What does "Namaste" mean? well....

kashi

I think a lot of people who say it have no clue what it means..or that its just something that people who practice yoga say. well... heres some info.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namaste

SillyPutty

I remember one time saying "Namaste" while at a Tibetan Buddhist event, and someone quickly pulled me aside and said, "Oh, no-- do not say 'Namaste!' Say, 'Tashi Delek!'"

I'm not entirely sure why I brought that up... perhaps because I'm still confused as to why it was wrong to say Namaste.

Jeffrey

SillyPutty, I don't think it's wrong to say namaste it just wasn't part of the culture of the sangha. Like zen say gassho.

Namaste means 'recognizing the divine in you'. You could mean 'buddha nature' when you said that however. Or you could mean heart.

vinlyn

I always saw it as a cultural greeting that would be different in different cultures. But I guess it seems cool to say it.

Glow

In India and Bangladesh, people simply use "namaste/namaskar" to mean "Hello." It doesn't necessarily have any spiritual connotation, though it does convey respect and reverence. Not sure about other Asian countries, though.

vinlyn

Glow said:

In India and Bangladesh, people simply use "namaste/namaskar" to mean "Hello." It doesn't necessarily have any spiritual connotation, though it does convey respect and reverence. Not sure about other Asian countries, though.

I've never heard it in Thailand, although the position of the hands in greeting is quite well established, with the height of the hands an indication of the other person's rank. When they greet that way, what they say seems to vary from person to person and situation to situation, although my impression is that there is a more standard greeting (in Thai) to monks.

lamaramadingdong

"Howdy. Howya' doin'?"