- When greeting any robed, ordained Buddhist monks or nuns of any tradition, it is sufficient to give a half bow from the waist with palms together and a smile.
- Be aware that some Buddhist monks in Australia may not be fluent English speakers, so be sensitive to other non-verbal signals.
- Best for lay people to wear modest clothes rather than tight or revealing clothing.
- It is considered rude to point your feet at Buddha images or in the direction of any person
- Religious books and artefacts should never be put on the floor, nor should you step over any books, people or food on the floor.
- A Monk is called Bhikkhu (Pali) or Bhiksu (Sanskrit). A Nun is called Bhikkhuni (Pali) Bhiksuni (Sanskrit).
- The three main traditions are called Theravada (Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia), Mahayana (China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam) and Vajrayana (Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan).
- Robes of ordained monastics can be yellow/orange/brown, red/maroon, black/grey. novices who may be training for full ordination may be dressed in white.
- You can address all monks and nuns as Venerable (although there are many titles within traditions like Ajarn, Bhante, Rinpoche, Dharma Master, Roshi, Ayya, Sunim, and Ani)
- While some ordained monastics allow touching with lay people, it is safer to not physically contact ordained monastics of the opposite sex
- Some ordained monastics may not touch money, so if this is given, it may be given to an attendant (Kappiya) who will handle the money.
- Theravada monks normally eat their main meal before 12 noon. Mahayana and Vajrayana monks do not have this restriction.
