUTICS that could be
applied to all tantras. Tsong kha pa, though, is best
noted for his intellectual synthesis of the Madhyamaka
and Yogacara systems of Buddhism, using Indian trea-
tises as a basis for his great commentaries and sub-
commentaries, and emphasizing the philosophical
position of Candrakrti.
Three of his disciples were most important in the
continuation of his work. Rgyal tshab Dar ma rin chen
(1364–1432) was Tsong kha pa’s successor at Dga’
ldan and was especially noted for his orthodox sum-
maries and commentaries that became the basis for
much of Dge lugs pa scholasticism. Mkhas grub Dge
legs dpal bzang (1385–1438) succeeded him at Dga’
ldan and was known for his acerbic tone toward his
contemporaries as well as his epistemological treatises
and his Kalacakra tantraexegesis. Dge ’dun grub pa
(1391–1474, posthumously the first DALAI LAMA)
founded the great monastery of Bkra shis lhun po in
1447 and was also noted for his scholarly work on
epistemology. The rush to construct new Dga’ ldan pa
monasteries continued through the fifteenth century,
with ’Bras spung (1416) and Se ra (1419) founded in
the area of Lhasa, while others spread out east and
west. Some of these monasteries eventually enrolled
several thousand monks and were virtual religious
cities. Part of this process led to the mission of Bsod
nams rgya mtsho (1543–1588) to the Mongols, who
had lapsed from Buddhist practice after their in-
volvement with the Sa skya. Widely received, he was
given the title Dalai Lama by Altan Khan, a title ex-
tended to his earlier incarnations beginning with Dge
’dun grub pa. Bsod nams rgya mtsho’s reincarnation
(Dalai Lama IV, Yon tan rgya mtsho, 1589–1616) was
discovered as the great-grandson of Altan Khan, the
only Dalai Lama not Tibetan by birth.
The intellectual and institutional vitality of the
Dga’ ldan pa did not go unopposed, and the Sa skyaTIBET