Kyaung

A traditional wooden monastery.

A kyaung (ဘုန်းကြီးကျောင်း [pʰóʊɴdʑí tɕáʊɴ], often shortened to ကျောင်း) is a Buddhist monastery (vihara) complex that not only houses bhikkhus but also serves the greater Buddhist community during festivals and other merit-making occasions. Typically, it is wood or brick-constructed and consists of an ordination hall (သိမ် thein), an assembly hall (ဓမ္မာရုံ dhamma yon), living quarters for the monks and separate living quarters for the chief monk, the sayadaw, as well as storerooms and cooking quarters.[1] Monasteries are never established by members of the Sangha, but by laymen who donate land or money to support the establishment of a monastery. Occasionally, the monastery also contains a bell tower, stupa and other shrines, notably to Shin Thiwali and Shin Upagutta.

The kyaung has traditionally been the center of village life in Burma, serving as both the educational institution for children and a community center, especially for merit-making activities such as construction of buildings, offering of food to monks and celebration of Buddhist festivals, and observation of uposatha.

Kyaung is also a generic term that is also used to describe Christian churches, Hindu temples, and Chinese temples as well as schools. Mosques are an exception, using the Hindi-derived word bali (ဗလီ).

Kyaung located outside of Burma tend to be smaller, often consisting of a single monk living in a home monastery. There are Burmese monasteries in the United States, Japan, England, India, Singapore and Malaysia.

Examples

Monasteries abroad

References

  1. ↑ World and Its Peoples: Eastern and Southern Asia. Marshall Cavendish. 2007. p. 630. ISBN 978-0-7614-7631-3.

See also

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