Within the Gelug tradition, monastic education unfolds as a long, graded training in which the so‑called “five great texts” form the backbone of the entire curriculum. These five areas—Prajñāpāramitā, Madhyamaka, Pramāṇa, Abhidharma, and Vinaya—are not merely subjects among others, but the very architecture through which a monk’s intellectual and spiritual formation is shaped over some 15–20 years or more. Each text represents a distinct dimension of the Buddhist path: wisdom, philosophical view, valid cognition, analysis of phenomena, and ethical discipline. Taken together, they provide a comprehensive map of reality, mind, and conduct as understood in the Gelug school. The progression through them is deliberate and cumulative, so that earlier studies prepare the ground for more subtle and demanding topics later on.

The pedagogical method is as structured as the content itself. Monks begin by memorizing root verses and key passages from these great treatises, then engage in close study of Indian root texts together with authoritative Tibetan commentaries. Daily debate (rtsod pa) is the living heart of this education: courtyard debates, framed by the logic and epistemology of Pramāṇa, are used to probe every point of doctrine drawn from the five great texts. Through this dialectical training, understanding is not simply received but tested, refined, and made one’s own. Graded examinations and formal public debates mark progress through the levels of study, and successful completion of the full course culminates in the Geshe degree, with various recognized levels such as Lharampa and Tsogrampa.

Each of the five great texts plays a specific role in this overall formation. Prajñāpāramitā, especially as presented in the *Abhisamayālaṅkāra*, lays out the bodhisattva path and the stages of realization, giving a structured vision of the Mahāyāna journey. Madhyamaka, studied through works such as Candrakīrti’s *Madhyamakāvatāra* and related Gelug commentaries, refines the understanding of emptiness and the two truths, and is regarded as the pinnacle of sutra‑side philosophy. Pramāṇa, centered on Dharmakīrti’s *Pramāṇavārttika*, trains monks in valid cognition, inference, and rigorous reasoning, providing the tools that shape the entire style of Gelug debate. Abhidharma, based on Vasubandhu’s *Abhidharmakośa*, offers a detailed analysis of mind, cosmology, and karmic processes, while Vinaya, grounded in classical Vinaya texts and their commentaries, anchors all this intellectual work in strict monastic discipline and ethical conduct.

Seen as a whole, this curriculum is less a collection of books than a carefully staged path of transformation. Ethical discipline in Vinaya supports clarity of mind; Abhidharma and Pramāṇa sharpen discernment; Prajñāpāramitā and Madhyamaka open onto the profound view of emptiness and the bodhisattva ideal. The Dalai Lamas themselves are formed within this same framework, receiving the Geshe training based on these treatises before moving into more specialized tantric studies. In this way, the Gelug system uses the five great texts as a kind of spine for both scholarship and practice, ensuring that philosophical insight, ethical rigor, and contemplative aspiration develop in tandem rather than in isolation.