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.

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.

Religious and secular culture come together in the increasing use of namaste (pronounced /NAH-muh-stay/) in English: the term is associated with both Hinduism and yoga. The word comes from Sanskrit and literally means “bowing to you” or “I bow to you,” and is used as a greeting.

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What do monks do all day? They do the things that make them communal — Mass, prayer, reflection, service. They also do the things that make them unique — exercise, collecting, composing, cooking.

In a smaller number of more austere monasteries, only a single meal will be taken. In scriptures, the Buddha allowed monks to eat twice a day, and only between sunrise and noon, this is a monastic precept all monastic have. The Buddha was said to only eat once a day.

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.

Being a monk is a not some relaxing vacation where you put your feet up, relax and follow your urges. It is a very demanding and rigourous INNER discipline so you won’t be watching TV, nor listening to music or going online.

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.

Some Buddhist monks definitely get bored with monastic life, because monks span the range of existence, from novices to masters. But being bored has very little to do with the “monastic life”, or lack therof.

Silence: the monk shall not speak unless it is necessary. Sometimes this means that the monk must be cloistered which means that they must not leave their monastery (especially Warsa period). Sometimes they can be allowed to leave, but must not go very far. Duty: The monk must do some things every day.