A LifeApart Most major world religions have a tradition of monasticism Monasticism comes from the Greek word for living alone So monks men who practice monasticism are people who choose to live apart from society This allows them to devote themselves to a religious life Women who choose this way of life are called nuns Not all monks and nuns live entirely by themselves Many live in communities with other monks or nuns These community homes are usually called monasteries or for nuns convents Life in a religious community generally focuses on prayer meditation and religious works Monks and nuns may concentrate on building a personal relationship with God They may work to purify their thought and reach spiritual perfection Some monks do live all by themselves as hermits And some wander from place to place their whole lives But whether they live S EA R C H LIG H T True or false Only Christians can be monks 10
MONASTICISM DID YOU KNOW One Christian monastery in the United States specializes in training dogs The monks there feel that the connection between dogs and humans as well as the focus on discipline and responsibility helps them spiritually in a community or by themselves all monks and nuns give up certain of life’s pleasures Many don’t own property or have any money Others force themselves to face certain challenges such as fasting or other physical discomforts Monks and nuns choose to live apart so that they won’t be distracted by life Usually they are unmarried since having a family requires great dedication and time The monastic life allows people to focus as much of themselves as possible on God and on the salvation their religion promises Many monks and nuns do still take part in the world around them For example they may serve as teachers social workers missionaries or nurses In earlier times monks were often among the few people who could read and write So they’re responsible for having preserved much of written world history and culture LEARN MORE READ THESE ARTICLES DALAI LAMA ROMAN CATHOLICISM VIVEKANANDA tradition of monasticism Answer FALSE Almost all the world’s religions have some
of d t tl e o Ba G Eterna l Over 2,700 years ago a man named Zoroaster lived in Persia modern Iran At that time people worshiped many gods Zoroaster’s beliefs opposed this way of thinking o ZOROASTRIANISM a nd Evil S EA R C H LIG H T represents good in Zoroastrianism Ahura Mazda or Ahriman Zoroaster denied the power of lesser gods and honored one god as supreme Ahura Mazda also called Ormazd The power of evil he named Ahriman Zoroaster preached that a struggle between the two resulted in the creation of the world Since its creation the whole world has been involved in the battle between good and evil light and darkness Each human being struggles between good and evil After a person dies the soul crosses a bridge and passes into either heaven or hell Who Zoroastrians also believe that the history of the world is a vast drama divided into four periods of 3,000 years each At the end of the first 3,000 years the creation of the world takes place At the end of the second Ahriman arrives to corrupt the creation In the third period he triumphs but finds himself trapped in creation and doomed to cause his own destruction In the fourth period religion comes to Earth through the birth of Zoroaster Each 1,000 years thereafter a new prophet will appear The last of these will bring the final judgment and a new world Islamic armies invaded Iran about 1,400 years ago Eventually most Zoroastrians left Iran and settled in India around Bombay now called Mumbai These people came to be known as Parsis The Parsis grew into a rich and highly educated community The holy book of the Zoroastrians is the Avesta The central feature of their temples is a sacred fire that burns night and day and is never allowed to die out DID YOU KNOW Zoroaster is sometimes credited with having created the practice of astrology Astrologers read the heavens in order to predict events and determine people’s characters LEARN MORE READ THESE ARTICLES GOD ISLAM RELIGION Between the ages of 7 and 11 children are initiated into the Zoroastrian religion in a ceremony called navjote Here priests oversee this young Parsi Indian Zoroastrian boy’s navjote Tim Page Corbis Answer Ahura Mazda represents good in Zoroastrianism 13
