| Aung Zabu Forest Monastery | |
| Native Name: | Burmese: အောင်ဇမ္ဗူတောရဓမ္မရိပ်သာ |
| Religious Affiliation: | Theravada Buddhism |
| Coordinates: | 17.0778°N 96.0835°W |
| Country: | Hmawbi Township, Yangon Region, Burma |
Aung Zabu Forest Monastery (my|အောင်ဇမ္ဗူတောရဓမ္မရိပ်သာ; Aung Zabu Tawya Dhamma Yeiktha), commonly known as Japan Paya (my|ဂျပန်ဘုရား) is a Buddhist monastery (kyaung) in Yegya village, Hmawbi Township, Yangon Region, Myanmar (Burma).
The monastery was opened, using the name of a prominent Buddhist retreat centre in Mawlamyine.[1] The monastery is known for a collection of 301 historic Buddha images from the Pagan, Pinnya, Ava, Toungoo, Nyaungyan, Tagaung and Konbaung eras, although the authenticity of these images has not been verified.[2] [3] The images were donated by a Japanese national named Kumano in 2012. Over 10,000 visitors per week visit the monastery.[4]
The monastery has been mired in controversy, criticised for being more a business venture, rather than a religious centre. The monastery grounds now include a shopping arcade, a small zoo, and other attractions. In 2023, the monastery's abbot Paṇḍavaṃsa sparked additional controversy after hosting a lavish 60th birthday celebration at Lotte Hotel in Yangon. He also opened a library, which purportedly doubles as a luxury residence, in Pyin Oo Lwin.