For many people, the monastics at Bhavana are the first monastics they ever meet.  No need to worry! Our monastics are friendly and approachable.  If you are accustomed to very formal monasteries, you may find us quite casual. The Buddha wanted his nuns and monks to be able to interact with lay people to share the teachings. He also wanted them to be separate from worldly affairs so they could focus their energy on spiritual practice.  For that reason the Buddha laid down rules of behavior for monastics.  These rules permit interaction, while at the same time discouraging intimacy.  So for example, the rules for Theravada monks and nuns requires that they do not touch members of the opposite sex.  Therefore, you can greet them by holding your palms together in the praying position instead of shaking their hands. People often ask how to address monastics.  Address fully ordained monks as “Bhante” (pronounced BON-tay), novice monks as “Samanera” (pronounced sa-ma-NAIR-ra). These translate roughly as Venerable Sir and novice. General rules of politeness will probably cover anything else.  If you have questions once you are here, please ask. For even further information see: The Bhikkhus’ Rules: A Guide for Laypeople (Compiled and explained by Bhikkhu Ariyesako) on the Access to Insight website.