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Q: Is it true you can stay in Buddhist monasteries for free in China?
I've heard on some Buddhist mountains you can stay in the monasteries with the monks for free... is this true everywhere? Do you need to offer them something like food or water? And is there anything I should be aware of to avoid offending them and buddhists in general?
Also, is this true of cities as well as remote mountains?
Hey Ludovico
I just returned from a wonderful trip to Wutaishan buddhist mountain in Shanxi near Beijing.
It is perfectly possible to stay in the monastries on that mountain, and also in general in monastries i guess, since i also did that on emeishan mountain in Sichuan.
Since the monks are buddhists they are not happy to ask for money, but it is my impression that if you stay overnight or eat at the monastery, you should drop some money in the temple box (功德箱).
around 10-20 RMB will be sufficient.
If you arrive at a monastery around noon or around 17.30-18.00 then you can usually be allowed to eat there. to eat in a monastery is called guo zhai 过斋 and to stay overnight is called guo su 过宿 . men and women always sleep in each their dorm, which usually is very basic.
When you walk into a monastery remember to never step on the threshold. the threshold is considered to be buddha's head and is sacred. otherwise the most important is never absolutely never to bring meat or meat products into the monastery.
hope the information was useful for you!
Hey Ludovico
I just returned from a wonderful trip to Wutaishan buddhist mountain in Shanxi near Beijing.
It is perfectly possible to stay in the monastries on that mountain, and also in general in monastries i guess, since i also did that on emeishan mountain in Sichuan.
Since the monks are buddhists they are not happy to ask for money, but it is my impression that if you stay overnight or eat at the monastery, you should drop some money in the temple box (功德箱).
around 10-20 RMB will be sufficient.
If you arrive at a monastery around noon or around 17.30-18.00 then you can usually be allowed to eat there. to eat in a monastery is called guo zhai 过斋 and to stay overnight is called guo su 过宿 . men and women always sleep in each their dorm, which usually is very basic.
When you walk into a monastery remember to never step on the threshold. the threshold is considered to be buddha's head and is sacred. otherwise the most important is never absolutely never to bring meat or meat products into the monastery.
hope the information was useful for you!
wow... what's this place name in chinese? and address? do you know anything about Tibet?
