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The River Mekong is the world's 12th-longest river. From its Himalayan source on the Tibetan plateau, it flows some 4,350 km (2,703 miles) through China's Yunnan province, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, finally draining in the South China Sea. The recent construction of hydroelectric dams on the river and its tributaries has reduced the water flow dramatically during the dry season in Southeast Asia.
Perhaps due to misunderstandings by early Western scholars attempting to understand Tibetan Buddhism, the term 'Lama' has historically been erroneously applied to Tibetan monks generally. Similarly, Tibetan Buddhism was referred to as 'Lamaism' by early Western academics and travelers who 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 Bon. The term 'Lamaism' is now considered derogatory.
In Tibetan Buddhism, a tulku is a high-ranking lama, of which the Dalai Lama is one. A tulku is recognized as having the ability to choose the manner of his (or her) rebirth, although in normal circumstances a tulku would be reincarnated as a human of the same sex as before. A modern Chinese word for tulku is 'huofo', which literally means 'Living Buddha', although this term is rare outside Chinese sources.