GLOSSARY OF
FOREIGN LANGUAGE TERMS

Terms that are used only once and defined in adjoining text are not included in this glossary.

bayal. Tibetan. Traditionally, a “hidden land,” where deities and other sacred beings reside.

Bon. Tibetan. An ancient spiritual tradition indigenous to Tibet which far predated the rise of Buddhism. The Bon pantheon of deities and rich array of Bon ritual practices were in many respects assimilated by Tibetan Buddhism.

canque. Tibetan-Mandarin. A heavy wooden collar, generally extending past the shoulders, clamped onto the necks of criminals as punishment.

druk. Tibetan. A dragon.

dzong. Tibetan. Traditionally used to describe a Tibetan fortress or castle. Today the term is also applied to local administrative units in Tibet.

gau. Tibetan. A “portable shrine,” typically a small hinged metal box, often made of silver, carried around the neck or waist, into which a prayer and/or a relic has been inserted.

genpo. Tibetan. A village headman.

gompa. Tibetan. A monastery, literally a “place of meditation.”

ketaan. Navajo. A small wooden cylinder cut from a branch growing on the east side of a tree, typically crudely carved with head and legs to indicate a human figure, with the head always carved from the growing end of the stick. Used as a ceremonial offering, the ketaan is traditionally painted according to the colors of the four directions and laid in pairs on a bed of cornmeal in a ritual basket.

kora. Tibetan. A pilgrim's circuit, typically a circumambulation around a sacred site.

lama. Tibetan. The Tibetan translation of the Sanskrit “guru,” traditionally used for a fully ordained senior monk who has become a master teacher.

lha gyal lo. Tibetan. A traditional phrase of celebration or rejoicing, literally “victory to the gods.”

mala. Tibetan. A Buddhist rosary, typically consisting of one hundred eight beads.

mani stone. Tibetan. A stone inscribed, by painting or carving, with a Buddhist prayer for compassion, invoking the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum.

Milarepa. Tibetan. The great poet saint of Tibet who lived from 1040 to 1123.

mudra. Tibetan. A symbolic gesture made by arranging the hands and fingers in prescribed patterns to represent a specific prayer or offering.

ni shi sha gua. Mandarin. Literally “you stupid melon,” more commonly used as a slur, connoting “you retard” or “you damned imbecile.”

peche. Tibetan. A traditional Tibetan book of scripture, traditionally unbound, in long, narrow loose leafs which are wrapped in cloth, often tied with carved wooden end pieces.

ragyapa. Tibetan. Corpse cutters, the people who perform the dismemberment of bodies that is part of the Tibetan sky burial tradition.

tamzing. Mandarin. A “struggle session,” typically a public criticism of an individual in which humiliation and verbal and/or physical abuse is utilized to achieve political education. The practice was widespread during the Cultural Revolution period.

tangka. Tibetan. A painting on cloth, typically of a religious nature and generally considered sacred, traditionally painted as a portable scroll on fine cotton.

Tara. Tibetan. A female meditational deity, revered for her compassion and considered a special protectress of the Tibetan people. Tara has many forms, each of which has specific ritual application. Tara. She is sometimes referred to as the Mother of Buddhas.

torma. Tibetan. A ritual offering made primarily of butter and barley flour, shaped and often dyed in many shapes and sizes in homage to Buddhist deities.

tsampa. Tibetan. Roasted barley flour, a traditional staple food of Tibet.