NO TOUCHING Do not touch people you meet and shaking hands is considered bad manners. Also, do not touch monks ever.
Please do not touch a Monk, especially if you are a woman. This is because Monks believe that a woman's body goes against their Buddhist vows. Thus, many temples do not allow women in certain areas, and women should never touch a Monk.
Monks are forbidden to divine either good fortune or future tragedy by observing heavenly omens, thereby deceiving both the tennō and the people. They are also forbidden to possess and study military tracts; to commit murder, rape, robbery or other crimes; and to feign enlightenment.
Monks, nuns and lamas
We generally avoid hugging monks and nuns and lamas, especially if they are of the opposite gender.
When greeting a monk, wai, by placing your hands together in a prayer position and slightly bowing forward. Monks aren't expected to return a wai. Avoid touching a monk, if you want to give something to them, place it down and allow them to pick it up. A woman must not touch a monk.
“There are no restrictions for the monks to use cell phones, but in the Buddha sanctuary there was no modern technology,” he said. “When the world develops, monks also have to adapt to society and modern world. But the thing is, when they adapt to the changing world, they should not change their main principles.
Buddhist monks are not allowed to sit next to a woman in public transport. That's why women should not sit next to a monk in a bus, train or a car. Otherwise the monk would have to leave his place. If you are greeted with a Wai, you should Wai back.
However, the relation in aspect of cohabitation between the monk and his wife is prohibited by code of monastic discipline which does not allow the monks have any sexual intercourses with any women.
Every monk must take a vow of chastity. No one should own anything. Monks must pray together seven times a day. At every meal, there must be a reading from the bible.
The typical day of a Buddhist monk, whether young or adult, follows a fixed schedule: wake-up call at 4:30 am (including Saturdays and Sundays); one-hour gathering in the temple to recite mantras; personal hygiene in one of the several fountains scattered around the monastery (there are no showers but they wash ...
Priests, nuns, and monks take a vow of celibacy when they are initiated into the Church. Celibacy is often dictated in other religions as well. Most religions advise both the males and females to remain celibate until they take marital vows.
They spend a lot of their time devoting themselves to their religious practices, such as prayer, mass, reflection, or meditation. In their free time, they will often exercise, cook, forage, or do various tasks around the monastery.
In Buddhism, tonsure is a part of the rite of pabbajja and also a part of becoming a Bhikkhu (monk) or Bhikkhuni (nun). This involves shaving the head and face. This tonsure is renewed as often as required to keep the head cleanly shaven.
Monks, to be sure, must embody these qualities even more than ordinary individuals; and undoubtedly, the ability to overcome anger in everyday life is one of the hallmarks of a Buddhist monk. An angry monk, on the other hand, is inherently in the wrong.
“From now on”, the law stated, “it is up to monks [to decide whether they want to] eat meat, get married, or grow their hair”. A similar law for nuns followed soon thereafter.
Monks are famously celibate, but celibacy doesn't just mean you're not having sex. It means you're not interacting with other people in a way that could be considered romantic. The Sanskrit word for monk, brahmacharya, means “the right use of energy.”
Lay people often give monks money as they make their morning alms rounds and for the prayers offered at funerals. It is no longer common for monks to refuse donations in the form of currency, as was once the case.
The monks go on alms round in the morning and the only other activities of the day are morning chores, breakfast, and the main meal. At 7:00 pm, the community gathers for pūjā, meditation, the taking of the precepts by the laity and a Dhamma talk.
According to one – the Buddhist Women Special Marriage Law – before a Buddhist woman can marry a non-Buddhist man, the couple must go through an administrative process, including the public posting of a marriage application and allowing the community to submit objections.
Sleeping on the floor is actually the ninth precept of Buddhism. The precepts are commitments to abstain from killing living beings, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and intoxication. With the ninth precept, Buddhists refrain from lying in a high or luxurious sleeping place.
Buddhist monks condemn alcohol and its consumption. The Quran, the holy text of Islam, prohibits it. Hinduism does not use alcohol in religious contexts but social drinking varies from person to person. But the Catholic faith is inherently linked to the consumption and creation of alcohol.
In order to have a better posture while meditating, monks believe in sleeping upright and thus train their bodies for the same. Usually people can sleep while sitting or standing but if they enter a deep, dreamy phase; it becomes difficult and they might eventually fall.
There is also a wide variety of ages, from age 15 to 79, though most of the monastics are in their 20s and 30s. Though our monastic Sangha represents many countries, we are predominantly a Vietnamese community from a Vietnamese Buddhist tradition.
Similarly, one would not stand looming over a monk to talk to him or offer him something, but rather approach him at the level at which he is sitting. is from all dukkha free."