Monastery

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Monasteries
)
communities anything from a single building housing only one senior and two or three junior monks or nuns, to vast complexes and estates housing tens or hundreds. A monastery complex typically comprises a number of buildings which include a church, dormitory, cloister, refectory, library, balneary and infirmary, and outlying granges. Depending on the location, the monastic order and the occupation of its inhabitants, the complex may also include a wide range of buildings that facilitate self-sufficiency and service to the community. These may include a hospice, a school, and a range of agricultural and manufacturing buildings such as a barn, a forge, or a brewery
.

In English usage, the term monastery is generally used to denote the buildings of a community of monks. In modern usage, convent tends to be applied only to institutions of female monastics (nuns), particularly communities of teaching or nursing religious sisters. Historically, a convent denoted a house of friars (reflecting the Latin), now more commonly called a friary. Various religions may apply these terms in more specific ways.

Etymology

ground plan
of an unbuilt abbey, providing for all of the needs of the monks within the confines of the monastery walls

The word monastery comes from the

Jewish philosopher Philo
in On The Contemplative Life, ch. III.

In England, the word monastery was also applied to the habitation of a

St George's Chapel, Windsor
.

Terms

The term monastery is used generically to refer to any of a number of types of religious community. In the

Roman Catholic religion and to some extent in certain branches of Buddhism
, there is a somewhat more specific definition of the term and many related terms.

Burma, a monastery is called a kyaung
.

A Christian monastery may be an

Carthusian order. In Eastern Christianity, a very small monastic community can be called a skete, and a very large or important monastery can be given the dignity of a lavra
.

The great communal life of a Christian monastery is called

Osmanli
occupation of Greece and Cyprus, an "idiorrhythmic" lifestyle where monks come together but being able to own things individually and not being obliged to work for the common good.

In

mandir, koil, or most commonly an ashram
.

vihara
.

Monastic life

Procession monastique

In most religions, life inside monasteries is governed by community rules that stipulate the gender of the inhabitants and require them to remain celibate and own little or no personal property. The degree to which life inside a particular monastery is socially separate from the surrounding populace can also vary widely; some religious traditions mandate isolation for purposes of contemplation removed from the everyday world, in which case members of the monastic community may spend most of their time isolated even from each other. Others focus on interacting with the local communities to provide services, such as teaching, medical care, or evangelism. Some monastic communities are only occupied seasonally, depending both on the traditions involved and the local climate, and people may be part of a monastic community for periods ranging from a few days at a time to almost an entire lifetime.[citation needed]

Life within the walls of a monastery may be supported in several ways: by manufacturing and selling goods, often

agricultural products; by donations or alms; by rental or investment incomes; and by funds from other organizations within the religion, which in the past formed the traditional support of monasteries. There has been a long tradition of Christian monasteries providing hospitable, charitable and hospital services. Monasteries have often been associated with the provision of education and the encouragement of scholarship and research,[2] which has led to the establishment of schools and colleges and the association with universities. Christian monastic life has adapted to modern society by offering computer services, accounting services and management as well as modern hospital and educational administration.[citation needed
]

Buddhism

Taktsang Palphug Monastery aka Paro Taktsang aka Tiger's Nest, July 2016 13
Mendicant Monk Sitting on Xindong Street, Taipei 20140103

Buddhist monasteries, known as

nuns
from disturbing new plant-growth or becoming stranded in inclement weather, they were instructed to remain in a fixed location for the roughly three-month period typically beginning in mid-July.

These early fixed vassa retreats took place in pavilions and parks that wealthy supporters had donated to the sangha. Over the years, the custom of staying on property held in common by the sangha as a whole during the vassa retreat evolved into cenobitic monasticism, in which monks and nuns resided year-round in monasteries.

In

India, Buddhist monasteries gradually developed into centres of learning where philosophical principles were developed and debated; this tradition continues in the monastic universities of Vajrayana Buddhists, as well as in religious schools and universities founded by religious orders across the Buddhist world. In modern times, living a settled life in a monastery setting has become[when?
] the most common lifestyle for Buddhist monks and nuns across the globe.

Whereas early monasteries are considered[

feudal landlord. In Sri Lanka and in Tibetan Buddhism, the ownership of a monastery often became vested in a single monk, who would often keep the property within the family by passing it on to a nephew ordained as a monk. In Japan
, where civil authorities permitted Buddhist monks to marry, the position of head of a temple or monastery sometimes became hereditary, passed from father to son over many generations.

Forest monasteries – most commonly found in the

the Buddha and by his disciples continues to be the ideal model for forest-tradition monks in Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka
and elsewhere, practical concerns - including shrinking wilderness areas, lack of access to lay supporters, dangerous wildlife, and dangerous border conflicts - dictate that increasing numbers of "meditation" monks live in monasteries, rather than wandering.

Tibetan Buddhist monasteries or gompas are sometimes known as lamaseries, with their monks sometimes (mistakenly) known as lamas. Helena Blavatsky's Theosophical Society named its initial New York City meeting-place "the Lamasery".[3]

Famous Buddhist monasteries include:

For a further list of Buddhist monasteries see list of Buddhist temples.

Trends

Buddhist monasteries include some of the largest in the world. Drepung Monastery in Tibet housed around 10,000 monks prior to the Chinese invasion[4][5] in 1950–1951. As of 2020 the relocated monastery in India houses around 8,000.[citation needed]

Christianity

Main article: Christian monasticism
Poustevník v jeskyni - Lochotínský park Plzeň "The hermit in the cave - Lochotín park Pilsen."

According to tradition, Christian monasticism began in Egypt with Anthony the Great. Originally, all Christian monks were hermits seldom encountering other people.[citation needed]

A transitional form of monasticism was later created by Ammonas in which "solitary" monks lived close enough to one another to offer mutual support as well as gathering together on Sundays for common services.[citation needed]

It was

Roman Army in which Pachomios served as a young man.[6] Soon the Egyptian desert blossomed with monasteries, especially around Nitria (Wadi El Natrun), which was called the "Holy City". Estimates are that upwards of 50,000 monks lived in this area at any one time.[citation needed] Hermitism never died out though, but was reserved only for those advanced monks who had worked out their problems within a cenobitic monastery.[citation needed
]

The idea caught on, and other places followed:

Western Medieval Europe

Abbey of Monte Cassino, originally built by Benedict of Nursia, shown here as rebuilt after World War II

The life of prayer and communal living was one of rigorous schedules and self-sacrifice. Prayer was their work, and the Office prayers took up much of a monk's waking hours –

None, Vespers, and Compline. In between prayers, monks were allowed to sit in the cloister and work on their projects of writing, copying, or decorating books. These would have been assigned based on a monk's abilities and interests. The non-scholastic types were assigned to physical labour of varying degrees.[citation needed
]

The main meal of the day took place around noon, often taken at a

Cambridge University.[citation needed
]

Monasteries were important contributors to the surrounding community. They were centres of intellectual progression and education. They welcomed aspiring priests to come and study and learn, allowing them even to challenge doctrine in dialogue with superiors. The earliest forms of

Notker of St Gall, and was spread to musicians throughout Europe by way of the interconnected monasteries. Since monasteries offered respite for weary pilgrim travellers, monks were obligated also to care for their injuries or emotional needs. Over time, lay people started to make pilgrimages to monasteries instead of just using them as a stopover. By this time, they had sizeable libraries that attracted learned tourists. Families would donate a son in return for blessings. During the plagues, monks helped to till the fields and provide food for the sick.[citation needed
]

A Warming House is a common part of a

medieval monastery, where monks went to warm themselves. It was often the only room in the monastery where a fire was lit.[citation needed
]

Catholic

Mont-Saint-Michel vu du ciel

A number of distinct

monastic orders
developed within Roman Catholicism:

While in English most

Latin conventus, e.g., (Italian: convento) or (French: couvent), meaning "gathering place". The Franciscans rarely use the term "monastery" at present, preferring to call their house a "friary". [citation needed
]

Eastern Orthodox

Main articles: Eastern Christian monasticism and Degrees of Eastern Orthodox monasticism
Тrinity Monatsery in Chernihiv as viewed from the bell tower

In the

ascetic discipline, and even their religious habit is the same (though nuns wear an extra veil, called the apostolnik). Unlike Roman Catholic
monasticism, the Eastern Orthodox do not have distinct religious orders, but a single monastic form throughout the Eastern Orthodox Church. Monastics, male or female, live away from the world, in order to pray for the world.

Monasteries vary from the very large to the very small. There are three types of monastic houses in the Eastern Orthodox Church:

One of the great centres of Eastern Orthodox monasticism is Mount Athos in Greece, which, like Vatican City, is self-governing. It is located on an isolated peninsula approximately 20 miles (32 km) long and 5 miles (8.0 km) wide, and is administered by the heads of the 20 monasteries. Today the population of the Holy Mountain is around 2,200 men only and can only be visited by men with special permission granted by both the Greek government and the government of the Holy Mountain itself.[citation needed]

Oriental Orthodox

Betremariam Monastery (Tana) Entrance

The

Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria (whose Patriarch is considered first among equals for the following churches), Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Indian Orthodox Church, and Syriac Orthodox Church
of Antioch.

The monasteries of St. Macarius (Deir Abu Makaria) and St. Anthony (Deir Mar Antonios) are the oldest monasteries in the world and under the patronage of the Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church.[citation needed]

Others

The last years of the 18th century marked in the Christian Church the beginnings of growth of monasticism among

Anabaptists, and others. Many did allow marriage but most had a policy of celibacy
and communal life in which members shared all things communally and disavowed personal ownership.

In the 19th-century monasticism was revived in the

Franciscan orders and the Orders of the Holy Cross, Order of St. Helena. Other Protestant Christian denominations also engage in monasticism, particularly Lutherans in Europe and North America. For example, the Benedictine order of the Holy Cross at St Augustine's House in Michigan is a Lutheran order of monks and there are Lutheran religious communities in Sweden and Germany. In the 1960s, experimental monastic groups were formed in which both men and women were members of the same house and also were permitted to be married and have children—these were operated on a communal form.[citation needed
]

Trends

There is a growing Christian neo-monasticism, particularly among evangelical Christians.[8]

Hinduism

Advaita Vedanta

Hindu matha, Vidyasankara Temple

From the times of the

Dashanami Sampradaya
.

Sri Vaishnava

Parakala Mutt - as it stands today

Sri Vaishnava
creed at different important centres of pilgrimage.

Later on, other famous Sri Vaishnava theologians and religious heads established various important mathas such as

  • Vanamamalai Mutt
  • Parakala Mutt
  • Ahobila Mutt

Nimbarka Vaishnava

Ukhra Nimbarka Peeth Mahanta Asthal

Nimbarka Sampradaya of Nimbarkacharya is popular in North, West and East India and has several important Mathas.

Dvaita Vedanta

dwaitha
philosopher.

Jainism

Jainism, founded by Mahavira c. 570 BC, had its own monasteries since 5th century BC.[citation needed]

Sufism

Islam discourages monasticism, which is referred to in the Quran as "an invention".[9][10] However, the term "Sufi" is applied to Muslim mystics who, as a means of achieving union with Allah, adopted ascetic practices including wearing a garment made of coarse wool called "sf".[11] The term "Sufism" comes from "sf" meaning the person, who wears "sf".[12] But in the course of time, Sufi has come to designate all Muslim believers in mystic union.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Online Etymology Dictionary".
  2. S2CID 161518883
    .
  3. ^ Crowley, John (February 2013). "Madame and the Masters: Blavatsky's cosmic soap opera". Harper's. p. 84.
  4. ^ "Tibet in Louisville". Spiritual Travels. Lori. Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  5. ^ Macartney, Jne (March 12, 2008). "Monks under siege in monasteries as protest ends in a hail of gunfire". The Sunday Times.
  6. ^ Dunn, Marilyn. The Emergence of Monasticism: From the Desert Fathers to the Early Middle Ages. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell Publishers, 2000. p29.
  7. ^ "Манастирът в с. Златна Ливада – най-старият в Европа" (in Bulgarian). LiterNet. 30 April 2004. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  8. ISBN 978-0-8272-1454-5
  9. ^ "The Quran, sura 57, verse 27". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
  10. ^ "The Quranic Arabic Corpus - Translation". corpus.quran.com. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
  11. ^ Christopher Melchert, "Origins and Early Sufism", in Lloyd Ridgeon, ed., Cambridge Companion to Sufism (2014), 3-23. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CCO9781139087599.003
  12. ^ Khanam, Dr (2011-06-01). "The Origin and Evolution of Sufism". الإيضاح. 22.
  13. ^ "The Neoplatonist Roots of Sufi Philosophy" by Kamuran Godelek,20th World Congress of Philosophy, [1]

External links

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