Corrected by a monkey: the meaning of "rinpoche."
Rinpoche is an honorary title that translates as "senior lama."The most famous monkey on the internet wrote in to correct this. Monkey says,
Monkey is small, terry cloth, and in addition to being something of an expert on Tibetan Buddhism -- has a nice personality: Link.
xeni-la, dear,in your report today on npr you say Rinpoche is an honorary title that translates as "senior lama." well... it's not exactly. it means "precious one" (actually precious-one-great) and is given to a tulku (a reincarnation of a lama), the title can be given to an accomplished teacher or monk that an oracle foresees their reincarnation, but that is rare. while many senior lamas are rinpoches, not all rinpoche's are senior or scholarly. stephen segal, for instance, is referred to as rinpoche since penor rinpoche revealed that he is a tulku. I've even dangled from the mouth of toddler tulku and heard the demand "rinpoche, take the monkey out of your mouth and say thank you." what a strange world we live in!
And I'm told by a knowledgeable but anonymous source that on a saucier side... colloquially, "rinpoche" is also a euphemism for male genitalia.
3 Comments:
I suggest "Rinpoche" is also a title to be used with care -- before addressing someone as "Rinpoche", I'd recommend a basic understanding of the gist of what they are teaching and who they are. Prostrating to someone goes along the same sort of rule-of-thumb. My point is, this is a term that has special significance when used between a student and a teacher. As for Segal, I'd never address him as "Rinpoche” -- just because you're a Tulku, doesn't mean you've earned this special title.
yes, rinpoche is a title to be used with care. luckily, the decision of who is worthy of the title "rinpoche" is in the hands of lineage holders with the wisdom of discernment and is not left to the whim of the average person.
of course, that is in the ideal world. there are teachers who enjoy tacking the title on or whose students decide to use the title when referring to their teacher. but, of course, here in the west, all kinds of titles can be assumed from p.h.d. and m.d. to reverend and bishop. i agree with you about knowing who a teacher when it comes to choosing someone to study with. the buddha said to test his teachings as one would test gold and i think that's a good rule of thumb for teachers as well.
As someone who lived in Dharamsala for 4 years, I would like to point out that one can also have some fun with the term "rinpoche". You can call a monk "rinpoche" and see if he lights up. Then you know he is a wannabe who is very susceptable to ass-kissing.
These titles really should not be taken seriously to any degree. As the Dali lama has said many times, he himself prefers "geshes" to "rinpoches". Geshes being those monks who have undertaken long years of study and passed rigorous examinations to prove thay know what they are talking about. The DL has said in numerous published staements that one should observe a teacher for many years before accepting him as an authority.
Many "rinpoches" are the butt of jokes by ordinary tibetans as are the foreigners who are desparate to worship them.
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