Monasticism

Monasticism

Christianity

The Gk., monachos, underlying ‘monk’, points to someone being ‘on their own’. It may originally have meant ‘celibate’ and only later ‘solitary’; but monasticism came to refer to those who withdraw from society (in a celibate state) in order to devote themselves with greater intensity to God through prayer, austerity, and discipline. In its extreme form, it is anchorite (living alone), but it may also be coenobitic (living in community). Monasticism began to emerge in Egypt in the 3rd cent.; St Antony is regarded as the ‘father’ of Christian monasticism, although Pachomius had begun to organize communities before him. The Sayings of the Fathers (Apothegmata Patrum), brought together by Evagrius of Pontus, did much to popularize the ‘spirituality of the desert’, affecting especially Palladius and John Cassian. Monasticism received its major impetus and order from St Benedict. Monasticism subsequently divided into a myriad of different orders and styles, among which the Benedictines, Dominicans, Cistercians, and Carthusians have been prominent. In the Eastern Church, the influence of Basil the Great has been acknowledged as supreme, along with the desert fathers. Of particular importance is Mount Athos, where monks from many different parts of Orthodox Christianity live.

Islam

Rahbānīya (monasticism, derived from rāhib, ‘monk’) is taken to be opposed in Qurʾān 57. 27. Muslim opposition to monasticism is strong, not least because it seems to denigrate (by vows of poverty and celibacy) the good things of God's creation.

Buddhism

The monastic lifestyle arises quite naturally out of the general Indian tradition of the homeless wanderer as a private option on the periphery of society, and develops into an institution at the heart of the religion so much so that to take refuge in the saṅgha (the Buddhist community, but also the community of monks) is one of the Three Jewels. Śākyamuni Buddha is taken as the model monk. He is said to have composed the monastic regulations (Skt., Pāli: Vināya) and ideally a monk can trace his ordination lineage back to the Buddha. Renunciation (see ASCETICISM) is moderate by Indian standards: clothing is worn, made originally from discarded material, yellowed (Skt., kaśāya, ‘earth-coloured’) with age, and pieced together. The modern habit in Theravāda is three strips of yellow, brown, or orange cloth, normally cotton, wound around the body so as to cover it for reasons of modesty and protection against the weather. The upper toga-like robe (Pāli, cīvara) has a patchwork pattern which is a formalization of the primitive piecing-together of rags. Monastic buildings were at first simple shelters for the retreat (Pāli, vassa) conducted during the monsoon, and have developed into elaborate centres of culture. Generally, monasticism is more central to Buddhism than it is to Christianity, and there is often a lively spirit of co-operation between monks and laypeople, which is the social dynamic of many Buddhist communities.

Because of the general resemblances of community and at least partial separation from society, the term ‘monk’ is widely used in English with reference to Buddhism. In its purest form, ‘monk’ refers to one who has taken the full vows of a bhikkhu or bhikṣu, and ‘nun’ to a bhikkhunī or bhikṣuṇī. But given the many other forms, it would be better to abandon the English term monk and use terms such as bhikkhu, lama, sensei, and rōshi as appropriate.