Accommodation at Root Institute
Root Institute provides an ideal location for individuals and groups doing private retreat or simply looking
for a peaceful place to stay during their visit to Bodhgaya.
There are very few places as blessed and inspiring as Bodhgaya, the “centre of the Universe” for Buddhists, where Shakyamuni Buddha and all of the other 999 Buddhas of this Fortunate Eon will attain Enlightenment. Over thousands of years, Bodhgaya has been further blessed by countless hours of meditation by millions of pilgrims from all around the world. Due to the power of these blessings, it is said that all virtue is multiplied by eight in Bodhgaya—one prayer, one prostration, one hour of meditation is as powerful as eight prayers, eight prostrations or eight hours of meditation anywhere else in the world!
- Retreat and Guest Facilities
- Private Retreats
- Things to Consider About Staying at Root Institute
- Making a Booking
Retreat and Guest Facilities:
- Two inspiring meditation halls available for one’s own practice or group rental.
- Peaceful rooms and retreat houses in a beautiful garden setting of lush trees, year-round flowers, Buddha statues, prayer flags,
stupas and prayer wheels. Many people describe Root Institute as an “oasis” from the dust
and noise of the town of Bodhgaya. We offer the following accommodation options:
- Retreat houses with private or common bath
- Single room with private or common bath
- Double room (two “twin” beds) with private or common bath
- Triple (three “twin” beds) with private bath
- Dormitory (3 – 11 “twin” beds) with common bath
- Three delicious, healthy vegetarian meals per day. Meal delivery is available for students in strict private retreat.
- Fire puja house. If your retreat requires a complicated concluding fire puja, Namgyal Monastery monks can be requested to come to Root Institute for this purpose.
- Excellent library of books and videos, as well as meditation cushions/boxes, water bowls, prostration boards and other retreat supplies available
- Laundry service and shop for your daily needs (toiletries, stationery, incense, snacks, etc.)
- Bicycle rental for quick and easy visits to the Mahabodhi Temple. (Many private retreaters do at least one session per day at the Mahabodhi Temple.)
- Friendly staff who will respect your retreat silence and be available to provide logistical and emotional support to retreaters as needed.
Private Retreats:
Things to Consider About Staying at Root Institute:
- Please be aware that we are not a hotel / guest house with 24-hour desk service. We are a retreat centre and our office is run by Western volunteers with limited office hours.
- Because we are a retreat centre, we will need to ask you to observe silence in certain areas, including around the meditation halls and in the garden retreat area. Additionally, all guests are asked to abide by the following etiquette appropriate to a Buddhist retreat centre:
- Respect all life: do not intentionally kill any living being, even small insects.
- Respect others’ property: do not steal or take anything not freely given
- Be honest and straightforward: do not lie or intentionally deceive others
- Be celibate: no sexual activity
- Be alert and mindful: avoid intoxicants such as cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs (If necessary, one can smoke outside the main gate).
- Be considerate of others’ silence: no signing or playing music
- Be considerate of the monks and nuns: dress respectfully (please no shorts above the knee, tank-top shirts, or tight and revealing clothing).
- We will provide all bedding, mosquito nets, and in rooms with private bathroom: one complimentary soap and roll of toilet paper. You will need to provide your own towels, toiletries and water bottles.
- Checkout time is 10am. Tour group leaders: please note that we do not have luggage storage facilities so if you need a place to keep luggage during your day of departure, you will need to book a room for that purpose.
- We offer delicious Indian and Western vegetarian meals (containing eggs, wheat, dairy, soy, sugar, salt and Indian spices) at 7.30am, 12.00pm and 6.00pm. Drinking water is available 24-hours per day. Hot water, chai (milk tea) and herbal tea are served at approximately 6.30am, 10am and 3pm. Please be aware that we can not cater for special diets and we are not able serve meals at different times for your group. Meals are served "buffet style" so you will serve yourself and be asked to wash your own dishes. Meals are optional and need to be cancelled daily if you will not eat with us.
- We have an off-site laundry service which takes 2-3 days to return the laundry, so this service will not be available if your stay is short.
- Please note that we are unfortunately not in a position to assist you with travel arrangements. We can provide you with referrals to local travel agents.
- Tour group leaders: we are very happy to arrange a tour and talk about our spiritual programme and social services (charitable medical clinic) during your stay, if you would like.
We hope these conditions are appropriate for you so that you can join us!
Making a Booking
Please Contact Us for a booking. Please include:
- number of guests
- room preferences
- dates and times of arrival and departure
- number of meals we should prepare for you on your date of arrival
