The reincarnation system (tulku), a distinguishing characteristic of Tibetan Buddhism, is based the theory that Buddha's soul never vanishes, but reincarnates in succession to lead his followers and to accomplish his mission. One of first reincarnations among the Buddhist monks in Tibet is Karma Pakshi. In 1193, before Dusum Chenpa, a religious leader, the first Karmapa of the Karma Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, passed away, he told his disciples that he would return as a reincarnated being. His disciples soon led a search for his infant reincarnation in accordance with his will. Several years later, Karma Pakshi turned out as the first reincarnation in Tibet and trained to be Karma Kagyu leader. After Karma Pakshi's reincarnation, the reincarnation system was adopted by other sects gradually to keep a consistent religious leadership. By applying the system, heirs for hundreds of Gyalwas (Living Buddhas) were selected, among whom the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama are the most prestigious. The Yellow Hat sect, Gelugpa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism also applied the system to hand down the titles conferred on the third Dalai Lama and the fourth Panchen Lama to keep their established religious and secular title and power. By the end of the Qing Dynasty there were 160 high lamas registered with the Board for Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs, each applying the reincarnation system to identify their next successors.

Religious methods and rituals are used to identify a reincarnation of a late high lama. A search party headed by another high lama begins the search. After a religious retreat, lamas, dispatched in disguise, scour Tibet for special signs: new mothers who had unusual dreams, children who have special knowledge without being taught, and special physical traits, such as big ear lobes. The lamas refer to oracles, portents, dreams and the late lama's prophesy in order to aid them in their search. Some lamas are sent to Lhamo Latso, the Oracle Lake, to look for prophetic visions to help locate the reincarnation. Usually, dozens of candidates are sought. They will be tested with the late lama's possessions; those who have amazing knowledge in identifying their predecessor's belongings win and become the final candidates. Since the search could be easily manipulated and dispute occurs (as in the case of the sixth Dalai Lama), Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty decided to use a gold urn lottery as a divination to eliminate false candidates. The names and birth dates of the final candidates are written on ivory lots, wrapped up and sealed in the urn. Religious rituals are held before the lottery. After holding the lottery in the Jokhang Temple, a new religious leader is soon installed if the procedure has been verified by the central government.

There used to be thousands of monasteries in Tibet. Every family was expected to send at least one boy to a monastery. Usually, boys would be ordained at the age of seven; girls, a bit older. The monastery life used to be the only access to education and improved social status. People went to monasteries to get educated, to merit their family and to pursue religious fulfillment. Although educational and economic conditions in Tibet have improved, many Tibetans are still drawn to the monasteries.The monastery life is rigorous. Monks are involved in all kinds of religious services and administrative tasks, on behalf of individual study and the monastery community. Daily life starts in the early morning and ends in the late night. The whole day is occupied with communal or individual religious services and the management of the monastery. Older monks, learned lamas, hold greater responsibilities such as maintaining discipline and leading the group prayers. Younger monks help by running the kitchen, shopping and serving food and tea.

Religious study and services are the main theme of the monastery life. The newly ordained monks start from basic Tibetan language, grammar, literature, sutra chanting and prayers. Then time will be spent on Buddhist canons such as Abhidharma (Higher Knowledge), Prajnya Paramita (The Perfection of Wisdom), Pramana (Logic), and Madhyamika (The Middle Way). Generally the study process will last for 18 years or more. Monks study sutras and tantras and read Buddhist texts. Crafts, astrology and medicine are also the subjects they need to learn. In addition, Monks retreat for hours to reflect and meditate on teh meaning and implications of Buddhist philosophy. Sutra debate is important to help master and deepen Buddhist theology. These debates are also a method of examination: high lamas debate with the applicant monks. Those who pass the examinations held in their own monasteries will be qualified to participate the Monlam (The Great Prayer Festival) Debate. A Geshe Lharampa Degree, which represents the highest degree in Tibetan Buddhism theology, will be conferred on those who win. A Geshe Lharampa who wants to advance to a higher religious and scholarly fulfillment needs to attend one of the tantra colleges to get the Geshe Ngarampa Degree (Tantra Master). Only a few talented monks can enter a scholarly religious life and advance to religious fulfillment. Many others fall into more secular jobs such as craftsmen, builders, artists and cooks.

Nuns live a life similar to that of monks, in a more invisible manner. Their religious practice mainly focuses on meditation and prayer rather than advanced philosophical studies in less structured nunneries, although there have been a few great female scholars in Tibetan history

Butter sculpture is another Tibetan Buddhist artistic visual impact. The sacred offering is made from mainly butter and other mineral pigments. The size of butter sculpture varies from several centimeters torma to several meters tableaux, covering a variety of subject including deities, butter mandalas, flowers, animals and Buddhist motifs. Traditionally, butter sculptures are displayed on monastery altars and family shrines as offerings. In the session of the Great Prayer Festival, there will be a butter sculpture display and competition before the Jokhang Temple. Butter sculptures are modeled by hands. Since butter melts easily, monk artists making butter sculptures need to work in cold conditions, they have to dip their hands into cold water to make their fingers cold enough then can they start to model. Monks take great pride to do the religious work. A few tools, such as hollow bones for making long threads and moulds for making leaves and alike, are applied.The butter sculptures in Ta'er Monastery enjoy the highest reputation in the Tibetan world. The monastery has a butter sculpture museum housing a collection of fine butter sculptures.

Mandala, called Dultson Kyilkhor in Tibetan, means container of essence. The Mandala is a tri-dimensional graphical and geometrical representation of the universe. It represents a combination of the enlightened mind and body of Buddha and is considered to have great power. These unique and exquisite works are usually made of colored sand. However, powdered flowers, herbs and even precious gems are also popularly used materials. Although Mandalas were originally created as religious objects used to aid in meditation and decorate and sanctify monasteries and homes , they have become appreciated as artwork for their elegance and beauty.Mandalas are usually symmetric with series of concentric circles and squares. The center point is the residence of the resident deity, from whom the Mandala is identified. Lines are drawn from the centre until they intersect and form circles and squares. The finished Mandalas have four gates, which symbolize a culmination of the four virtues: compassion, kindness, sympathy and equanimity. Other Buddhist auspicious symbols can also be included in the design. Form and color application techniques are strictly followed in the process of creating a Mandala to show religious meanings.

Travelers to Tibet may find mani stones and mani stone mounds almost everywhere, in monasteries, beside villages, along paths and on mountains. Sometimes they are decorated with sheep and yak horns. Usually the universal mantra, Om Mani Padme Hum, is inscribed on these smooth stone plates, pebbles and rocks. Images of deities and great adepts and sutra texts are also common themes. Tibetan people build these unique works of art to show their piety to their deities and the Buddha's teachings. Upon encountering a mani stone mound, Tibetan people circumambulate it clockwise as a prayer offering for health, peace, and protection.

The fluttering prayer flags can often be found along with piles of mani stones on rooftops, mountain passes, river crossings, and other sacred places. Prayer flags are actually colorful cotton cloth squares in white, blue, yellow, green, and red. Woodblocks are used to decorate the prayer flags with images, mantras, and prayers. Usually at the center of a prayer flag, there is an image of the Wind Horse which bears the Three Jewels of Buddhism. On the four corners of the flag, are images of Garuda, Dragon, Tiger, and Snow Lion which are the four sacred animals representing the four virtues of wisdom, power, confidence, and fearless joy respectively. Sometimes auspicious Buddhist symbols can be found on the edges. In the blank spaces between the images, prayers and mantras are printed. There are two kinds of prayer flags, the horizontal ones called Lungta in Tibetan and the vertical ones called Darchor. Horizontal prayer flags are squares connected at the top edges with a long thread. The less used vertical prayer flags are usually single squares or groups of squares sewn on poles which are planted in the ground or on rooftops. Tibetans believe the prayers and mantras will be blown heavenward as offerings to their deities and will bring benefits to the one who hangs them, his neighborhood, and all sentient beings, even flying birds. However, if the flags are hung on the wrong astrological dates, they will bring only negative results. And the longer it hangs, the greater the obstacles which will arise. Old prayer flags are replaced with new ones annually on Tibetan New Year.

Prayer wheels, called Chokhor in Tibetan, are very common religious objects in Tibet. A hand held prayer wheel is a hollow wooden or metal cylinder attached to a handle. Om Mani Padme Hung mantras are printed or etched in relief on the cylinder. Attached to the cylinder is a lead weight with a chain, which facilitates the rotation. Tibetans use prayer wheels to spread spiritual blessings to all sentient beings and invoke good karma in their next life. They believe that every rotation of a prayer wheel equals one utterance of the mantra, thus the religious practice will in return help them accumulate merits, replace negative effects with positive ones, and hence bring them good karma. The religious exercise is part of Tibetan life. People turn the wheel day and night while walking or resting, whenever their right hands are free while murmuring the same mantra. Buddhists turn the wheel clockwise. Bon followers turn the wheel counter clockwise.Prayer wheels vary in size and type. Not all prayer wheels are hand held. It is common for bucket-sized prayer wheels to be lined up on wooden racks along walking paths circling monasteries and other sacred sites, for the benefit of visiting pilgrims. Larger water, fire, and wind prayer wheels are built so that they are empowered by the flowing water, the flaming light, and the blowing wind which drive them, and can later pass their positive karma to all who touch them.

Stupa(Chorten in Tibetan) is an important religious monument in Tibet. This unique religious architectural form expresses significant religious symbolism and presents Buddha's physical presence. It generally consists of three parts; a whitewashed base, a whitewashed cylinder and a crowning steeple or shaft. The square base foundation, representing the Buddha's lotus throne, symbolizes earth, the state of solidity and five forces (faith, concentration, mindfulness, perseverance and wisdom. The four stepped base may or may not have openings. Above the base is a square or hexagon four stepped pedestal which represents The Buddha's crossed legs. Seated on the base is the cylinder, representing his torso. This symbolizes water, the state of fluidity and seven essential conditions of enlightenment: concentration, effort, equanimity, flexibility, mindfulness, joy and wisdom. Sometimes a stupa has a shield like grillwork in one face. This allows relics of high lamas, statues and other items to be put inside. Between the cylinder and the crowning steeple, there is a square box, called Harmika, which represents the Buddha's eyes. It is considered to be the residence of the gods, symbolizing the eightfold noble path. The crowning steeple, the Buddha's crown, is usually hand-made of brass and/or covered with gold leaf. It is segmented into 13 tapering rings, a parasol and a twin symbol of the sun and the moon. Those rings, representing fire and the thirteen steps of enlightenment, successively symbolize ten powers of the Buddha and three close contemplations. The stylized parasol, representing wind, wards off all evil. At the top of the steeple is the twin symbol of the sun and the moon, which represent wisdom and method respectively. A flaming jewel may be found atop the twin symbol, symbolizing the highest enlightenment.

Stupas always house items that Buddhists hold sacred. Sutra scripts, Buddha statues, Tsa-Tsas, hair clippings, fingernails, relics and cremation ashes of saints are usually enshrined in stupas along with jewels, herbs and other objects. They are sometimes used as tombs in which mummified bodies of high lamas are buried.Stupas may also be built in commemoration of high Lamas as a sign of merit accumulation, or for their funerals. Building a stupa and any other work done on it are considered of work of the highest purity and merit. Buddhists always show their devotion by circling the stupa clockwise. Doing this can also accumulate merit. The size and style of stupa may vary, from the large stupas commonly seen in monasteries and on road passes, to portable ones many Tibetan people carry with them as sacred objects and amulets.

Tsatsa, with its origin in Sanskrit, is a typical Tibetan Buddhist art form. Actually tsatsas are votive tablets in Tibetan Buddhism, usually clay impressions made with a metal mould containing hollowed, reversed image of a deity, a stupa or other sacred symbols. Tibetan people believe that making tsatsas is a merit accumulating action. As holy objects, tsatsas can be found inside stupas, prayer wheel niches, holy caves and monastery altars or beside holy mountains, holy lakes and other holy sites. Small tsatsas can be put inside a portable amulet shrine (called Gau in Tibetan) and taken as amulets by those traveling. Making tsatsa is a compulsory skill of monks in Tibetan monasteries.Tsatsas fall into different categories in accordance with ingredients added, including plain clay tsatsa, which has no special ingredient; ash tsatsa, which has ashes of late lamas added; medicine tsatsa, which has Tibetan herbs added; humoral tsatsa, which contains liquid produced in the mummifying procedure of late high lamas; and tsatsa made by high lamas themselves or other celebrities. In addition, however, there are some virtual tsatsas made. Lucky travelers may find in some region that Tibetans are using their tsatsa moulds stamping in wind, water and fire! Tibetan people believe everything can be used to make the holy object, even wind, water and fire.After tsatsas being molded, they are dried or fired to be hard. Only after ritually empowered can they be used as holy objects!

It is common to see various religious symbols when traveling in Tibetan monasteries, villages. They are used as sacred adornments.

Vase: stores the nectar of immortality and symbolizes hidden treasure

Conch Shell: proclaims the teachings of the enlightened ones and symbolizes the spoken word.

Dharma Wheel: symbolizes the unity of all things, spiritual law and Sakyamuni himself. The wheel is usually flanked by two deer, the first to listen to Sakyamuni's teachings. The male deer symbolizes the realization of great bliss while the female deer symbolizes the realization of emptiness.

Swastika: commonly seen on home walls or on monastery floors. Meaning good fortune, it symbolizes infinity, universe and sometimes sun and moon. Buddhists draw it clockwise while bon followers draw it anticlockwise.

Kalacakra Seal: an adorning motif in murals or on monastery walls. It symbolizes the highest initiations into occult knowledge which can only be possessed by a few high lamas.

Wheel of Life: in murals or on monastery walls. The demon of impermanence holds a wheel, segmented into six sections, which mean all realms of existence respectively. These are: Heaven, demigods, humankind, hell, hungry ghosts and animals. The hub in the center symbolizes ignorance, hatred and greed, the three poisons.

Sun and Moon: usually seen on village houses and top of stupas. The adorning motif symbolizes the source of light and union of opposites