Sit with a monastery
Eighteen countries keep a monastery here, and several teach anybody who walks in
What it is
Morning and evening sittings, open classes and short courses at the monasteries around the Mahabodhi temple. Several run in English through the winter. Some take residential guests for a few days at a time. The Root Institute and Tergar are the two most used to foreign visitors; the Thai, Bhutanese, Burmese and Japanese temples each keep their own tradition's practice and hours.
Why it matters
The monastery belt at Bodh Gaya is the only place on earth where Thai, Tibetan, Japanese, Bhutanese, Burmese, Vietnamese, Chinese and Bangladeshi Buddhism are all practised inside one square kilometre. Walking between them in a single morning teaches you more about the spread of this religion than any book.
How it works
- Walk in for a public sitting. Ask at the gate for the day's hours.
- Write ahead for a residential stay or a multi-day course.
- Winter is the season: most English teaching runs November to February.
- Who it is for
- Anybody. Most sittings are open and cost nothing.
- Not for
- These are working monasteries, not drop-in studios. A sitting is not explained as you go and nobody will teach you the basics during one; if you have never meditated, take a beginner's class at the Root Institute first. Residential guests keep the monastery's hours, not their own.
- Best season
- Nov - Feb
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Cost
- Usually free, or a small donation. A residential stay is charged.
- When
- Daily, year round. English courses cluster in winter.
- Booking
- None for a sitting. Write ahead for a course or a room.
- Book ahead
- None to a few weeks
- Languages
- English, Hindi, Tibetan, Thai, Japanese
Rules
- Shoulders and knees covered in every one of them
- Shoes off at the shrine door
- Photography is restricted inside most shrine halls. Ask first
- Walk clockwise around a stupa
Where
- Root Institute for Wisdom Culture: Western and Indian practitioners come for structured meditation retreats and courses rather than for...
- Tergar Monastery: Pilgrims attend the winter Monlam prayer gathering and teachings here
- Wat Thai Buddhagaya: Thai and other Theravada pilgrims come for the main Buddha image and for meditation sessions
- Indosan Nipponji: Japanese pilgrims and meditators come here, and it is one of the quietest halls in Bodh Gaya for sitting
- Royal Bhutan Monastery: Bhutanese and Himalayan pilgrims come here, and other visitors come for the murals, which are among the...
- Burmese Vihara: Burmese pilgrims stay and practise here, and it is a long-standing pilgrim rest house
- Tibetan Temple, Bodh Gaya: Tibetan pilgrims come for prayer, and other visitors come to turn the great Dharmachakra
- Vietnamese Temple, Bodh Gaya: Vietnamese pilgrims come here for prayer and lodging
- Chinese Temple, Bodh Gaya: Chinese and East Asian pilgrims come here, and the 200-year-old image is the draw for others
- Bangladesh Buddhist Vihara: Bangladeshi pilgrims lodge and worship here
- Namgyal Monastery, Bodh Gaya: Pilgrims turn the prayer wheels and attend teachings when the Dalai Lama is in Bodh Gaya
- Metta Buddharam Temple: A quieter Thai alternative to Wat Thai for darshan and meditation
- Karma Temple: It is a Karma Kagyu prayer and practice centre for pilgrims of that lineage
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