The name Namaste - Greeting in Chinese / Japanese...

合掌 is the act of greeting someone (can also be done when departing) with hands brought together prayerfully.

In India, this would be accompanied by the verbal greeting and blessing of “Namaste.” In China, Japan, and Korea, this is how Buddhists will greet each other. Sometimes done by people who are not devout Buddhists in China, Japan, and Korea to show respect, reverence, or great thanks to someone for a gift, forgiveness, or some honor that has been bestowed.

In Japan, this is almost always associated with a deep bow. In China, where bowing is not an everyday occurrence, there may be a shallow bow, but the act will be done with deep feeling. Korean culture seems to have more bowing than China but less than Japan.

See Also:  Namaste

The word namaste comes from Sanskrit and is a common greeting in the Hindi and Nepali languages exchanged by devout Hindu or Buddhist people in Southern Asia (especially India).

合十 is the Chinese form (not well-known in Japan) of this word which is used to describe a Buddhist (or Hindu) greeting with palms closed together prayerfully, generally at chest level. However, this selection of characters describes the act and is not a word spoken during the greeting. Words or a greeting are seldom spoken when two Buddhists meet. The greeting is silent and respectful but composed completely of body language.

Note that the greeting namaste and the act of placing palms together are used both as a hello and goodbye (like the word aloha in Hawaiian).

If you are looking for a welcoming hello and goodbye, you may want to consider gassho or a simple welcome.