• Shrine
• Office
• Multi-purpose hall
• Dining hall
• Meditation halls set in forested areas
• Guest lodges for miscellaneous activities
• Numerous walking paths and outdoor meditation platforms

Besides organizing its own group retreats conducted by SBS monks, SBS also hosts meditation retreats organized by external groups. Our facilities can be booked for meditation retreats, workshops, forums, camps, seminars, and any other activities that promote spiritual, mental and physical health.

• SBS runs on donation and does not charge for meals, lodging or other facilities provided.
• Lodging capacity is up to 70 retreatants, plus 2 private dwellings for teachers.
• Booking must be at least two weeks in advance with information on the dates and nature of activities.

For a list of retreats at SBS, please click here.

Retreatants will be guided by our meditation teacher, Sis Chuah Ah Hwa (see profile below). Languages/Dialects among which she is knowledgeable in are English, Mandarin and Hokkien, Cantonese and Bahasa Malaysia.

1. All retreatants are expected to observe the 8 precepts
2. All retreatants are required to abide by SBSRC rules and regulations.
3. We are unable to accept people with serious health problems, such as clinical mental disorder, contagious diseases, degenerative diseases requiring special attention, etc., or, those who cannot negotiate the steep terrains of SBSRC.
4. Approval is subject to availability of space.

HOW TO APPLY: Fill out the Guided Retreat Application Form at least one week before the day you intend to start your retreat.

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SIS CHUAH AH HWA
Meditation teacher at SBS Retreat Centre

Sis Chuah Ah Hwa started practising meditation in the Mahasi tradition under Sayadaw U Paññāsāmi in 1991at the age of 40. Her other teachers in this tradition include Sayadaws U Janaka, U Rewata, U Dhammapiya, U Rakkhitadhamma, Dr U Sunanda, Jnanapurnik, U Thitzana and U Indaka, Venerables Sujīvo, Aggacitta, Dhammarakkhita and Visuddhācāra, Sayalay Bhaddamānavikā, and Brothers Patrick Kearney and Jeff Oliver. She also learned “dynamic meditation” in the tradition of Luang Por Tien under Ajahn Suthep and Phra Supachai and other methods from Jing Kuang Sifu, Ajahn Thiradhammo and Ajahn Sucitto.

In the year 2004 she started to learn Open Awareness under Bhante Aggacitta. Because of her good foundation in the Mahasi tradition, she had no problem switching to Open Awareness. Since then, her mind has been inclined to practise this method because it helped her consolidate all that she had learned from her many other teachers. She considers Bhante Aggacitta as her main teacher although she has also learned a similar approach from other teachers including Sayadaw U Tejaniya, Bhante Kumāra and Bro. Hor Tuck Loon & Sis. Chan Lai Fun.

Up till now (June 2018) she has attended 68 retreats under various teachers, the longest being 3 months under Sayadaw Dr U Sunanda in Lunas, Kedah.

Thank you for your interest in undertaking a self-retreat in Sāsanārakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Centre (SBSRC).

Your application will be considered, provided that you have sufficient personal meditation experience i.e. completed one or more meditation retreat(s) under the guidance of a competent Theravāda monk or lay meditation teacher, for an accumulated period of at least four weeks. 

Your application is also subject to two further conditions: (i) availability of facilities and (ii) terms of our current policy:

• Observance of the 8 precepts.
• The maximum duration for a self-retreat is two months. After that, you will have to either be away for at least two months, or stay on as a volunteer worker for at least one month, before you can have another self-retreat at SBSRC.

HOW TO APPLY: Fill out the Self-Retreat Application Form at least one week before the intended start of the retreat.

NOTE: As for those who don’t qualify for self-retreat, they may consider signing up for a guided retreat instead.

While the schedule for group retreats depends on the organiser, the schedule for guided retreats and self-retreats is as follows:

6.00am: Morning chanting followed by 1 hour of formal group practice

7.30am: Breakfast, followed by cleaning up of lodgings and communal areas e.g. MPH, Sala, adjoining washrooms and sinks

Before lunch: Individual practice

12.00pm: Lunch, followed by cleaning up of dining hall and dishwashing area

After lunch: Rest

3.00pm: Individual practice

7.30pm: Formal group practice

9.20 – 9.30pm: Evening chanting

10.00pm: Bedtime