All Topics  
Lama

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Lama
 
 
  Topics Lama Topic Home

Lama is a title for a Tibet
Tibet

Tibet is a Tibetan Plateau in Asia, north of the Himalayas, and the home to the indigenous Tibetan people and its related ethnic groups. With an average elevation of 4,900 metres , it is the highest region on Earth and has in recent decades increasingly been referred to as the "Roof of the World"....
an teacher of the Dharma
Dharma

The term , is an Indian Indian philosophy and Indian religions term, that means one's righteous duty or any virtuous path in the common sense of the term....
. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru
Guru

A guru is a person who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom and authority in a certain area, and who uses these abilities to guide others....
 (see Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhism religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India ....
 and Bön
Bön

B?n is the oldest spiritual tradition of Tibet. Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama, has recently recognized the B?n tradition as the fifth principal spiritual school of Tibet, along with the Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu, and Gelug schools of Buddhism, despite the long historical competition of influences between the Bon tradtition and Buddhis...
). The title can be used as an honorific title conferred on a monk
Monk

A Monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, the unconditioning of mind and body in favor of the realization of one's true nature, and does so living either alone or with any number of like-minded people, whilst always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose....
, nun or (in the Nyingma
Nyingma

The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as the "school of the ancient translations" or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Tibetan language, in the eighth century....
, Kagyu
Kagyu

The Kagyu or Kagyupa school, also known as the "Oral Lineage" or Whispered Transmission school, is today one of four main schools of Himalayan or Tibetan Buddhism, the other three being the Nyingma , Sakya , and Gelug ....
 and Sakya
Sakya

The Sakya school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug. It is one of the Red Hat sects along with the Nyingma and Kagyu....
 schools) advanced tantric
Tantric

Tantric can refer to:*Tantra, especially Hindu Tantra and tantric yoga*Neotantra, a term used to describe the modern, western use of the word Tantra...
 practitioner to designate a level of spiritual attainment and authority to teach, or may be part of a title such as Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama is a lineage of religious leader of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism and was the political leader of Lhasa-based Tibetan government between the 17th century and 1959....
 or Panchen Lama
Panchen Lama

The Panchen Lama is the second highest ranking Lama after the Dalai Lama in the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism . The successive Panchen lamas form a tulku reincarnation lineage which are said to be the incarnations of Amitabha....
 applied to a lineage of reincarnate lamas (Tulku
Tulku

A tulku is a Tibetan Buddhism lama who has, through phowa and siddhi, consciously determined to be reincarnation, often many times, in order to continue his Bodhisattva vow....
s).

Perhaps due to misunderstandings by early western scholars attempting to understand Tibetan Buddhism, the term Lama has historically been erroneously applied to Tibetan monks generally.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Lama'
Start a new discussion about 'Lama'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Lama is a title for a Tibet
Tibet

Tibet is a Tibetan Plateau in Asia, north of the Himalayas, and the home to the indigenous Tibetan people and its related ethnic groups. With an average elevation of 4,900 metres , it is the highest region on Earth and has in recent decades increasingly been referred to as the "Roof of the World"....
an teacher of the Dharma
Dharma

The term , is an Indian Indian philosophy and Indian religions term, that means one's righteous duty or any virtuous path in the common sense of the term....
. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru
Guru

A guru is a person who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom and authority in a certain area, and who uses these abilities to guide others....
 (see Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhism religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India ....
 and Bön
Bön

B?n is the oldest spiritual tradition of Tibet. Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama, has recently recognized the B?n tradition as the fifth principal spiritual school of Tibet, along with the Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu, and Gelug schools of Buddhism, despite the long historical competition of influences between the Bon tradtition and Buddhis...
). The title can be used as an honorific title conferred on a monk
Monk

A Monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, the unconditioning of mind and body in favor of the realization of one's true nature, and does so living either alone or with any number of like-minded people, whilst always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose....
, nun or (in the Nyingma
Nyingma

The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as the "school of the ancient translations" or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Tibetan language, in the eighth century....
, Kagyu
Kagyu

The Kagyu or Kagyupa school, also known as the "Oral Lineage" or Whispered Transmission school, is today one of four main schools of Himalayan or Tibetan Buddhism, the other three being the Nyingma , Sakya , and Gelug ....
 and Sakya
Sakya

The Sakya school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug. It is one of the Red Hat sects along with the Nyingma and Kagyu....
 schools) advanced tantric
Tantric

Tantric can refer to:*Tantra, especially Hindu Tantra and tantric yoga*Neotantra, a term used to describe the modern, western use of the word Tantra...
 practitioner to designate a level of spiritual attainment and authority to teach, or may be part of a title such as Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama is a lineage of religious leader of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism and was the political leader of Lhasa-based Tibetan government between the 17th century and 1959....
 or Panchen Lama
Panchen Lama

The Panchen Lama is the second highest ranking Lama after the Dalai Lama in the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism . The successive Panchen lamas form a tulku reincarnation lineage which are said to be the incarnations of Amitabha....
 applied to a lineage of reincarnate lamas (Tulku
Tulku

A tulku is a Tibetan Buddhism lama who has, through phowa and siddhi, consciously determined to be reincarnation, often many times, in order to continue his Bodhisattva vow....
s).

Perhaps due to misunderstandings by early western scholars attempting to understand Tibetan Buddhism, the term Lama has historically been erroneously applied to Tibetan monks generally. Similarly Tibetan Buddhism was referred to as Lamaism by early western scholars and travelers who did not understand that what they were witnessing was a form of Buddhism; they may also have been unaware of the distinction between Tibetan Buddhism and Bön
Bön

B?n is the oldest spiritual tradition of Tibet. Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama, has recently recognized the B?n tradition as the fifth principal spiritual school of Tibet, along with the Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyu, and Gelug schools of Buddhism, despite the long historical competition of influences between the Bon tradtition and Buddhis...
. The term Lamaism is now considered derogatory.

In the Vajrayana
Vajrayana

Vajrayana Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayana, Mantranaya, Mantrayana, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Vehicle ....
 practice path of Tibetan Buddhism, the lama is often the tantric spiritual guide, the guru
Guru

A guru is a person who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom and authority in a certain area, and who uses these abilities to guide others....
 to the aspiring Buddhist yogi
Yogi

A yogi is a term for a male practitioner of various forms of spiritual practice. In contemporary english language yogin is an alternative rendering for the word yogi....
 or yogini
Yogini

Yogini is the feminine form corresponding to the masculine yogi. A yogini has a steadfast mind cultivated by the disciplined pursuit of transcendence through Yoga....
. As such, the lama will then appear as one of the Three Roots
Three Roots

The Three Roots of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition are the guru, yidam and protector . The Three Roots are the second of three Tibetan Buddhist Refuge formulations, the Outer, Inner and Secret forms of the Three Jewels....
, a variant of the Three Jewels
Three Jewels

The Three Jewels, also called the Three Treasures, the Three Refuges, or the Triple Gem, are the three things that Buddhists take refuge in, and look toward for guidance, in the process known as refuge ....
, as the guru, alongside the yidam
Yidam

In Vajrayana Buddhism, an Ishta-deva or Ishta-devata is a fully Bodhi being who is the focus of personal meditation, during a Retreat or for life....
 and protector, who may be a dakini
Dakini

A dakini is an elusive Tantra deity that might best be described as a female embodiment of enlightened energy. In the Tibetan language, dakini is rendered Khandroma which means 'she who traverses the sky' or 'she who moves in space'....
, dharmapala
Dharmapala

In Vajrayana Buddhism, a dharmapala is a type of wrathful deity. The name means "Dharma-defender" in Sanskrit, and the dharmapalas are also known as the Defenders of the Law , or the Protectors of the Law, in English language....
 or other Buddhist deity figure.

See also

  • See Category:Lamas for a list of Tibetan Buddhist teachers.