Lama

Lama (Tibetan: བླ་མ་, Wylie: bla-ma ; "chief" or "high priest") is a title for a teacher of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru.

Historically, the term was used for venerated spiritual masters or heads of monasteries. Today the title can be used as an honorific title conferred on a monk, nun or (in the Nyingma, Kagyu and Sakya schools) advanced tantric practitioner to designate a level of spiritual attainment and authority to teach, or may be part of a title such as Dalai Lama or Panchen Lama applied to a lineage of reincarnate lamas (Tulkus).

Perhaps due to misunderstandings by early western scholars attempting to understand Tibetan Buddhism, the term lama has historically been erroneously applied to Tibetan monks in general. Similarly, Tibetan Buddhism was referred to as "Lamaism" by early western scholars and travelers who perhaps did not understand that what they were witnessing was a form of Buddhism; they may also have been unaware of the distinction between Tibetan Buddhism and Bön. The term Lamaism is now considered by some to be derogatory.

Lama (Santo Tirso)

Lama is a former civil parish in the municipality of Santo Tirso, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish Areias, Sequeiró, Lama e Palmeira. It is located 2 km north of the city of Santo Tirso.

References

Coordinates: 41°21′39″N 8°28′5″W / 41.36083°N 8.46806°W / 41.36083; -8.46806

Diospyros sandwicensis

Diospyros sandwicensis is a species of flowering tree in the ebony family, Ebenaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. Its common name, Lama, also means enlightenment in Hawaiian. Lama is a small to medium-sized tree, with a height of 6–12 m (20–39 ft) and a trunk diameter of 0.3 m (0.98 ft). It can be found in dry, coastal mesic, mixed mesic, and wet forests at elevations of 5–1,220 m (16–4,003 ft) on all major islands.Lama and olopua (Nestegis sandwicensis) are dominant species in lowland dry forests on the islands of Maui, Molokaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, and Lānaʻi.

Uses

The sapwood of lama is very white and forms a wide band inside the trunk. The heartwood is reddish-brown, fine-textured, straight-grained, and extremely hard.Native Hawaiians made aukā (upright supports) out of lama wood, which were used in hīnaʻi (basket fish trap) construction. The white sapwood represented enlightenment, and thus had many religious uses. The pou (posts), ʻaho (thatching sticks) and oʻa (rafters) of a special building called a hale lau lama were made of the sapwood. A pā lama is a fenced enclosure made from lama sapwood. A block of the sapwood, covered in a yellow kapa and scented with ʻōlena (Curcuma longa), was placed on the kuahu (altar) inside of a hālau hula (building in which hula was performed). This block represented Laka, goddess of hula. The piʻoi (berries) are edible.

Rama in Jainism

Rama (Rāma), the hero of Ramayana, is described in the Jain scriptures as one of sixty-three illustrious persons, known as Salakapurusa. Among these, there is nine sets of Balabhadra, Narayana and prati-Narayana. Rama was the 8th Balabhadra with Lakshmana and Ravana being his Narayana and Prati-narayana counterparts. He is described as a young prince who is deprived of his throne and turned into a pauper. While living in exile his wife Sita is kidnapped by Ravana. Rama then rescues Sita with the help of his brother Lakshmana and King Sugriva. Ravana is killed by Lakshmana (a deviation from the Hindu epic where Rama slays Ravana) and they both go into hell. Rama becomes a Jain monk and his soul attains moksha (liberation from the cycle of birth and death). Sita becomes a Jain nun and is born into heaven.

Sources

The story of Rama in Jainism can be broadly classified into three groups; Samghadasa's version, Vimalsuri's version and Gunabhadra's version. Some of the early works which deal with Rama are:

Rama language

Rama is one of the indigenous languages of the Chibchan family spoken by the Rama people on the island of Rama Cay and south of lake Bluefields on the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua. Other indigenous languages of this region include: Miskito and Sumu (Craig 1992). Rama is one of the northernmost languages of the Chibchan family (Craig 1990:293).

The Rama language is severely endangered. Their language was described as "dying quickly for lack of use" as early as the 1860s (Pim & Seemann 1869:280). By 1980, the Rama were noted as having "all but lost their original ethnic language", and had become speakers of a form of English creole instead (Craig 1990:293). Language revival efforts began in 1980–1981 under the Sandinistas; though literacy campaigns were launched for neighbouring languages such as Miskito and Sumu, the same was not practical for Rama due to the small number of speakers. (Craig 1990:293). The fieldwork for the first dictionary of Rama was done during this time by Robin Schneider, a graduate student from the University of Berlin (Rigby & Schneider 1989). In 1992, only approximately 36 fluent speakers could be found among an ethnic population of 649 individuals in 1992 (Craig 1992). The number of speakers on Rama Cay island was only 4 in 1992, due to language shift to English that engendered Rama Cay Creole (Craig 1992).

Rama (Gaul)

Rama or Rame was an ancient town in Gallia Narbonensis, which the Itineraries fix on the road between Ebrodunum (modern Embrun) and Brigantium (modern Briançon). D'Anville says that there is a place called Rame on this road near the Durance, on the same side as Embrun and Briançon, and at a point where a torrent named Biesse joins the Durance. The editors of the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World place Rama near La Roche-de-Rame.

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "^{article name needed}". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.