The Kagyu lineage put into practice the concept of reincarnation. When the great Kagyu master Karmapa Dusum Khyenpa (1110- 1193), an outstanding disciple of Gampopa, passed away his reincarnation was discovered and duly recognized. Soon other schools adopted this practice of reincarnation. The Sakya Tradition

In his introduction to the Sakya lineage published in Graham Coleman’s Handbook of Tibetan Culture, Sakya Trizin, the present throne-holder, explains the origins of his lineage in this way.

“The Sakya Tradition originated in the eleventh century, and has been closely connected with of one of the ‘holy families’ of Tibet, the Khon family, since early times. One of the family members, Khon Lui Wangpo Sungwa, became a disciple of the great Indian saint Padmasambhava in the eighth century, being amongst the irst seven monks to be ordained in Tibet. Through the next thirteen generations, the Khon family was an acknowledged pillar of the ‘early propagation’ in Tibet. However, it was Khon Konchok Gyalpo who, in 1073, built Sakya monastery and thereby established the foundation of the Sakya Tradition in Tibet. He studied under Drokmi the Translator (992-1072) and soon became a master of many profound teachings. The next centuries saw the rise of the Sakya Tradition to great heights, not only as a pre-eminent spiritual centre but also as a political power in Tibet.” The Gelug Tradition

The Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism was founded by Tsongkhapa (1357-1419) based on the Kadam tradition of Atisha and his chief Tibetan disciple Dromtonpa. Ganden Tri Rinpoche Yeshe Dhondup, the ninety-ninth throne-holder of Tsongkhapa, in his introduction to the Gelug tradition published in Graham Coleman’s A Handbook of Tibetan Culture, writes, “Tsongkhapa was particularly attracted by the Kadam’s emphasis on the Mahayana principles of universal compassion and altruism, valuing these qualities not only as a spiritual orientation, but more importantly, as a way of 19