Monasticism

Monasticism, from the Greek root meaning “alone” (mono) and from the Latin monachus (monk), refers to an institutionalized religious form of life that is characterized by radical solitude and mortification. Although most often associated with great religious traditions of Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism, elements of monasticism are also evident in other traditions. The basis of the phenomenon is captured in a Native American elder's words: “True wisdom is only found far away from people, out in great solitude, and it is not found in play, but only through suffering. Suffering and solitude open the human mind, and therefore [one] must seek wisdom alone.”

The worldview of monasticism is the ideals of truth and purity. From this perspective, the ordinary world prevents individuals from reaching their spiritual potential, so that a separation is needed. Most commonly, the elements essential to this quest for spiritual perfection are (a)celibacy (i.e., the freedom from familial or physical impairments), (b)poverty (i.e., the relinquishment of comforts of the world), and (c)obedience to some other person, usually a teacher, leading to the surrender of one's own will. These facets of monasticism have fascinated anthropologists for some time, leading to a number of sociocultural interpretations for the motivation and functions of these institutions. For example, Robert Levy, Gananath Obeyeskere, and others have used their work in psychological analysis to explain motivations and cultural structures that underpin the monastic vocation in various cultures.

Monasticism is commonly divided into two types: cenobitic and eremitic. The cenobitic life is characterized by a communal form of existence and is the most common type. The eremetic life is characterized by the life of the hermits, who tend to live in solitude and rarely are in contact with other humans. Most monastic traditions have elements of both. However, the Christian tradition of the Desert Fathers, the contemporary Carthusians, and the Jain ascetics are most often cited as eremitic groups.

Institutionalized monastic traditions are found in Jainism, Buddhism,Taoism, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Monasticism was also an element in the Vestal Virgins of Rome, the Peruvian Virgins of the Sun, and the Therapeutae of Egypt. The development of monastic systems runs parallel to the development of state systems in world history and to the organization of full-time religious specialists and the concern with secularization of society. Each of the monastic traditions depends on a philosophy of dualism in [Page 1609]which the world is viewed as corrupt, a burden, or evil. The element of the human that sets one apart from nature is commonly referred to as the soul. In the monastic philosophy, then, the soul must be purified from matter. The universal process of this dualistic opposition is one of bodily mortification and contemplation and study on spiritual things.