A monk (from Greek: μοναχός, monachos, "single, solitary") is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decided to dedicate his life to serve the other living beings or to be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many religions and in philosophy.
In the Greek language the term can apply to women; but in modern English it is mainly in use only for men, while nun is typically used for female monastics.
Although the term monachos (“monk”) is of Christian origin, in the English language it tends to be used analogously or loosely also for both male and female ascetics from other religious or philosophical backgrounds.
The term monk is generic and in some religious or philosophical traditions it therefore may be considered interchangeable with other terms such as ascetic. However, being generic, it is not interchangeable with terms that denote particular kinds of monk, such as friar, cenobite, hermit, anchorite, hesychast, solitary.
Read more about Monk: Eastern Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Vaishnava
Other articles related to "monk, monks":
... Elisha Capen Monk was an American businessman and politician from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ... In 1870 Monk went to Colorado where he was one of the founders of the Union Colony of Colorado and Greeley, Colorado ...
... Monk Dawson is a film that was released in 1998, directed and produced by Tom Waller and starring John Michie, Benedict Taylor, Martin Kemp, Rhona Mitra and Paula Hamilton ... The film is about Eddie Dawson, a monk who has led a sheltered existence at a Benedictine monastery, but when he is expelled from his order he has to learn to deal with the harsh realities of everyday life in 1970s ... priest in the parish, however he decides to return to live as a monk on a remote island ...
... The sessions were the work of The Thelonious Monk Quintet (the July 2, 1948 and July 23, 1951 sessions) and The Modern Jazz Quartet plus Lou Donaldson (a 1952 session) ... The tracks with the Thelonious Monk Quintet were Thelonious Monk on piano, John Simmons on bass, Shadow Wilson on drums, and Milt Jackson on vibraphone -- with Kenny "Pancho" Hagood singing on the tracks "All ... version were used for a CD featuring the complete 1948 and 1952 sessions, but the 1951 Monk Session was moved to Monk's Genius of Modern Music Volume 2 ...
... He appointed a monk (called swamiji or swamigalu in local parlance) for each matha or monastery who has the right to worship Madhvacharya's murti of Lord Krishna by rotation ... Similar in appearance to Buddhist monks, brahmacari monks from the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), or Hare Krishnas as they are popularly known, are the best known ... Many of them, however, spent some time as monks ...
... "Rhythm-a-Ning" is a jazz composition by pianist Thelonious Monk ... appearing on the 1957 collaboration between Monk and saxophonist Gerry Mulligan entitled Mulligan Meets Monk, the piece has since appeared on dozens of Monk's releases ...
Famous quotes containing the word monk:
“The monk in hiding himself from the world becomes not less than himself, not less of a person, but more of a person, more truly and perfectly himself: for his personality and individuality are perfected in their true order, the spiritual, interior order, of union with God, the principle of all perfection.”
—Thomas Merton (1915–1968)
“A monk ther was, a fair for the maistrie,
An outridere, that lovede venerie,
A manly man, to been an abbot able.”
—Geoffrey Chaucer (1340?–1400)
“At the time there was a claustral monk named Frere Jean of the Hashes, who was young, gallant, joyful, good natured, dextrous, bold, adventurous, thoughtful, tall, thin, with a capacious mouth, gifted in the nose, a great dispatcher of hours, quite an accomplisher of masses, a quick doer-in of vigils,—to put it in a nutshell, a true monk if ever there’s been one since this monk of a world first monked out a monk; moreover, a cleric to his very teeth in matters of the breviary.”
—François Rabelais (1494–1553)