Save Our Monastery释迦圣法岩 Sakyamuni Caves Monastery
Monks walking through a forest in early morning light
Chapter 1 of 6

Beginnings of the Monastery

In the early years of Buddhism, monks dedicated themselves to an ascetic life, wandering around the country with no permanent living quarters.

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Historic photograph of monks gathered at the cave temple
Chapter 2 of 6

Transition of Monastery in 100 Years

The devotees decided to reconstruct the cave temple as a permanent place for monks of the Forest and Cave tradition. The monks used their own strength to build up the Monastery.

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A monk meditating inside the cave by candlelight
Chapter 3 of 6

Walking the Ancient Path of Wisdom

The monks abandoned their worldly life to focus on spiritual attainment. They preserve and continue the cave tradition by leading the supramundane way of life.

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The lake below the limestone cliffs of Gunung Kanthan
Chapter 4 of 6

Living in Harmony in Gunung Kanthan

Life in Gunung Kanthan is simple and basic, but respect runs deep. People here understand and depend on the earth for survival.

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Devotees gathered in prayer inside the cave
Chapter 5 of 6

The Future

The monks of Sakyamuni Caves Monastery are the torch bearers who pass on the Buddhist cave tradition in Malaysia.

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The Reclining Buddha of Jambudvipa

Gunung Kanthan was chosen as a place of worship more than 100 years ago because it is the Reclining Buddha of Jambudvipa, the terrestrial world as envisioned in the cosmology of the Sasana Buddha.

For decades, Sakyamuni Caves Monastery has been a place of worship and practice for monks who renounced the world, and for devotees from Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Our century-old monastery sits in the heart of Gunung Kanthan. The two are inseparable, and considered as one.

About the monastery
Aerial view of Gunung Kanthan and the surrounding valley
Gunung Kanthan, Chemor, in the Kinta Valley of Perak

Our appeal: gazette Gunung Kanthan as a Tempat Ibadat Suci

We, as Malaysians and representatives of Malaysia Dhamma Sakyamuni Monastery, hold true to this principle and would like the Perak State Government to understand our fight and struggle in the name of God, the People and our beloved Nation.
Our struggle is to find our religious identity in a place chosen by God, sacred Gunung Kanthan. We hope the Perak Government will gazette Gunung Kanthan as a “Tempat Ibadat Suci”, so that every Malaysian who worships here has freedom of religious practice and equal legal protection.

Hear the voices of Gunung Kanthan

The monastery records its daily life, ceremonies and the campaign to protect the mountain on its YouTube channel.

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The Voices of the Ancient Inhabitants of Gunung Kanthan

Photographs from the caves

A hundred years of monks, devotees and the mountain they share.

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A man washing at the lake's edge The main cave hall with statues and shrines Monks in the white limestone cave A monk studying at the cave entrance A stream beside a wooden hut in the forest Monks seated together in the lit cave