Since
the ancient time, religion has played an important role in our
society, considering the fact that people were relying on it to
explain the purpose of life and to keep a balanced society. Hence,
religion seemed to be determining what was good, what was bad and
what was considered perfection. Those who wanted to take a step
closer to this perfection in life have devoted their lives to their
religion, hence the creation of monasticism. In China, monasticism
was based on the teaching in Buddhism. At the same period of time,
Christian monasticism could be found in Europe. These two monastic
traditions possessed a common goal and similar lifestyles, with some
differences in their history and the daily routine of a monk.
Additionally, these institutions also provided some positive and
negative influences on their societies.
Buddhism follows the teaching of Siddhartha Gautama, or the Buddha.
Eastern Asia, which includes China, Japan and Korea, adapted Mahayana
Buddhism. The main goal in this religion is to achieve nirvana, which
is a state of nothingness and freedom from reincarnation (McKay 67).
Christianity, on the other hand, follows the teaching of Jesus of
Nazareth (McKay 148). Christian followers started to choose ascetic
life because they had a deep belief and wanted to devote their life
to God. Subsequently, those people formed together and created a
community that followed a monastic lifestyle. In Europe, Christianity
was split into various types of monasticism. Eventually, the monastic
life of Benedict became the significant form of monasticism. The main
goal in this religion is to be closer to God (McKay 191). Followers
of both religions decided to choose monastic lifestyles for different
purposes, but in the end, monasticism will lead them to the spiritual
perfection.
One
of the differences that set these two traditions apart is the
contrasting definition of spiritual perfection in Buddhism and
Christianity and the reasons that both societies chose their
religions. For instance, in addition to its role in unifying China,
this civilization adapted Buddhism because the concept of
reincarnation, karma and nirvana heavily fascinated Chinese people.
Hence, monasticism lead them to realize that there is a way to escape
all the sufferings and achieve nirvana (McKay 169). While in Europe,
Christianity was widely spread and accepted because their citizens
had been through a tough time of war and social discrimination. As a
result, Christianity at that time made them feel secured and equal,
which made God someone they could trust and depended on (McKay 150).
Likewise, Christian follower believed that becoming a monk or a nun
could lead them to immortality and be close to God (McKay 191).
In
terms of lifestyle, Buddhist and Christian monks and nuns lived a
similar simple life. They isolated themselves from other people so
that they were able to concentrate on their spiritual lives and
stayed away from any sort of distraction. They also had to give up
all their possessions and any pleasurable activities, and took vows
of simplicity, chastity and obedience. Once a Christian monk entered
the monasteries, he no longer has anything of his own, not even a
book or a pen (Ward 170). Comparatively, in Buddhism, the process of
becoming a monk started with shaving his head as act of letting go of
all the attachments which also includes their family (Ward 159).
Additionally, Buddhist monks had to wear yellow monk gowns and gave
up the consumption of meat and alcohol (Heirman 265).
Their
daily routine were completely differently from a regular laypeople
for the purpose of getting them ready to fully understand the
religion and reach their goal of perfection, and at the same time
surviving the present. In order to eliminate their attachment to the
world, Buddhist monks need to meditate and chant daily (Ward 159).
Similarly, in a Christian monastery, monks were always occupied by
manual labor and sacred reading, because they believed that idleness
is the enemy of the soul. Therefore, monks spent their entire day
doing labor, such as picking fruits, and read books or pray during
their free time (Ward 170). Evidently, both practices of monasticism
were the same in terms of finding the state of calmness by staying
connected with their religion and taking their mind off the world.
However, some slight differences that separated these two traditions
can be found in the ways they sustained their lives. Since monks did
not possess anything as their own, Christian monks receive their
basic needs from the Father of the monastery. They lived together as
a community and survived on the labor of their own hands (Ward 170).
Buddhist monk, on the other hand, subsisted with the help of donation
from Buddhist laypeople. They provided food, clothes and other things
required to live for the monks. In addition, Buddhist monks also had
a begging bowl and received some of those basic needs during alms
round at a local town (Heirman 267).
Surprisingly,
at one point, both civilization were not pleased with the practice of
monasticism in their societies. In the Roman Empire, for example,
some women decided to stay a virgin and avoid marriage. This is
viewed as against the foundation of Roman society, which is
maintaining the power of paterfamilias. Therefore, in order to keep
the stability of this religion in Roman civilization, female
believers were restricted, and later forbidden from preaching and
having high positions in Christianity (McKay 193). Furthermore, the
church ministers were not pleased by those who pursue ascetic
lifestyle because there were claims that they were able to directly
communicate with God. This was a threat to them as this communication
could only be made possible with the help of priests and bishops
(McKay 191). Similar conflict appeared in China, where monasticism
was also criticized because the whole concept of this practice were
against the teaching of Confucius, which had been influencing ancient
China before the spread of Buddhism. From the perspective of
Confucius’ followers, because monks and nuns spend their time
solely focusing the religion, they were unable to perform labor
service, which contribute to the development of Chinese society
(Wishon Lecture 24, 22 Apr. 2015). Additionally, to enter the
monkhood, a man is required to give up his family name and also take
a vow of celibacy. This was a threat to the society of ancient China,
as it is today, since the surname of a man and a family is heavily
valued by the Chinese society (McKay 169). Therefore, if a man
decided to become a monk, the family not only lost a family member,
but they also lost a chance to have a son who will continue to
glorify the legacy of their surname (Ward 159).
Despite
causing some inconvenience to their societies, monasticism actually
took part in the development of both civilizations at that period of
time. Notably, because Christian monks survived on their own, they
have to come up with a way to produce food for themselves. Therefore,
they had to clear out land and wasteland to farm crops for their
community. This drastically improved the agricultural system in
Europe. In addition, monasteries provided a place for local young
people an opportunity to learn. Hence, this contributed to the huge
amount of literacy in the society (McKay 192). Another influence of
monasticism was the appreciation of women's role in societies and
religion. In the past, women were not broadly accepted, as they were
consider a lower class compared to men. Buddhism, on the contrary,
provided a safe place for women since women were also highly
appreciated in the monastery. In China, a significant amount of women
entered the monastery as Buddhist nuns. Commonly, the choice of
joining nunnery was made because women tried to avoid marriage or
living with the in-laws when their husbands passed away. This also
gave Chinese women a chance to value themselves because they were not
a burden to their society and, simultaneously, able to help spread
the teaching of Buddha to other people, especially other women (McKay
170).
In
conclusion, monasticism was a great stepping stone for people from
those civilization to reach what they believed was the perfection in
life, but it posed different beneficial influences and conflicts in
their societies. It is also interesting to note that despite having
slightly different lifestyles, ultimately the monks and nuns from two
completely different civilizations were having one similar goal, and
they were helping one another as well as their societies.
Works cited
Hierman,
Ann. "Indian Disciplinary Rules And Their Early Chinese Adepts:
A Buddhist Reality." Journal
Of The American Oriental Society 128.2
(2008): 257-272. Religion
and Philosophy Collection.
Web. 20 Apr. 2015.
McKay,
John P., Bennett D. Hill, et al. Understanding
World Societies. A Brief History Vol.1:
To 1600. Boston: Bedford/St.Martins's, 2013. Print.
Ward,
Walter D., and Denis Gainty. Sources
of World Societies.
Vol. 1: To 1600. 2nd ed. Boston: Bedford/St.Martins's, 2012. Print.
Wishon,
Mark. “World
History I, Lecture 24”
San Diego Mesa College, San Diego, CA. 22 Apr. 2015
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