The day begins before dawn

A temple day is set by the morning and evening services (早晚课, zǎo wǎn kè), the chanting in the main hall that the monastics keep every day of the year. A guest’s timetable is built around them.

Wenshu Monastery in Chengdu published the schedule of its four-day temple-life programme in May 2024: rising at 4:30, morning service at 5:00, breakfast at 7:00, lunch at 11:30, evening service at 17:30 and the day ending at 21:30. Other temples move these times by half an hour or so, but the shape is the same.

Meals in the dining hall

Meals are vegetarian and are eaten in the dining hall as part of the practice, a custom called guo tang (过堂). Wenshu’s programme began with dining-hall etiquette before anything else.

Longhua Ancient Temple in Xinxing, Guangdong, spells out the rules in its notice for a seven-day monastic-life camp from 25 November to 1 December 2026: no talking at meals, take only what you need, and leave nothing in the bowl.

Sitting, work and teaching

Between the services the day is filled with sitting meditation, walking meditation, work and teaching. Longhua lists meditation taught by the monks, field work and sweeping the courtyards in the spirit of “a day without work is a day without food”, and classes on the Buddhist teachings. At Wenshu, monks taught basic breath meditation, guests walked in the gardens each morning, and one morning they practised Baduanjin, a gentle qigong set.

At a Chan Seven the balance shifts almost entirely to the meditation hall, in periods of sitting and walking from early morning to night.

The rules

Temple notices are plain about conduct. Longhua asks for silence throughout the week, no going out of the temple, plain clothes without skirts or shorts, and lends robes and bowls that are returned at the end; guests bring their own toiletries and a clean pair of shoes for the hall. Dharma Drum Mountain in Taiwan collects phones at check-in for its retreats.

Some stays ask for more. Sizu Temple’s monastic-life week in October 2026 was for people aged 20 to 70 who had taken refuge, could recite the daily liturgy and would keep the eight precepts. Bailin Chan Monastery takes its winter Chan retreat in whole weeks only, for ages 18 to 65, and closes most of the temple to sightseers while it runs.

Before you apply

These stays are run in Mandarin, and most notices ask for a Chinese ID card without saying whether a foreign passport can be registered. Ask the temple about passports, the timetable for your dates, whether you may join the services and what work is expected.

Places are limited and some temples choose participants. Tell us your dates and experience and we can ask the temple for you.

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