Office and Institution

1. The title Dalai Lama (usually translated ‘Ocean of Wisdom,’ from the Mongolian talai, ‘Ocean wherein wisdom is enclosed,’ and the Tibetan lama, ‘teacher, master’) denotes the highest office in the political and spiritual system of Tibetan Buddhism. In 1578, it was conferred upon the third Great Lama of the Lamaistic Gelugpa (‘Yellow Caps’) by Mongolian sovereign Altan Khan, then Protective Lord of Tibet, in re…