Or more accurately, a lama and a lama; I’ve been looking into the various differences between monastic buddhist traditions in various parts of asia, and it got me wondering: Tibetan Geluk monks and Japanese Shingon monks seem to study very similiar things (many of the same sutras and literature, very similiar types of meditation, and the like), but they seem to have markedly different pacing: I understand that your average Geluk monk will spend between fourteen and sixteen years studying before he sits for his Geshe exam, whereas your average monk scholar in the Shingon discipline only spends 6-8 years, or 10 if he’s serious, studying for his formal exams.
So what’s the difference in the two systems, that allows a Shingon monk to complete his or her education years earlier? Do they have a smaller canon, or is the lack of emphasis on debate in the Shingon tradition enough to cut five years out of their program?