Monastery it is a sumptuous building, where the members of religious orders.
Monastery was the place where the monks retired from worldly life and lived as hermits, in a regime of scourging and prolonged fasting.
The monasteries were buildings where powerful and well-organized societies were formed, very similar to the role played by the feudal castles, where the superiors had the same power as the nobles of the manors.
The Jerónimos Monastery, located in Lisbon, Portugal, is an example of these constructions. Commissioned by King D. Manuel, in 1502, with its Manueline architecture, was considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007.
In the Middle Ages, monasteries were the home of Benedictine monks who took vows of poverty and chastity, rendered obedience to the abbot, practiced charity and hospitality towards the poor. They worked manually to ensure a livelihood. They prayed, meditated and dedicated themselves to study and teaching, thus emerging the monastic schools, initially only for the formation of future monks, in boarding school and later, as external schools for the formation of lay people.
Buddhist monastery or temple is any land or building, regardless of size or shape, where they are. present statues of Buddhas, and receiving consecration ceremonies according to community rules Buddhist.
Origin of monasteries
More than five hundred years before Christ, a Hindu prince named Sachia-Muni became famous for his holiness and love for all people. His teachings gained many followers and after his death his disciples spread throughout Asia. Meditating and preaching the ideas of the Enlightened One, or Buddha, Saki-Muni, these followers were the first monks of the doctrine that is now known as Buddhism. Initially they lived in contact with other people, but later they began to meet in remote places, where they were dedicated to meditation and spiritual life, thus giving rise to the first monasteries.
The first Christian societies of segregated life emerged in Egypt around the fourth century. But it was in Cappadocia, a kingdom next to Armenia and Frigid, in Asia Minor, that for the first time, life religious of the monks of the monasteries, was regulated by the local bishop, later canonized with the name of Saint Basil. In this new regime, the monastery becomes a place for constant prayers and productive work.
