[Buddha-l] Lamas and such

[Richard Hayes]

On Dec 6, 2009, at 12:54 AM, Dan Lusthaus wrote:

> Richard,
>> The Chinese term is no offensive. "Xiao" means small. It is not a
>> translation of "hīna," which means "discarded, thrown away,  
>> abandoned,
>> rubbish."
>
> I know a Chinese Theravada monk (ordained in Sri Lanka) who would  
> beg to
> differ. The term xiaosheng (little vehicle) definitely carries  
> negative
> connotations. Xiao doesn't just mean little, it means "lesser,"  
> "inferior,"
> "minor" (as opposed to major), and when used to characterize a  
> person, means
> someone of lowly, "mean", "inferior" character, a trifling, small- 
> minded,
> petty. That is standard Chinese usage for at least the last 2500  
> years.


That's sad to hear. Perhaps it is time to let the word "small" stop  
having all those negative connotations and take on the attitude in the  
beautiful little book called "Small in Beautiful."

Richard