About Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism

Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism is the oldest of the four main schools, established with the founding of Samye Chokor Ling monastery in the 8th century by Padmasambhava and Shantirakshita. Nyingma means old, or ancient, and differs from the other three schools, Sakya, Kagyu, and Gelug, in a number of ways. The three later schools are collectively called the Sarma schools, meaning new. A significant characteristic of the Nyingma is that it is anarchic with no central authority. All of the other schools have a clear authority and hierarchy.