Monks live in many countries around the world, usually in religious communities called monasteries, temples, abbeys, gompas, viharas or wats, rather than in ordinary private homes.

Main places monks live

  • Buddhist monks commonly live in monasteries and temples across Thailand, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, China, Japan, Korea, Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet (and Tibetan communities in India), as well as newer monasteries in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Australia.
  • Christian monks (for example Benedictine, Cistercian, Orthodox) usually live in monasteries or abbeys attached to churches in Europe, the Middle East, the Americas, Africa and Asia.
  • In many traditions, these communities are often in quiet rural or mountain areas, but there are also urban monasteries in big cities where monks live in dormitories attached to active temples.

Types of monk dwellings

  • Large monastery complexes with dorm buildings, dining halls and prayer halls, seen in places like Chinese and Korean temple-mountains or big Tibetan and Himalayan gompas.
  • Smaller viharas or wats in Theravada countries (Thailand, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos), where monks sleep in simple shared rooms or small kutis (huts) within temple grounds.
  • Hermitages or forest huts in forest traditions (for example parts of Thailand and Myanmar), where some monks live more secluded lives focused on meditation.

Quick FAQ style notes

  • Monks do not all live in the same kind of place; the lifestyle can range from big city monasteries to remote mountain settlements, depending on country and tradition.
  • In most traditions, monks live close enough to lay communities to receive food and support, even if the monastery itself is in a relatively secluded area.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.