Dalai lama temple,

The lama /ˈdɑːlaɪ ˈlɑːmə/ (US), /ˌdælaɪ ˈlɑːmə/ (UK)[1][2] could be a monk of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" college of Buddhism,[3] the latest of the colleges of Tibetan Buddhism[4] supported by Je Tsongkhapa. The lama title was created by Altan Khan (Shunyi Wang of China)[5] [6]in 1578. The fourteenth and current lama is Tenzin Gyatso.

The lama has perpetually been a very important figure of the Gelug tradition. though finding dominance in Central Thibet, the lama has been a very important figure on the far side sectarian boundaries. The lama figure is vital for several reasons. Since the time of the Fifth lama his personage has perpetually been an emblem of unification of the state of Thibet, wherever he has painted Buddhist values and traditions.[7] The Fifth lama was granted by the Shunzhi Emperor of China a golden seal of authority and golden sheets for the exercise of leadership over Buddhism beneath the heaven.[8]

The lama is taken into account to be the successor during a line of tulkus United Nations agency ar believed[1] to be incarnations of Avalokiteśvara,[2] the deity of Compassion,[9] known as Chenrezig in Tibetan.[10] The name could be a combination of the Altaic word dalai that means "ocean" (coming from Mongolian title Dalaiyin qan or Dalaiin khan,[11] translated as 'Gyatso' in Tibetan)[12] and also the Tibetan word བླ་མ་ (bla-ma) that means "guru, teacher, mentor". The Tibetan word "lama" corresponds to the higher legendarySanskrit word "guru".

From 1642 till the Fifties (except from 1705 to 1750), the Dalai Lamas or their regents headed the Tibetan government (or Ganden Phodrang) in Lhasa that ruled all or most of the Tibetan tableland with variable degrees of autonomy,[13] up to complete sovereignty.[14] This government conjointly enjoyed the patronage and protection of first off Mongol kings of the Khoshut and Dzungar Khanates (1642–1720) and so of the emperors of the Manchu-led Qing