The Encyclopedia of World Religions

monks and nuns S 297

in Z OROASTRIANISM . In the days of the Roman Empire, Mithra moved west to become the cen tral figure in a religion called Mithraism. He was identified with light and was closely associated with the sun. In Mithraism the god is usually portrayed killing a bull, the animal representing darkness and chaos; this sacrifice made possi ble the creation of the world. Mithraism, which offered several stages of initiation, a ceremonial meal and a sort of BAPTISM , was popular among soldiers in the Roman army and was an early rival of C HRISTIANITY . monks and nuns Men and women who adopt a special, religious way of life. This life usually means that they do not marry, have families, or work at secular jobs. Not all religions have monks and nuns. J UDA ISM has taught that marriage and family life are religious duties. Protestants have generally rejected monasticism, too. But monasticism has been important in many religions, including B UDDHISM , J AINISM , R OMAN C ATHOLICISM , and E ASTERN O RTHODOX C HRISTIANITY . A GENERAL DESCRIPTION Monks and nuns always belong in some way to a wider religious community. That is true even if they have no permanent homes or live off by themselves (hermits). If a group of people adopts a special life-style but has no connection to a wider religious community, its members are not monks and nuns. They belong to a sect, for example, the E SSENES in the late Second Temple period of Juda ism (the time of J ESUS ). Monks and nuns typically relate to the more general community in one of two ways. In some religions they constitute the core of that commu nity. For example, in T HERAVADA B UDDHISM monks and nuns devote themselves full-time to practic ing the Buddha’s teachings. They make up the SANGHA . Lay Buddhists hope someday to adopt the monastic lifestyle, perhaps in a future life. In the meantime, they provide monks and nuns with the necessities of life. They also make a beginning

in religious practice by observing the basic “pre cepts” or instructions. This relationship between monks and nuns on the one hand and lay sym phatizers or supporters on the other also char acterizes J AINISM and the now-defunct religion known as M ANICHAEISM . In other religions, monks and nuns are more peripheral. For example, Christianity did not grow up around, nor is it centered around, monks and nuns. Instead, monks and nuns arose later as spe cialists within some Christian traditions. Christians respect monks and nuns for their special religious devotion, but they do not consider monasticism a lifestyle that they will need to follow someday in order to achieve salvation. H INDUISM , T AOISM , and I SLAM also have monasticism of this kind. In both kinds of monasticism, people go through a special initiation ritual to become monks and nuns ( see INITIATION , RELIGIOUS ). They may also spend several years as “novices” to see whether this life is right for them. As novices and then as monks and nuns they follow a discipline. Disciplines generally regulate diet ( see DIET AND RELIGION ). They may also require monks and nuns to wear special clothes. But above all, disciplines organize daily activities. They make time for reli gious practice—in Christianity, perhaps the daily services known as hours, in Z EN B UDDHISM ZAZEN or seated MEDITATION . They may also require monks and nuns to spend time in study and labor. Most religions that have monks also have nuns. But religions have often been more willing to allow men to adopt this lifestyle than to allow women to do so. For example, it is said that although the B UDDHA established an order for nuns, he did so reluctantly. Indeed, within Theravada Buddhism the order of nuns has died out. Attempts are now under way to revive it. MONKS AND NUNS IN ASIAN RELIGIONS The oldest monastic traditions in the world are found in Buddhism and Jainism. These two reli gions arose during the sixth century B . C . E . in India. They did so among groups of ascetics known as sra manas. No one know precisely when the sramana movement began. In the time of the Buddha and