These Buddhist traditions are often labeled as “Tibetan,” as they are believed to have originated historically from Tibet, to share narrative traditions with Tibetan Buddhism, and to use Classical Tibetan as the language of their recorded canons. The organization of these traditions into what we might call “orders” is, however, complex in the Tibetan cultural world.

Shakya Shri’s students and patrons chose to adopt and promote his lineage in the Himalayan region. It explores how new Buddhist lineages were integrated into existing religious frameworks without causing disruption, focusing on the cultural and ritual continuity that facilitated this process. these new transmissions were accepted smoothly because they utilized familiar Buddhist forms, rituals, and cosmological ideas, making them appear as extensions of established traditions.