Religion (宗教 )

Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India (Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh and Sikkim). It is also practiced in Mongolia and parts of Russia (Kalmykia, Buryatia, and Tuva) and Northeast China.

It includes the teachings of the three vehicles of Buddhism: the Foundational Vehicle, Mahayana, and Vajrayana.
In the wake of the 1959 Tibetan uprising, a Tibetan diaspora has made Tibetan Buddhism more widely accessible to the rest of the world. Tibetan Buddhism has since spread to many Western countries, where the tradition has gained popularity.

藏傳佛教，或稱藏語系佛教，又稱為喇嘛教，是指傳入西藏的佛教分支。藏傳佛教，與漢傳佛教、南傳佛教並稱佛教三大體系。藏傳佛教是以大乘佛教為主，其下又可分成密教與顯教傳承。雖然藏傳佛教中並沒有小乘佛教傳承，但是說一切有部及經量部對藏傳佛教的形成，仍有很深遠的影響。

藏傳佛教始於松贊干布時期，自寂護論師傳入大乘佛教及隨瑜伽行自續派，蓮花生大師來到西藏，制服了外道（苯教），逐漸建立了密教的基礎，此一時期稱為前弘期。此後經過朗達瑪滅佛的波折，佛教經過滅佛運動的破壞後重新振興，並逐漸形成了寧瑪、噶舉、噶當、薩迦、格魯、覺囊等各派的傳承，此一時期稱為後弘期。在宗喀巴大師創格魯派，成為藏傳佛教的主流後，在西藏出現了政教合一的特殊局面。

13世紀，開始流傳於蒙古地區，至今，蒙古、土、裕固等民族，仍多信奉藏傳佛教。近現代，藏傳佛教逐漸流傳到世界各地。