Picture rows of pages tracing a methodical roadmap to awakening—that’s the hallmark of the Gelug tradition. At its heart sits Tsongkhapa’s masterpiece, the Lamrim Chenmo (“Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment”), which weaves together Indian classics into a step-by-step guide. Drawing on Maitreya’s Abhisamayālaṃkāra (“Ornament of Clear Realization”) and its commentaries, it unpacks how insight into emptiness dovetails with compassionate action.

Foundational Madhyamaka philosophy comes alive through Chandrakīrti’s Madhyamakāvatāra (“Introduction to the Middle Way”) and Nāgārjuna’s Mūlamadhyamakakārikā. These texts dismantle extremes, showing that reality isn’t solid stone but a delicate interplay of causes and conditions. Practice of bodhicitta—the wish to free all beings—takes shape in Shantideva’s Bodhicaryāvatāra (“Way of the Bodhisattva”), a perennial favorite at modern debate sessions in Sera Monastery and online workshops sponsored by the Dalai Lama Trust.

Logic and epistemology earn top billing here. Dharmakīrti’s Pramāṇavārttika teaches how to distinguish valid perception from mere opinion—skills tested every spring during lively courtyard debates at Ganden monastery. Vinaya rules, too, are indispensable: the monastic code ensures that ethical conduct and scholarly rigor go hand in hand, from Drepung’s chilly courtyards to urban Dharma centers in New York or Dharamsala.

A recent push by translation teams—backed by the Tsadra Foundation—has made these texts more accessible than ever, bridging centuries-old Tibetan script with today’s digital platforms. The result? A living tradition where age-old treatises meet smartphone-era students hungry for clarity. In the Gelug school, philosophy isn’t an ivory-tower luxury but a detailed toolkit, guiding practitioners from humility and compassion right up to the very doorstep of enlightenment.