Dhamma Wheel Buddhist Forum

do you do full prostrations in theravada in front of a master or just down to your knees and the head to the ground?

There are no prostrations to a master. One way is to bow from a kneeling position and touch the forehead to the floor, and resume with a wai. This is done three times to the Buddha, and then three times to the senior Bhikkhu, if one is present before you. Theravada prostrations are generally more simple than those found in some Mahayana schools. That's just one way to prostrate in Theravada. I also learned a mindful slow prostration, from the same position, that can be practiced, but what I describe above is more common. There may be others that have learned prostration practice in Theravada that involves prostrations in multiple repetition, but I have not seen that myself.

Please see http://youtu.be/A9WTbTOM12s Ven. Yuttadhammo depicts this perfectly.

with master i was referring to the abbot of the monastery...

and are prostrations done always when meeting an abbot or senior monk ( in this case meditation teacher ) or before starting to meditate in the monastery ?

nobody?

konchokzopa wrote:and are prostrations done always when meeting an abbot or senior monk ( in this case meditation teacher ) or before starting to meditate in the monastery ?

It depends on the monastery; some places are very formal, some are not. "When you enter a land of squinters, squint with them." (That's the Thai version of "when in Rome...").