[Buddha-l] Lamas and such

[S.A. Feite]

On Dec 3, 2009, at 4:37 PM, Dan Lusthaus wrote:

> Sound derogatory? Sounds like they acknowledge the etic-emic issue? This 
> might suggest that there is some stigma that they are trying to delicately 
> address. As a side note, Tibetan Buddhism is incredibly popular these days 
> in Taiwan and Mainland among Chinese Buddhists. 


Absolutely not, but I believe you missed the point. I don't believe modern Chinese usage uniformly reflects this etymology in speech towards Western nations. Nor do I assume that this is the derivation of the Western word(s) (from this Chinese source)! The Chinese could be an attempt at translating the Western pronunciation of "Lamaiste" (French) or Lamaism (English) of early explorers for all we know.

As Chinese diplomacy is geared towards western nations it "gives it back to us, the way we had it". IOW, their usage, towards us, is *our* usage, not (presumably if the Chinese word is the derivation of the word in European languages) theirs. So the derogatory usage is the half-smiling way it is used by the Communists of China towards supporters of Tibet/HHDL and in their propaganda materials.

I'd tend to be cautious in proposing your "Wikipedia wisdom" corresponds to actual realty. Esp. considering the visit of western explorers was also a great catalyst for middle age Chinese cultural diffusion and influence from the West. The etymology using _lama jiao_ is just as likely post hoc. I follow Lopez in the caution of applying the absolutes you attempt.