Statue of Je Tsongkhapa, founder of the Gelugpa school, on the altar in His Temple (His birth place) in Kumbum Monastery, near Xining, Qinghai (Amdo), China. Photo by writer Mario Biondi, July 7, 2006
The Gelug or Gelug-pa, is a school of Tibetan Buddhism founded by Je Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), a philosopher and Tibetanreligious leader. The first monastery he established was at Ganden, and to this day the Ganden Tripa is the nominal head of the school, though its most famous person is the Dalai Lama. There are others Gelug Masters, like Trijang Rinpoche and Ling Rinpoche.