Chinese Temple Stay

Along with the increase of interest in Buddhism in the West and the desire to go deeper into ancient cultures it is becoming more popular for travellers to have a “Temple Stay” at a Buddhist Temple while on their Asian tour.

In China approximately one hour drive from Hangzhou nestled amongst bamboo forested mountains is the small town of Zaoxi. A short one kilometer walk out of Zaoxi will bring you to the tranquil Guang Jue Temple. By Chinese temple standards this is a small temple but by no means insignificant. It is a temple in the Pure Land Tradition and offers a tranquility and simplicity not often found in the bigger more well-known bustling temples of larger cities.



A Temple Stay offers the opportunity to get out of the smoggy, noisy and jostling cities to the fresh air of the country side and drink in a part of the Chinese cultural heritage of Buddhism. And talking about “drinking in” one cannot simply resist the array of local Green Teas with their aromatic scent and flavours in this region. Perhaps more important than pleasing the senses is a opportunity to please the mind by taking some time to slow down the pace a bit. At Guang Jue Temple after the autumn morning mist has lifted and the birds begin their own chant in surrounding trees your mind can begin to absorb the tranquility and space. I often think as travellers that we travel to foreign countries and cultures on two levels. One is the level of the worldly and material taking thousands of kilobytes of photos and buying souvenirs that may eventually end up on garage sales. The other is on the inner deeper level where there is often a yearning to find something in another culture to bring us closer to the warmth of a real and abiding happiness. A Temple Stay in a Chinese temple offers an opportunity for depth and inner searching.


Of course there are the travellers who simply want to find a cheap and different place to stay. At $US30.00 per night a temple stay at Guang Jue becomes an attractive alternative to staying in a more costly hotel and being touched at the same time by warm Chinese Buddhist hospitality.



There are those who may even want to make staying at Guang Jue their main reason for a holiday and partake in a short course in Mindfulness Healing, Mindfulness Meditation, Qigong or Naikan or to get rid of the knots in the mental muscles (not to mention the physical muscles as we have good Traditional Chinese Medicine and Massage here too!!). The short courses vary in cost but are all well within pocket’s reach.

Thinking more of a Temple Stay in China, now? I welcome your email for a chat.

Malcolm Hunt is facilitator in Mindfulness Studies at the T'ai Shen Centre.