Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama is the title of the spiritual leader of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. Dalai Lamas are traditionally regarded as successive reincarnations of Avalokiteshvara.

Sonam Gyatso: The third Dalai Lama, whose title was later applied retrospectively to his two predecessors. His 1578 meeting with Altan Khan established the title that named the lineage.
Gendun Drup: A Tibetan Buddhist scholar and abbot later recognized as the first Dalai Lama. He became the lineage's retrospective starting point after the title was given to Sonam Gyatso.
Potala Palace: A palace in Lhasa that served as the Dalai Lamas' winter residence and seat of government. It embodied the office's fusion of religious residence and Tibetan state authority.
Panchen Lama: A major Gelug religious leader whose lineage is traditionally involved in recognizing Dalai Lama reincarnations. The two offices have distinct roles and a reciprocal place in succession traditions.
Altan Khan: A Mongol ruler who allied with Tibetan Buddhist leaders and gave Sonam Gyatso the title Dalai Lama. His conferral of the title linked the Gelug leadership to Mongol political power.
Lobsang Gyatso: The Fifth Dalai Lama, who unified much of Tibet under Gelug rule in the seventeenth century. His rise made the Dalai Lama a central temporal ruler as well as a religious leader.
Tibetan diaspora: Communities of Tibetans living outside Tibet, formed especially through twentieth-century exile. The Dalai Lama's exile helped establish institutions that sustain Tibetan life abroad.
Karmapa: The head of the Karma Kagyu school and one of Tibetan Buddhism's prominent reincarnate lineages. This separate lineage shows that the Dalai Lama is not the sole tulku institution in Tibetan Buddhism.
Gelug: A Tibetan Buddhist school founded by Tsongkhapa in the early fifteenth century. The Dalai Lama's institutional authority is rooted in this school.
Thubten Gyatso: The Thirteenth Dalai Lama, who led Tibet through the collapse of Qing rule and asserted its independence. His reforms and political declarations shaped the institution before the Chinese takeover.

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