1,When receiving guests, whether walking or talking, always let the guests or elders go first, and use honorifics, such as adding the word “la” after their names to show respect and warmth. Avoid calling them by their names directly. When welcoming or seeing off guests, bow slightly with knees bent and a smile on your face. When sitting indoors, sit cross-legged and avoid stretching your legs straight out with soles facing others or looking around restlessly. When accepting gifts, receive them with both hands. When giving gifts, bow slightly and hold them up high with both hands. When offering tea, alcohol, or cigarettes, present them with both hands, and do not put your fingers into the rim of the bowl.
2,The greatest taboo for Tibetans is killing living beings, and this is even stricter for devout Buddhists. Although they eat beef and mutton, they do not slaughter the animals themselves. Tibetans absolutely forbid eating donkey, horse, and dog meat, and in some areas, fish is also off the menu.
3,When eating, do not fill your mouth too full, avoid chewing loudly, and do not make noise while drinking.
4,When drinking butter tea, wait until the host presents the cup to you with both hands before taking it.
5,Avoid spitting or clapping your hands behind someone’s back.
6,When encountering religious sites such as temples, prayer stone piles (mani stones), or stupas while walking, always walk around them from left to right. Followers of the Bon religion walk around from the right. Do not step over ritual instruments or incense burners.
7,Do not turn prayer wheels or prayer cylinders backward.
8,Avoid letting others touch your head with their hands.
9,When entering a temple, avoid smoking, touching Buddha statues, flipping through scriptures, or striking bells and drums. Do not touch religious items such as amulets or prayer beads worn by lamas. Remain quiet inside the temple, sit upright, and never sit on the throne of a Living Buddha. Avoid making loud noises, hunting, or randomly killing animals near the temple.
10,Avoid handing or receiving items with one hand. When the host pours tea, the guest should tilt the teacup slightly forward with both hands as a sign of respect.
11,Avoid urinating or defecating near places where cattle, horses, or sheep are tied up.
12,Avoid using paper with Tibetan writing as toilet paper or for wiping things.
13,After entering a Tibetan tent, men should sit on the left side and women on the right; do not mix the seating.
14,Avoid throwing bones into the fire.
15.In Tibetan households, when someone is ill or a woman is giving birth, a mark is placed at the door—some light a fire outside, while others place branches or hang a red cloth strip. Outsiders who see these signs must not enter.
16.Tibetans generally do not eat fish, chicken, or eggs; do not insist on offering them. However, such dietary habits have changed significantly in recent times.
17.Each person has an inauspicious day and an auspicious day. On inauspicious days, nothing should be done—stay home to recite scriptures or go out to worship Buddha. People believe that at the end of each earthly branch in the Tibetan calendar and the beginning of the next, it is an inauspicious year (such as ages 13, 25, 37, 49, and so on), which are considered dangerous years or “year barriers.” Extra caution is needed during these times; only by reciting more scriptures and making charitable offerings can one avoid misfortune.