Zen and Buddhist Monasteries
Buddhist monasticism is the oldest continuous institution in human history. The Sangha — the community of monks and nuns — was established by the Buddha Shakyamuni himself in the fifth century BCE in northern India, and a version of the monastic code (Vinaya) he laid down is followed by communities across Asia today. The traditions that developed from that founding event diverged significantly over the following twenty-five centuries: Theravada monasticism in Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka, Mahayana monasticism in China, Korea, and Japan, and Vajrayana monasticism in Tibet and Bhutan represent distinct cultures of practice that share foundational texts but differ substantially in how they organise daily life, what they consider the goal of practice, and how they relate to lay society.
Theravada Monasticism: The Forest and the Village
Theravada ("Way of the Elders") Buddhism preserves the oldest surviving form of the Vinaya monastic code, in which monks (bhikkhu) observe over two hundred rules governing everything from the time of eating (only before noon) to the colour of robes (saffron or ochre, varying by country). The Theravada tradition is the dominant religion of Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos, and its monasteries range from large urban temple complexes to remote forest hermitages.
Wat Pho in Bangkok, technically the Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklararam, is the oldest and largest temple in the city, housing the reclining Buddha image (46 metres long, gold-plated) and serving as the traditional centre of Thai medical knowledge. The monastery is active with a significant resident community and simultaneously one of Bangkok's most visited tourist sites — a combination that manages to be less uncomfortable than it sounds, largely because the compound is vast enough to absorb both functions.
Wat Phra Kaew (the Temple of the Emerald Buddha) within the Grand Palace complex is technically not a monastery in the sense of housing monks permanently, but it is the most sacred Buddhist site in Thailand and the model for royal temple architecture across the country. The Emerald Buddha — a small jade statue of unusual power in Thai religious culture — is dressed in seasonal robes by the King.
The forest tradition (Dhamma-yut reform, associated with the nineteenth-century reform of Mongkut before he became king) produced some of the most influential meditation teachers of the twentieth century. Ajahn Chah's Wat Pa Pong in Ubon Ratchathani province is the mother monastery of a large international network of forest monasteries (including Amaravati in England and Bodhinyana in Australia) that maintain strict Vinaya observance and an emphasis on meditative practice over scholarly or ritual activity. The Theravada forest tradition's influence on Western mindfulness culture has been substantial.
Sri Lanka: Mihintale and Kandy
Mihintale, in the north-central dry zone of Sri Lanka, is the site where Mahinda — son of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka — first taught Buddhism to the Sinhalese king Devanampiya Tissa in the third century BCE. The monastic complex on the hill, developed over subsequent centuries, includes rock-cut cells, refectories, and the oldest medical hospital complex in the world. Mihintale is a pilgrimage destination and an active monastery simultaneously.
The Temple of the Tooth (Sri Dalada Maligawa) in Kandy houses the relic of the Buddha's left canine tooth, the most sacred object in Sri Lankan Buddhism. The temple is architecturally within the Kandyan royal palace complex; monks maintain the relic chamber and perform puja three times daily. The Esala Perahera — the annual procession in which the tooth relic casket is carried through Kandy on the back of a decorated elephant — is one of the largest religious processions in Asia.
Myanmar: Shwedagon and Mahagandayon
Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon is the most sacred Buddhist site in Myanmar, a complex of golden stupas on a hilltop said to enshrine eight hairs of the Buddha. The central stupa (98 metres high, plated with real gold) is surrounded by dozens of smaller shrines, pavilions, and Buddha images. The pagoda is not a monastery proper — no monks are resident — but it is the centre of Burmese Buddhist cultural life and receives pilgrims continuously.
Mahagandayon Monastery in Amarapura near Mandalay is a functioning monastery and monastic school housing approximately twelve hundred monks, one of the largest communities in Myanmar. It is best known internationally for the morning meal — hundreds of saffron-robed monks walk in procession to the dining hall at approximately 10:00 each morning, receiving offerings from laypeople lining the route. The meal procession has become a tourist attraction; the monastery tolerates photographers respectfully positioned.
China: Shaolin, Putuoshan, Wutaishan, Emeishan
Shaolin Monastery in Dengfeng County, Henan Province, was founded in 495 CE and became the most famous Buddhist monastery in the world through its association with Chan (Zen) Buddhism — Bodhidharma, who brought Chan from India to China, is said to have meditated at Shaolin — and with Chinese martial arts (Shaolin kung fu). The monastery was severely damaged in a 1928 warlord attack and closed under the Cultural Revolution, reopening in 1982. The current complex includes a working monastery and an enormous martial arts training industry that has become more commercially developed than the monastic community itself.
Putuoshan (Mount Putuo), a small island in the Zhoushan Archipelago off Zhejiang Province, is one of the Four Sacred Mountains of Chinese Buddhism and dedicated to Guanyin (Avalokiteshvara), the bodhisattva of compassion. The island holds several large active monasteries including Puji Si and Fayu Si; its combination of sea scenery and religious significance makes it one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in China.
Wutaishan (Five Terrace Mountain) in Shanxi Province is dedicated to Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom, and is the largest surviving concentration of ancient Buddhist architecture in China. Over forty monasteries occupy the mountain plateau, including Xiantong Si (the oldest, dating from the first century CE in its origins) and Tayuan Si with its distinctive white bottle-shaped pagoda. The site is a UNESCO World Heritage candidate and active pilgrimage destination.
Emeishan (Mount Emei) in Sichuan Province, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the most extensive of the Four Sacred Mountains and dedicated to Puxian (Samantabhadra), the bodhisattva of practice. The mountain rises to 3,099 metres; monasteries are distributed along the ascent from the base to the summit, where pilgrims attempt to witness the "Buddha's halo" — a glory effect produced when one's shadow is projected onto cloud from a high ridge at sunrise.
Mahayana vs Theravada vs Vajrayana Monasticism
The three great vehicles differ in their understanding of what monasticism accomplishes. In the Theravada view, the monk pursuing the original vinaya path is working toward nirvana — personal liberation from the cycle of rebirth. The monastic community is the most efficient vehicle for this, and lay people support it with material offerings in exchange for the merit accumulated by supporting the Sangha. In the Mahayana understanding, the bodhisattva ideal — delaying personal liberation to remain available to all sentient beings — means that the distinctions between monk and lay person are less absolute, and many Mahayana schools developed a householder practitioner culture alongside the monastic one. In Vajrayana Buddhism, the monastery is also a tantric ritual centre; certain practices require formal empowerments that can only be transmitted by qualified masters within a lineage, giving the living teacher a centrality in the tradition that differs from both Theravada and mainstream Mahayana.
Planning Buddhist Monastery Visits
Japanese temple monasteries are covered in a separate post. For Thailand, the forest monasteries require advance contact and appropriate dress (white or modest clothing); urban temples are open daily. For China, Wutaishan and Emeishan require transport from major cities; Shaolin is accessible from Zhengzhou. For Myanmar, check current travel advice given the political situation since 2021.
The map identifies Buddhist monasteries across all traditions and regions. Use it to locate communities near your route and to understand the density of practice in different parts of the world.