Dress

Please dress conservatively. Casual and comfortable is fine, but no shorts, and nothing provocative or revealing. This applies to both sexes.

Speech

The abbot or any monastic of more than ten years standing is usually addressed as “Ajaan”, while monks with less than ten years in the order can be addressed as “Kruba”.

Body Language

It is traditionally considered impolite to point one’s feet at either the shrine or the monks. Also, lying down or stretching out is considered inappropriate in the meditation hall.

In the monastery, we pay respect to the shrine when entering or leaving the meditation hall. We also pay respect to the senior monk at the end of a chanting or meditation session.

Interactions with the Monks

Monks have many rules in their monastic code of discipline that affect the way they relate to people. For example, if not in public areas, there must be another conscientious male present whenever a monk is spending time with women. Also, anything a monk consumes, except water, must be offered to them directly. They cannot help themselves to food unless it has been given to them.

Guests are asked to be supportive of the Vinaya rules (monastic discipline) that the monks follow. The monks do not expect the laypeople to know all the Vinaya rules and will be happy to explain them to you, time permitting.

Day Visits

Day visitors are not allowed to enter the forested land before getting permission from the resident monks. Normally, the forested land is reserved for monks to conduct their practice and is open to the general public only once a week, between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm on Sundays.