The Gelug is the newest and currently most dominant sect of Tibetan Buddhism. It was founded by Je Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), a philosopher and Tibetan religious leader. The first monastery he established was named Ganden. The Ganden Tripa is the nominal head of the school, though its most influential figure is the Dalai Lama. Allying themselves with the Mongols as a powerful patron, the Gelugpa have emerged as the pre-eminent Buddhist school in Tibet and Mongolia since the end of the 16th century.
The Panchen Lama, is a tulku of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. Panchen Lama is one of the most important figures in the Gelug tradition, with its spiritual authority second only to Dalai Lama. "Panchen" is a portmanteau of "Pandita" and "Chenpo", meaning "Great scholar".
Robert Alexander Farrar Thurman is an American Buddhist author and academic who has written, edited, and translated several books on Tibetan Buddhism. He was the Je Tsongkhapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University, before retiring in June 2019. "Robert Thurman held the first endowed chair in Buddhist Studies in the West." He also is the co-founder and president of the Tibet House US New York. He translated the Vimalakirti Sutra from the Tibetan Kanjur into English. He is the father of actress Uma Thurman.
Kyabje Nawang Gehlek Rimpoche was a Tibetan Buddhist lama born in Lhasa, Tibet on October 26, 1939. His personal name was Gelek; kyabje and rimpoche are titles meaning "teacher" and "precious," respectively. He was a tulku, an incarnate lama of Drepung Monastic University, where he received the highest scholastic degree of Geshe Lharampa, equivalent to a PhD, at the exceptionally young age of 20. His father was the 10th Demo Rinpoche and his uncle was the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso. He was educated alongside the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso.
The Dorje Shugden is a controversy over Dorje Shugden, also known as Dolgyal, who some consider to be one of several protectors of the Gelug school, the school of Tibetan Buddhism to which the Dalai Lamas belong. Dorje Shugden has become the symbolic centre-point of a conflict over the "purity" of the Gelug school and the inclusion of non-Gelug teachings, especially Nyingma ones.
Tibetan Americans are Americans of Tibetan ancestry. As of 2020, more than 26,700 Americans are estimated to have Tibetan ancestry. The majority of Tibetan Americans reside in Queens, New York.
Glenn H. Mullin is a Tibetologist, Buddhist writer, translator of classical Tibetan literature and teacher of Tantric Buddhist meditation.
Thubten Jigme Norbu, recognised as the Taktser Rinpoche, was a Tibetan lama, writer, civil rights activist and professor of Tibetan studies and was the eldest brother of the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso. He was one of the first high-profile Tibetans to go into exile and was the first to settle in the United States.
Birgitte Caroline "Nena" von Schlebrügge is a Mexican born Swedish-American fashion model from the 1950s and 1960s. She is now the Executive Chairwoman of Menla Mountain Retreat and Managing Director of Tibet House US.
The 14th Dalai Lama is the current Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader of Tibet, and considered a living buddha. The Dalai Lamas are also leaders of the Gelug school, which is the newest school of Tibetan Buddhism and was formally headed by the Ganden Tripas. From the time of the 5th Dalai Lama to 1959, the central government of Tibet, the Ganden Phodrang, invested the position of Dalai Lama with temporal duties.
The 9th Jebtsundamba Khutughtu was the 9th reincarnation of the Jebtsundamba Khutuktu, the third highest lama in the Tibetan Buddhism hierarchy and the spiritual leader of the Gelug lineage among the Khalkha Mongols. Although recognized as the reincarnation of the Bogd Khan in 1936, his identity was kept a secret by the Dalai Lama until 1990 due to the persecution of the Buddhist religion by the Mongolian People's Republic, and did not reside in Mongolia until the final year of his life.
Freda Bedi, also known as Sister Palmo or Gelongma Karma Kechog Palmo, was a British woman who was jailed in India as a supporter of Indian nationalism and was the first Western woman to take full ordination in Tibetan Buddhism.
Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari Rinpoche, Kasur Lodi Gyari or "as he is universally known to the Tibetan-speaking world, Gyari Rinpoche" was a Tibetan politician, and journalist who served as the 14th Dalai Lama's special envoy to the United States. Exiled to India in 1959, he was also the executive chairman of the International Campaign for Tibet.
(Thubten) Jamphel Yeshe Gyaltsen or Thupten Jampel Yishey Gyantsen, Tibetan: ཐུབ་བསྟན་འཇམ་དཔལ་ཡེ་ཤེས་རྒྱལ་མཚན་, Wylie: thub-bstan 'jam-dpal ye-shes rgyal-mtshan was a Tibetan tulku and the fifth Reting Rinpoche.
Loden Sherab Dagyab Rinpoche was born on July 27, 1940 in Menya, East Tibet. He was recognized as the reincarnation of the 9th Kyabgoen at the age of four. "The Dagyab Kyabgoens have been the spiritual head of the Dagyab region in Eastern Tibet, and carry the title Hothogthu Nomonhan. This title is exclusive to a group of most outstanding and highest-ranking Lamas." The lineage of the Kyabgoens, “Lords of Protection” of the Dagyab region of Tibet, goes back to Dragpa Gyatso.
The Young Lamas Home School was a school established by the 14th Dalai Lama and Freda Bedi in 1960. Its funding was provided by Christopher Hills and its early abbot was Karma Thinley Rinpoche.
Khyongla Rato, also known as Khyongla Rato Rinpoche, Rato Khyongla Rinpoche, Khyongla Rinpoche and also as Nawang Losang, his monk's name, is a scholar and teacher in the Gelugpa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. He was born in what was then the Kham region of Tibet, and was recognized as an incarnate lama at an early age. He spent over 30 years of his life as a monk studying in the monasteries of Tibet and receiving teachings from many highly qualified lamas.
The Tibet Center, also known as Kunkhyab Thardo Ling, in New York City, is a center for the study of Tibetan Buddhism, a dharma center. The Tibet Center was founded by Venerable Khyongla Rato Rinpoche in 1975, and is currently directed by Khen Rinpoche Nicholas Vreeland, who is also the abbot of Rato Dratsang. The primary teachers at The Tibet Center are Khyongla Rato Rinpoche, Geshe Nicholas Vreeland, and Anthony Spina.
Nicholas Vreeland, also known as Rato Khen Rinpoche, Geshe Thupten Lhundup, is a fully ordained Tibetan Buddhist monk who is the abbot of Rato Dratsang Monastery, a 10th-century Tibetan Buddhist monastery reestablished in India. Vreeland is also a photographer. He is the son of Ambassador Frederick Vreeland and grandson of Diana Vreeland, the renowned fashion editor.
Tibet House US (THUS) is a Tibetan cultural preservation and education nonprofit founded in 1987 in New York City by a group of Westerners after the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, had expressed his wish to establish a cultural institution to build awareness of Tibetan culture.
