Greetings

1. Ohayou (おはよう) Ohayou is one of the first words you learn in Japanese and is one of the first greetings you will learn.
2. Konnichiwa (こんにちは) The most common greeting you’ll hear and one you’re likely familiar with already.
3. Konbanwa (こんばんは)
4. Sayounara (さようなら)
5. Jya ne (じゃね)
6. Yaho (ヤッホー)
7. Ossu (おっす)

Today, among Hindi speakers throughout the world, namaste is a simple greeting to say hello. It’s often used in more formal situations, like when addressing someone older or someone you don’t know well. But that’s all it means — hello.

Hello

There are a few different ways to greet someone in Buddhism. Probably the most universal way is to say “Namo Buddhaya” (“A bow to the Buddha”). Pure Land Buddhists might prefer to say “Namo ‘Mitabhaya” (“A bow to Amitabha”). Or you can say “hello” in your own language.

Buddhists Don’t Say Goodbye

1. “No, no, no, not goodbye!” Si La Nanda held up his palm in a gesture of pause.
2. Now, after 24 hours of Burmese hospitality, it was time to leave town (Burmese buses being slightly less dependable than our Buddhist host).

According to the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, a Mahayana sutra giving Gautama Buddha’s final teachings, the Buddha insisted that his followers should not eat any kind of meat or fish. Even vegetarian food that has been touched by meat should be washed before being eaten.

For most monks, a simple greeting of putting your palms together near your chest in a prayer-like fashion and bowing your head slightly, eyes facing down, is sufficient. For higher monks, such as a highly regarded lama known as a Rinpoche, the greetings become slightly more complex.

Tibetan monks stick their tongue out to greet people. They also press the hands together and place them in front of their chest to show that they “come in peace”.

bhikkhu

Namo Amitābhāya Buddhāya. A literal English translation would be “Namo Buddha of Infinite Light”. Other translations may also be: “I pay homage to the Enlightened One immeasurable” or “I turn to rely on the Enlightened One immeasurable”.

“Amituofo”, is also a transliteration from Sanskrit, meaning infinite life, infinite wisdom. Thus Namo Amituofo means to turn around and rely upon the infinite awakening.

Buddhists with this interpretation usually follow a lacto-vegetarian diet. This means they consume dairy products but exclude eggs, poultry, fish, and meat from their diet. On the other hand, other Buddhists consume meat and other animal products, as long as the animals aren’t slaughtered specifically for them.

Buddhists monks choose not to marry and remain celibate while living in the monastic community. Monks do not have to spend the rest of their life in the monastery – they are completely free to re-enter mainstream society and some only spend a year as a monk.

The Five Precepts are considered an important source of authority in Buddhism. ‘Do not engage in sexual misconduct’, instructs Buddhists to be content within marriage and not to commit adultery as this will cause suffering. Buddhist monks choose not to marry and remain celibate while living in the monastic community.

No, monks don’t have children. They have taken vows of celibacy. Ngakpas are interesting though. They are fully ordained, but are lay people, not monks, and are non-celibate.

Not only are Buddhist monks in Japan allowed to get married and have children, they are also allowed to eat meat and consume alcohol.

Contrary to some beliefs, monks do not earn/make money. The real monks that follows the true teachings of their religion are completely reliant on donations and the community, and the sole purpose is to provide the basic needs in order to survive. They do not spend the money on entertainment.