Gelongma (feminine term) (wylie: dge slong ma) or Gelong (masculine term) is the Tibetan word for a fully ordained monastic observing the entire vinaya.
Getshül (Tib <dge tshul>) is the preparation monastic level prior to Gelongma. A lay person may take five vows called "approaching virtue" (in Tibetan genyen <dge snyan>).
Starting with the novice ordination (Tib. ge tsul) it may take some forty years in order to arrive at the bhikkshu (Tib. gelong] vows of a fully ordained monk.[1][2]