Ganden Monastery was founded near Lhasa in Tibet by Tsongkhapa in 1409 as the first and main Gelug monastery. Prophesied by the historic Buddha approximately about 2,000 years before his birth, Tsongkhapa, (1357-1419) prophesied by the historic Buddha approximately about 2,000 years before his birth, was a child prodigy who went on to establish and inspire Tibet's most powerful monastic sect, the Gelug. He was dissatisfied by the poor discipline - intellectual, religious, and monastic - of contemporary orders, so he reined his disciples and followers into a strict new order. The Gelug sect re-established the austerity of monastic life and emphasized the importance of philosophical study. Tsongkhapa, the first abbot of Ganden Monastery, was the appointed head of the Gelug sect.
To this day, the abbot or "Tripa", of Ganden Monastery, rather than the Dalai Lama, leads this sect. An interesting feature of this succession is that unlike the succession of Dalai Lama, which operates according to the principle of reincarnation, the position of Ganden Tripa is elected. As a result, the Ganden Tripa has traditionally been a strong candidate for the position of Regent within the Tibetan government at such times when the Dalai Lama was in his minority, absent or deceased.
"Ganden", the Tibetan name for the paradise of the Buddha of the Future, was given by Tsongkhapa to the monastery. According to scriptures, the arrival of this Buddha will herald the end of the world's sufferings. This name suggests the wish that Ganden monastery would become a pathway to the world's salvation.
The three main sights of Ganden Monastery per se are the Serdung, which contains the golden tomb of Tsongkhapa, the Tsokchen Assembly Hall and the Ngam Cho Khang Chapel where Tsongkhapa traditionally taught his students.
