A monk participates in a debate at Ganden Monastery in Lhasa, Xizang autonomous region, on Tuesday for winning the title of Geshe Lharampa, the highest academic degree in the exoteric teachings of the Gelug school — also known as the Yellow Sect — of Tibetan Buddhism. Thirteen monks from multiple monasteries are in the process of completing a weeklong preliminary examination, which started on Saturday, for the Geshe Lharampa, a term that means "intellectual" in the Tibetan language. The history of this academic pursuit goes back 400 years.