Monasteries as institutions
The largest monasteries near Lhasa, Drepung, Sera and Ganden, housed thousands of monks each. They ran a long formal curriculum of logic, Madhyamaka philosophy, Abhidharma and monastic law, examined by public debate, with the geshe degree at the end of it. They also held estates and herds, and employed labourers and traders.
A monastery was therefore several things at once: a place of practice, a school, an economic institution, and often the largest organisation in its valley.
Monks and Mongols
In the 13th century Sakya Paṇḍita and his nephew Phagpa entered the service of the Mongol court, and Sakya was given authority over Tibet under Mongol overlordship. This set the pattern Tibetans call priest and patron: a lama provides religious authority and legitimacy, a ruler provides protection and funds.
That relationship was repeated with later Mongol and Qing rulers, and it is one reason the history of Tibetan Buddhism is so hard to separate from the politics of Inner Asia.
The Fifth Dalai Lama
With the military backing of Güshri Khan, the Fifth Dalai Lama, who lived from 1617 to 1682, became ruler of a unified central Tibet in 1642. He began the Potala Palace in 1645 on the hill above Lhasa, and the government he founded, the Ganden Phodrang, lasted until the middle of the 20th century.
This was also the great age of Tibetan printing. Woodblock editions of the Kangyur and Tengyur were produced at Narthang, Derge, Beijing and elsewhere, which put the same texts into monastic libraries across the plateau.
Why it matters
Tibetan monasteries become centres of learning, ritual and political authority.
History and tradition
What historians can say
Documented by Tibetan administrative records, Mongol and Chinese sources, the biographies of the figures involved and the buildings themselves. The Potala is a UNESCO World Heritage site.