Honorific titles in Tibetan institutions and clergy
Buddhist monasticism is an important part of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, all the major and minor schools maintain large monastic institutions based on the Mulasarvastivada Vinaya (monastic rule) and many religious leaders come from the monastic community.
There are also many religious leaders or teachers (called Lamas and Gurus) which are not celibate monastics and in some cases the lama is the leader of a spiritual community.
Some lamas gain their title through being .