monk

A monk is a person who commits to a religious life focused on contemplation, discipline, and service, usually within a monastery or monastic order. Monks often take vows such as poverty, chastity, and obedience and live apart from secular society to pursue spiritual practice, study, and community life.

Etymology and origins: The term "monk" derives from Latin monachus, from Greek monachos, meaning solitary or alone. Christian monasticism arose in Late Antiquity with figures such as Anthony the Great and Pachomius and was later organized into communities under rules like the Benedictine Rule in the 6th century. In Asia, Buddhist monasticism centers on the sangha and the Vinaya code, with bhikkhus and bhikkhunis following ordination procedures and a life of meditation, study, and alms rounds dating to the time of the Buddha.

Practice and organization: Monastic life typically involves a cloistered residence, regular routines, and emphasis on worship, learning, or service. Christian monasticism distinguishes cenobitic communities, living under a common rule, from eremitic or hermitic life, which emphasizes solitary practice. Buddhist monastics usually live in monasteries or temples under the Vinaya and engage in meditation, study, and teaching, sometimes focusing on scholastic work or social service. Some orders stress scholarship, others meditation or missionary activity.

Other renunciant traditions: Hindu renunciants known as sannyasis or swamis abandon household life to seek spiritual liberation, while Jain monks follow stringent vows of nonviolence and ascetic discipline. In many regions, monastic communities operate alongside lay practices and organizations.

Modern presence: Monastic traditions exist worldwide, preserving ancient practices while adapting to contemporary contexts. Gender roles vary by tradition, with nuns or bhikkhunis in many lineages and differences in monastic governance and autonomy.