Lama

Derived from the Tibetan word "bla ma," meaning "superior one" or "priest." It signifies a spiritual master who has attained a high level of realization and is qualified to guide disciples. The term is central to the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism.

Written "Clama". The title, if correctly applied, belongs only to the priests of superior grades, those who can hold office as gurus in the monasteries. Unfortunately every common member of the gcclun (clergy) calls himself or allows liimself to be called "Lama". A real Lama is an ordained and thrice ordained Geloug. Since the reform produced by Tsong-ka-pa, man}' abuses have again crept into the theocracy of the land. There are "Lama-astrologers", the Chakhan, or common Tsikhan (from tsigan, "gj'psy"), and Lama-sooth-sayers, even such as are allowed to marry and do not belong to the clergy at all. They are very scarce, however, in Eastern Tibet, belonging principally to Western Tibet and to sects which have nought to do with the (idukpa.'i (yellow caps). Unfortunately, Orientalists knowing next to nothing of the true state of affairs in Tibet, confuse the Choichong, of the Gurmakhayas Lamasery (Lhassa) — the Initiated Esotericists, with the Charlatans and Dugpa.t (sorcerers) of the Bhon sects. No wonder if — as Schagintweit says in his Buddhism in Tibet — "though the images of King Choichong (the 'god of astrologj'') are met with in most monasteries of Western Tibet and the Himalayas, my brothers never saw a Lama Choichong". This is but natural. Neither the Choichong, nor the Kubilkhan {q.v.) overrun the country. As to the "God" or "King Choichong", he is no more a "god of astrology" than any other "Planetarv" Dhvan Chohan.

Blavatsky’s critique of the dilution of the title "Lama" in 1892 speaks to a perennial tension in spiritual traditions: the potential for genuine spiritual authority to be obscured by superficial adherence or misapplication. The true Lama, as envisioned in the Tibetan Buddhist context, is not simply an administrator of rites or a scholar of texts, but a realized being, a spiritual guide whose very presence can catalyze transformation in others. This echoes Mircea Eliade's observations on the nature of the shaman or the mystic, individuals who mediate between the mundane and the sacred, possessing a unique insight born of direct experience. The ideal Lama embodies the qualities of a bodhisattva, one who postpones their own final liberation out of compassion for all sentient beings. Their teachings, often delivered through a blend of intellectual exposition, meditative instruction, and symbolic ritual, aim to awaken the latent Buddha-nature within the disciple. The danger Blavatsky identifies—the confusion of genuine masters with charlatans or those who merely wear the robes—reminds us that discernment is a crucial practice for any seeker. The path to genuine spiritual understanding requires a keen eye, not just for the pronouncements of teachers, but for the lived embodiment of their teachings. The Lama, in their highest form, is a living testament to the possibility of awakening, a reminder that the profound truths of existence are not merely abstract doctrines but lived realities. The spiritual authority of a Lama is thus rooted not in institutional power, but in the depth of their realization and the purity of their intention to alleviate suffering.