Monasteries and nunneries

Groups of monks live together in a monastery, and nuns in a nunnery. Within Buddhism, the main purpose of these places is to provide a helpful environment for monks and nuns to achieve enlightenment.

Monasteries and nunneries come in a variety of shapes and sizes, depending on the culture and environment they are built in. They can be vast and decorative, or small and remote. They are sometimes built near important sites of pilgrimage. Despite this variance, the monks’ or nuns’ quarters within monasteries and nunneries are all quite similar, because members of the Sangha are required to live in very simple surroundings with few belongings.

Monasteries and nunneries can also act as schools for Buddhist children.