Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Chinese

(Encyclopedia)Chinese, subfamily of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages (see Sino-Tibetan languages), which is also sometimes grouped with the Tai, or Thai, languages in a Sinitic subfamily of the Sino-Tibetan lan...

Buddhist literature

(Encyclopedia)Buddhist literature. During his lifetime the Buddha taught not in Vedic Sanskrit, which had become unintelligible to the people, but in his own NE Indian dialect; he also encouraged his monks to propa...

Southeast Asian languages

(Encyclopedia)Southeast Asian languages, family of languages, sometimes also called Austroasiatic, spoken in SE Asia by about 80 million people. According to one school of thought, it has three subfamilies: the Mon...

Dalai Lama

(Encyclopedia)Dalai Lama däˈlī läˈmə [key] [Tibetan,=oceanic teacher], title of one of the main leaders of Tibetan Buddhism. Believed like his predecessors to be the incarnation of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesh...

Kumbum

(Encyclopedia)Kumbum ko͝omˈbo͝omˈ [key], large lamasery at Huangchang, NE Qinghai prov., China, c.12 mi (20 km) SW of Xining. Long a renowned pilgrimage center, it stands on the spot where Tsong-kha-pa (b.1417)...

Tibet

(Encyclopedia)Tibet tĭbĕtˈ [key], Tibetan Bodyul, Mandarin Xizang, autonomous region (2010 pop. 3,002,166), c.471,700 sq mi (1,221,700 sq km), SW China. A Chinese autonomous region since 1951, Tibet is bordered ...

lama

(Encyclopedia)lama: see Tibetan Buddhism.

Lamaism

(Encyclopedia)Lamaism: see Tibetan Buddhism.

Vajrayana Buddhism

(Encyclopedia)Vajrayana Buddhism: see Tibetan Buddhism. ...

Panchen Lama

(Encyclopedia)Panchen Lama: see Tibetan Buddhism. ...