Rinpoche

Rinpoche or Rinboqê (Tibetan: རིན་པོ་ཆེ་, Wylie: rin-po-che, ZYPY: Rinboqê) is an honorific used in Tibetan Buddhism. It literally means "precious one," and is used to address or describe Tibetan lamas and other high-ranking or respected teachers. This honor is generally bestowed on reincarnated lamas, or Tulkus, by default. In other cases it is earned over time, and often bestowed spontaneously by the teacher's students.