[Buddha-l] Lamas and such

[S. A. Feite]

On Dec 4, 2009, at 1:15 PM, Chris Fynn wrote:

> That center was actually started by Kalmyk Mongols not Tibetans -  
> which
> is perhaps why it was not called the "Tibetan Buddhist Monastery of
> America"
>
> "Lamaism" may not be wholly Tibetan (as "Buddhism" is not wholly
> Sanskrit) but. as Lama is an honorific term, Tibetans do not usually
> find the word derogatory,

Yes, Lopez notes that. It's also worth pointing out that it was  
referring to the Kalmyks ("Calmoucks") that we find the first (known)  
Western use of the word Lamaism.

I would suspect the people most likely to be offended by the word  
would be educated, worldly Tibetans, with some knowledge of the world  
outside, who spoke English or a European language.