Within the Gelug tradition, tantra is upheld as a swift and powerful path to full awakening, yet it is never treated as independent of the sutra foundations. Tantric practice is expected to rest firmly on ethical discipline, the cultivation of bodhicitta, and a correct understanding of emptiness, especially as articulated in Madhyamaka philosophy. Extensive preliminary training, rigorous study, and a stable monastic or disciplined context are regarded as essential conditions before engaging in the more advanced tantric methods. Empowerment from a qualified guru, along with the maintenance of tantric vows, is seen as indispensable, and the guru–disciple relationship is treated with great seriousness. In this way, tantra is understood not as a shortcut that bypasses the sutra path, but as its consummation when all prerequisites are in place.

Gelug thought presents a systematic classification of tantra into four classes, each marking a deepening internalization of practice. Kriyā Tantra emphasizes external ritual purity, offerings, and ablutions, with the deity approached as a superior being from whom blessings are requested. Caryā (or Charyā) Tantra balances such external ritual with internal yoga, moving toward a more intimate identification with the deity while still retaining significant ritual structure. Yoga Tantra shifts the center of gravity decisively inward, focusing on meditative absorption and deity yoga, with external ritual now secondary to internal realization. Across these three, there is a clear progression from outer action toward inner yogic transformation.

Anuttarayoga Tantra, or Highest Yoga Tantra, is regarded as the pinnacle of tantric practice in the Gelug school. It is here that the most advanced methods are found, particularly the structured sequence of generation stage and completion stage yogas. In generation stage practice, the practitioner visualizes becoming the deity and mandala, using this process to purify ordinary appearances and deepen the realization of emptiness. In completion stage, attention turns to the subtle body—channels, winds, and drops—as well as to the illusory body and clear-light mind, in order to realize emptiness directly and transform even the most subtle levels of experience into the path. Within this highest class, a further division is made into Father Tantras, Mother Tantras, and Non-dual Tantras, with cycles such as Guhyasamāja, Cakrasaṃvara, Yamāntaka, Vajrayoginī, and Kālacakra serving as central exemplars.

A distinctive feature of the Gelug approach is the insistence that these profound methods be approached gradually and systematically, rather than leapt into prematurely. Anuttarayoga Tantra is honored as the most rapid and effective means, yet it is explicitly reserved for those who have already internalized the sutra path and can sustain its ethical and contemplative demands. Tantric realization is thus always measured against the touchstone of a correct view of emptiness and integrated with ongoing philosophical study and debate. In this way, the school maintains a conservative and carefully structured tantric curriculum, holding that when all conditions are properly assembled, tantra becomes the most powerful expression of the bodhisattva’s resolve to attain enlightenment for the benefit of all beings.