Wikipedia
Bhante
Bhante ( Pali; Nepali; , , Sanskrit: vande and vandanā) is the polite particle used to refer to Buddhist monks in the Theravada tradition. Bhante literally means "Venerable Sir." The Pali word "bhante" is a gender neutral term, unlike "bhikkhu" or "bhikkhuni". It is equivalent to Sanskrit verb 'Vande' or 'Bande' as in the song Vande Mataram. Vande means a reverential action of 'bowing' to someone or something. The Nepali terms for the Buddhist priestly caste, bare and bande, have the same derivation.
Some famous bhantes are:
- Bhante Cintita
- Bhante K. Sri Dhammananda
- Bhante Shravasti Dhammika
- Bhante Dharmawara
- Bhante Henepola Gunaratana ("Bhante G.")
- Bhante Dhammalok Mahasthavir
- Bhante Kumar Kashyap Mahasthavir
- Bhante Pragyananda Mahasthavir
- Bhante Sitagu Sayadaw
- Bhante Vimalaramsi
Grammatically "bhante" is a vocative case form of a Pali word "bhadanta" (venerable, reverend). The vocative case denotes and is used for address.