The Sautrāntika or Sūtravāda (Suttavāda in Pāḷi) were an early Buddhist school generally believed to be descended from the Sthāvira nikāya by way of their immediate parent school, the Sarvāstivādins. While they are identified as a unique doctrinal tendency, they were part of the Sarvāstivāda Vinaya lineage of monastic ordination. Their name means literally " those who rely upon the sūtras ", which indicated, as

Abhidharmakośa, the famous fundamental treatise of 5th century by Vasubandhu, explaining the fundaments of system of knowledge according to Vaibhasika tradition of Buddhism is here. The main points of study here are the theory of dharma or elements of existence, perception of reality through indriyas (faculties), the notion of karma in the light of teaching about dharmas, path to liberation – Abhidharma or dharma Nirvana

All Buddhist traditions and schools of thought are classified according to their views on dharma. The explication of well-known 4 Noble Truths tells us, what Buddha discovered was: existence of dharma, causality and dependent origination of dharma and ceasing of dharma. When Buddha himself was asked what he understands with words “All exists” he replayed: “All exist means 12 āyatana exists.” (12 groups of dharma).

The Mūlasarvāstivāda was one of the early Buddhist schools of India. The origins of the Mūlasarvāstivāda and their relationship to the Sarvāstivāda sect still remain largely unknown, although various theories exist. The Mūlasarvāstivāda monastic order still remains in Tibetan Buddhism. Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya is one of 3 surviving Vinaya lineages Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya is extant in Tibetan and Chinese translation. Mongolian ordination follows this rule as well.

The Jonang is one of the schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Jonang is particularly important in that it has preserved this complete Kālacakra system, which is now also practiced in other schools. The 11th century Kālacakra yogi Yumo Mikyö Dorje (b. 1027) is regarded as one of the earliest Tibetan teachers of a Shentong View - an understanding of the absolute radiant nature of reality.

The Nyingma School is the oldest of the 5 major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, founded by Vajrayāna revealer Guru Padmasambhava in 8th century. "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as Ngangyur, "school of the ancient translations" or "old school". The Vajrayāna or Tantra of the Nyingma School traces its origins to Guru Padmasambhava and also to Garab Dorje and to Yeshe Tsogyal

Sakya ("pale earth") school is one of 5 major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The name Sakya ("pale earth") derives from the unique grey landscape of the Ponpori Hills in southern Tibet near Shigatse, where Sakya Monastery, the 1st monastery of this tradition, and the seat of the Sakya School was built by Khön Könchok Gyalpo (1034–1102) in 1073. Sakya was founded by scholar Drogmi.

The Kagyu school, which translates to "Oral Lineage" or "Whispered Transmission" school, is one of the main schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The Kagyu lineages trace themselves back to the 11th century Indian Mahāsiddhas Nāropa, Maitrīpa and the yogini Niguma, via their student Marpa Lotsawa (1012–1097), who brought their teachings to Tibet. Tibetan Kagyu tradition gave rise to a large number of independent traditions.

The Gelug ("virtuous") is the newest and most dominant school of Tibetan Buddhism. It was founded by Je Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), a Tibetan philosopher, tantric yogi and lama. The Gelug school is alternatively known as New Kadam, since it sees itself as a continuation of the Kadam tradition of Atiśa. It is also called the Ganden school, after the 1st monastery established by Tsongkhapa.