Lama

Lama (Tibetan: བླ་མ་, Wylie: bla-ma) is a title bestowed to a realized practitioner of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. Not all monks are lamas, while nuns and female practitioners can be recognized and entitled as lamas. The Tibetan word la-ma means "high mother", and reflects the qualities of the person entitled as a lama. Historically and currently, the term is bestowed on venerated spiritual masters and may be part of a specific lineage title such as the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama, lineages of reincarnate high Tulkus. Recently, the title has wrongly applied to all ordained monks and Bhikshus. Due to misunderstandings by western scholars such as Melvyn Goldstein, the term lama has recently been erroneously applied to Tibetan monks in general. Similarly, Tibetan Buddhism was errone...