Lama

In Tibetan Buddhism, a lama is a spiritual leader and teacher. The title of lama—a name derived from the Sanskrit word guru meaning “venerable one;” in Tibetan, bla-ma, or "superior one"—is bestowed upon monks who have achieved a high level of spiritual awakening. Many lamas are believed to be reincarnations of revered Buddhist holy figures, and some are considered living deities. They are the caretakers of sacred rituals and preside over important Buddhist ceremonies. Some believe lamas can develop mystical powers, bring good luck, and even have the ability to fly. The most well-known lama is the Dalai Lama, the head of the largest branch of Tibetan Buddhism and considered the spiritual leader of Tibet.

Background

The Buddhist religion was founded around the fifth or sixth century BCE by Siddhartha Gautama, a prince from Nepal. Gautama lived an affluent life full of material comforts but lacking happiness. As a young man, Gautama renounced his wealth and left home to search for true peace and contentment. After many journeys and much meditation, Gautama discovered how to rise above suffering and death and achieve spiritual happiness. From that point on, he was known as the Buddha, or "enlightened one." He gathered disciples, and they began to share his teachings with others, spreading the new religion throughout India and Asia. In the centuries after Buddha's death, the religion split into several branches. One of those, Mahayana Buddhism, became the dominant form of Buddhism in Tibet, China, Japan, Korea, and Mongolia. Mahayana means "greater vehicle," because its adherents believed spiritual enlightenment was available to all people, not just monks and nuns.

Buddhism had been an established religion for about a millennium before it was introduced to Tibet in the seventh century CE. Tibetan Buddhism was highly influenced by Bon, an ancient Tibetan religion with animistic and shamanistic elements. Animism is the belief that spirits inhabit the objects of the natural world, while shamanism involves a human intermediary who is said to communicate with the spirit world while in a trance. King Trisong Detsen proclaimed it the official religion of Tibet in 755 and invited several famous Buddhist teachers to the country. One of those teachers, Padmasambhava, was said to have built the first monastery in Tibet and created a form of Buddhism that included a hierarchical order of monks, or lamas.

Overview

The sect of Buddhism founded by Padmasambhava was called Nyingmapa. In the centuries that followed, political and religious disputes splintered Tibetan Buddhism into several other sects, each with its own spiritual hierarchy. The largest of these sects is the Gelug school, founded in 1409 by Buddhist teacher Je Tsongkhapa. The highest-ranking spiritual leader of the Gelug school became known as the Dalai Lama, a name meaning "ocean of wisdom." The Panchen Lama was the second-highest member of the Gelug school. In the seventeenth century, the fifth Dalai Lama assumed the title of ruler of Tibet. Subsequent Dalai Lamas held that position until 1959, when the fourteenth Dalai Lama was forced from his homeland by the Chinese.

According to tradition, the title of lama refers only to monks who have attained a spiritual mastery of Buddhist teachings. Informally, the title is sometimes used to refer to any monk of the Tibetan Buddhist order. Followers believe that lamas are the reincarnations of past spiritual teachers who have been reborn in a new form. A lama who has achieved a higher level of spiritual enlightenment is known as a Rinpoche, an honorary term that means "precious one." Rinpoches are considered the reincarnation of a monastery's first lama and often hold the title of senior lama at the monastery. As a result, they are held in greater regard than other religious leaders and are granted symbolic status representative of their higher rank.

A prime tenet of Buddhism is that the soul can undergo an infinite series of deaths and rebirths until it attains a level of spiritual enlightenment known as Nirvana. Since a lama is believed to be more advanced on the journey to Nirvana, when a lama dies, Tibetan Buddhists begin a search for the new body that holds the lama's soul. The traditional belief is that the previous lama will reveal signs of the rebirth through dreams and visions that can be interpreted by an oracle. A reincarnated lama, known as a tulka, is usually a male of Tibetan ancestry, but can be discovered among women and non-Tibetans. In 2009, Jalue Dorjee, a two-year-old boy from Minnesota, was recognized as the reincarnation of sixteenth-century lama Taksham Neuden Dorjee. Similarly, in 2023, the Dalai Lama named one of the eight-year-old twins of Mongolian heritage named Aguidai and Achiltai Altannar as the tenth reincarnation of Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche of Mongolia—Tibetan Buddhism's third most important spiritual leader. Though the boy was born in the United States, his family has a long history of maintaining important roles in Mongolia. However, China's response to the Dalai Lama's choice was rather negative because the child was not from China.

The process of becoming a lama usually lasts five years and begins around age six when a candidate is sent to a monastery to begin training. In Tibetan society, lamas are highly revered and shrines in many homes are often decorated with their likenesses as a form of honor. Towns and villages often have their own lama who presides over religious ceremonies, acts as healer, settles disputes, and attempts to divine the future. Ritual is important in Tibetan Buddhism, and lamas will often carry charms to ensure good luck and a symbolic dagger used to ward off ignorance, passion, and aggression. In Tibetan tradition, lamas would also carry a ceremonial cup made from a decorated human skull; however, in the modern era, this cup is often made from metal. Lamas do not take a vow of celibacy, and many are married and raise families.

Some Tibetan lamas are believed to have so mastered the teachings of Buddhism that they can perform almost magical feats and test the limits of the human body. Some say they can raise and lower their body temperatures through mediation, a claim scientists suggest may be true. Other claims, such as the ability to levitate or fly, have never been observed under scientific scrutiny.

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