monk
Vowed religious recluse
A monk is a man who has withdrawn from ordinary life to devote himself to religious practice, typically living in a community under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
Christian and Buddhist traditions are best known for monasticism, though the practice exists in other religions.
The monks rose at dawn for prayer.
Monks often live in monasteries, following strict daily routines of worship, work, and contemplation.
Address to deity
- faithTrust without proof
- worshipReligious reverence and praise
- pietySincere religious devotion
- reverenceProfound admiring respect
holiness · ritual · liturgy · hymn · chant · vespers · matins · abbey
Mendicant order member
- abbotMonastery's chief cleric
- brotherMale with shared parents
- noviceInexperienced newcomer to field
- priorExisting before another
monastery · habit · tonsure · order · Benedictine · Franciscan · Dominican · Trappist
Monk following ancient rule
- FranciscanMendicant order member
- DominicanPreaching order member
- TrappistMonk of austere order
- AugustinianOf a fourth-century theologian
Carmelite · Jesuit · abbey · monastery · habit · tonsure · abbot · prior
Religious seclusion dwelling
- abbeyMonastic house of worship
- cloisterCovered monastic walkway
- cellBasic unit of life
- seclusionVoluntary withdrawal from society
enclosure · retreat · silence · contemplation · scriptorium · dormitory · refectory · chapter house
Person choosing total seclusion
- recluseOne choosing isolation
- solitudeState of being alone
- renunciationFormal surrender of claim
- abstinenceVoluntary forgoing of indulgences
fasting · celibacy · self-denial · frugality · simplicity · discipline · penance · mortification
Focused attention practice
- enlightenmentProfound spiritual awakening
- dharmaCosmic moral order
- karmaSpiritual cause and effect
- nirvanaRelease from cyclical existence
zen · mantra · sangha · bodhisattva · sutra · mindfulness · contemplation · awakening
Buddhist religious community
- dharmaCosmic moral order
- nirvanaRelease from cyclical existence
- enlightenmentProfound spiritual awakening
- bodhisattvaBuddhist helper of all
saffron robe · alms bowl · Theravada · Mahayana · Zen · Tibetan · Dalai Lama · temple
Focused attention practice
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
- mindfulnessAwareness of the present
- chantingRhythmic repetitive vocalization
- prayerAddress to deity
mantra · stillness · introspection · zen · zazen · rosary · centering · silence
Religious order applicant
- novitiateReligious training period
- initiateTo set in motion
- oblateSquashed-sphere shape
- apprenticeLearner bound to employer
neophyte · trainee · probationer · aspirant · candidate · formation · vows · profession
prayer
Address to deity
reverence · holiness · ritual · liturgy · hymn · chant · vespers · matins · abbey · monastery
friar
Mendicant order member
prior · monastery · habit · tonsure · order · Benedictine · Franciscan · Dominican · Trappist · vespers
Benedictine
Monk following ancient rule
- FranciscanMendicant order member
- DominicanPreaching order member
- TrappistMonk of austere order
Augustinian · Carmelite · Jesuit · abbey · monastery · habit · tonsure · abbot · prior · brother
monastery
Religious seclusion dwelling
seclusion · enclosure · retreat · silence · contemplation · scriptorium · dormitory · refectory · chapter house · sequestered
hermit
Person choosing total seclusion
- recluseOne choosing isolation
- solitudeState of being alone
- renunciationFormal surrender of claim
abstinence · fasting · celibacy · self-denial · frugality · simplicity · discipline · penance · mortification · austerity
meditation
Focused attention practice
- enlightenmentProfound spiritual awakening
- dharmaCosmic moral order
- karmaSpiritual cause and effect
nirvana · zen · mantra · sangha · bodhisattva · sutra · mindfulness · contemplation · awakening · transcendence
sangha
Buddhist religious community
- dharmaCosmic moral order
- nirvanaRelease from cyclical existence
- enlightenmentProfound spiritual awakening
bodhisattva · saffron robe · alms bowl · Theravada · Mahayana · Zen · Tibetan · Dalai Lama · temple · stupa
meditation
Focused attention practice
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
- mindfulnessAwareness of the present
- chantingRhythmic repetitive vocalization
prayer · mantra · stillness · introspection · zen · zazen · rosary · centering · silence · vigil
postulant
Religious order applicant
apprentice · neophyte · trainee · probationer · aspirant · candidate · formation · vows · profession · discernment
- Medieval Europekings, queens, knights, castles, castle
- character classeswarrior, mage, rogue, cleric, paladin
- historical rolesking, queen, emperor, knight, peasant
- medieval villagevillage green, manor house, blacksmith, church, stable
- traditional ranksking, queen, prince, princess, duke
- solitary lifestylesolitude, isolation, hermit, loner, privacy
monklayman
Ordinary untrained person
layperson · secular · worldling · apostate · parishioner
monkhedonist
Seeker of sensual satisfaction
libertine · sybarite · playboy · sensualist · pleasure-seeker
- monkey barsOverhead playground climbing structure
- monkey businessDeceitful or frivolous conduct
- monkey aroundBehave playfully, unseriously
- monkeying aroundBehaving in frivolous mischief
- monkey suitInformal term for formalwear
- monkey wrenchTool with sliding jaw
monkey, monks, monastic, monkeying, monkish, monkeyed, monasticism, monkfish, monkhood