Bodhinyana Monastery, Theravada Buddhist monastery in Serpentine, Western Australia
Bodhinyana is a Theravada Buddhist monastery in the Thai Forest Tradition at Serpentine, Western Australia. Its buildings, constructed by the monks themselves, include a main building with a kitchen and office below and a monks' dining room above, a meditation hall, a library, and about twenty huts for the monks. Separate buildings house female guests, male guests, and Angarikas (postulants).
The monastery was founded in 1983 after a group of practitioners traveled to Thailand to study Buddhist monastic life firsthand. It was the first of its kind in Western Australia and laid the foundation for an enduring monastic community in the region.
The monastery follows the Theravada tradition, which traces its roots to Southeast Asia and the earliest teachings of Buddhism. Visitors are welcome at certain meditation sessions and can observe how monks and lay practitioners share the same space.
Guests must be Buddhist with meditation experience and good physical and mental health; men and women are housed and eat separately, with up to four men and three women at a time. Book by phone or letter with the guest monk. Stays are free, but bring a flashlight, alarm clock, toiletries, towel, work clothes and shoes, and a sleeping bag or sheets; sheets must be washed and returned dry.
After a severe bushfire in 1991, the monastery put in place a strict no-fire and no-smoking rule across its entire property. This policy has stayed in force ever since and applies to all residents and visitors alike.
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