la·ma  (lä m ə)
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n. In Tibetan Buddhism, one who is a religious teacher or is in a position of authority in a monastic community.
[Written Tibetan bla-ma (colloquial Lhasa Tibetan la-ma) : bla, soul (of Proto-Tibeto-Burman origin and possibly akin to zla, moon, and hla, god; for the cultural connection between the moon and the soul, compare Chinese (Mandarin) pò, light of the new moon, soul) + -ma, noun suffix.] |