Lama

Lama (bla-ma; "chief" or "high priest") is a title for a Tibetan religious teacher. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru.

Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama is the leader of the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. He is regarded as the rebirth in a line of tulkus who are considered to be manifestations of the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteśvara.

The current Dalai Lama is the fourteenth Tenzin Gyatso.

Panchen Lama

The Panchen Lama (also called Tashi Lama or Teshu-Lama) holds the second highest rank in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, after the Dalai Lama.