Bhante ( Pali; my, ဘန္တေ, ; Sanskrit: ''bhavantaḥ''), sometimes also called Bhadanta, is a respectful title used to address Buddhist monks and superiors in the Theravada tradition. The term religiously means "Venerable Sir." Young Indian Buddhist monk in Indian monastery

Young Indian Buddhist monk in Indian monastery

Etymology

''Bhante'' is a gender-neutral term, and may be used to address both monks and

nuns A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

. It is the vocative form of the word ''bhadanta'', which confers recognition of greatness and respect. In English, the term is often translated as ''Venerable''. The

Nepali Nepali or Nepalese may refer to : Concerning Nepal * Anything of, from, or related to Nepal * Nepali people, citizens of Nepal * Nepali language, an Indo-Aryan language found in Nepal, the current official national language and a language spoken ...

terms ''bare'' and ''bande'' have the same derivation and are used to address Buddhist clergy. Bhante can also be used as an honorific or a form of address to specific Buddhist monks, similar to Ajahn, Phra or Luang Por in Thailand or

Ashin Chen Hsin-hung (); Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Chhîn Sìn-fên, nicknamed Ashin (;Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: A-sìn), born 6 December 1975, is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter, author, and the vocalist of the Taiwanese band Mayday. Ashin majored in art in college, whe ...

in Burma (now

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

), Rinpoche in Tibet. Some famous monks who are addressed with ''bhante'' include: * Bhante K. Sri Dhammananda *

Bhante Dharmawara Samdach Vira Dharmawara Bellong Mahathera (February 12, 1889 – June 26, 1999), also known simply as Bhante Dharmawara, was a Cambodian-born Theravada monk and teacher who died at the age of 110. Biography Bellong Mahathera was born on ...

* Bhante Henepola Gunaratana ("Bhante G.") * Bhante Dhammalok Mahasthavir * Bhante

Kumar Kashyap Mahasthavir Bhante Kumar Kashyap Mahasthavir ( ne, कुमारकाश्यप महास्थविर) (born Asta Man Shakya) (24 July 1926 – 26 February 2012) was a Nepalese Buddhist monk who was awarded the title of Tripitakacharya ( Tripitaka ...

* Bhante

Pragyananda Mahasthavir Pragyananda Mahasthavir ( ne, प्रज्ञानन्द महास्थविर) (born Kul Man Singh Tuladhar) (2 May 1900 – 11 March 1993) was a Nepalese Buddhist monk who was one of the leaders of the revival of Theravada Buddhis ...

* Bhante Sitagu Sayadaw *

Bhante Vimalaramsi Bhante Vimalaramsi (born 1946) is an American Buddhist monk and currently the Abbot of the Dhamma Sukha Meditation Center in Annapolis, Missouri. Biography Born Marvel Logan, Bhante Vimalaramsi studied with Anagarika Munindra in 1977 and became ...

Grammatically "bhante" is a vocative case form of a Pali word "bhadanta" (venerable, reverend). The vocative case denotes and is used for address.Buddhist Precept & Practice
Gombrich, Richard F. Clarendon Press: 1995 , Page 141

In literature

The title ''bhante'' is used among monks to address superiors within the sangha. The Pali Canon abounds with references to the Buddha's disciples addressing their seniors in this way. While the Buddha is usually addressed with the term '' Bhagavān'', his disciples also sometimes addressed him as ''Bhante''.

References

{{Buddhism topics Theravada Buddhist titles

Etymology

In literature

See also

References