Retreat and monastic withdrawal across the world
Why leave the world? Many traditions set apart people or periods for withdrawal from ordinary life: monks and nuns under vows, hermits in the desert, or lay people secluded for days of intense practice. Withdrawal removes distraction and desire so that prayer, meditation or ascetic effort can be complete. It varies from a few days in a mosque to a life of celibacy, and from strict solitude to large communities under a rule.
One line of descent is documented: the Rule of Saint Benedict in the West and the monasteries of Mount Athos in the East were both strongly influenced by the Desert Fathers of Egypt. Jain and Buddhist monks both stay in one place in the rainy season, but no source here shows one copied the other; the other forms arose independently as far as is known.
Across the world
| Version | Tradition | What is done, and why |
|---|---|---|
| Sannyasa 500 BCE | Hinduism | In the fourth stage of life, a Hindu renounces household and ritual life to live as a wandering ascetic; the term appears in texts of the 1st millennium BCE. The goal of the renunciant is moksha, liberation. |
| Jain ascetics and chaturmas 367 BCE | Jainism | Jain monks and nuns keep five great vows, and during the four monsoon months stay in one place; a united order existed before 367 BCE. Staying put reduces the risk of killing insects and small creatures that thrive in the rains. |
| Vassa, the rains retreat | Theravāda Buddhism | For three lunar months of the wet season, Theravada monks remain in one monastery; Korean, Vietnamese and Tibetan monastics keep an equivalent retreat. The settled season is devoted to intensive practice. |
| The Essenes 150 BCE | Judaism | A Jewish community of the Second Temple period, 2nd century BCE to 1st century CE, linked by many scholars with the settlement at Qumran on the Dead Sea. They separated over disputes about Jewish law and the legitimacy of the high priesthood. |
| The Desert Fathers 270 CE | Oriental Orthodoxy | Christian hermits and ascetics settled in the Egyptian desert, notably Wadi El Natrun; Anthony the Great withdrew to the desert in 270 to 271. They sought God through solitude and asceticism, founding Christian monasticism. |
| The Rule of Saint Benedict 530 CE | Roman Catholicism | Monks live communally under an abbot following a rule written about 530, dividing the day between prayer and work. Its motto "pray and work" sums up a moderate path of monastic life. |
| Mount Athos 963 CE | Eastern Orthodoxy | A peninsula in Greece given over to Orthodox monasteries; the Great Lavra was founded in 963 by Athanasius the Athonite. It is governed as an autonomous region by its monastic community. |
| Itikaf | Islam | A Muslim secludes themself in a mosque for a time, especially the last ten days of Ramadan, devoted to worship. Muhammad is reported to have withdrawn into the mosque in those days, seeking the Night of Decree. |
| Khalwa | Sufism | A Sufi disciple enters solitary retreat, traditionally for forty days, under a shaykh, leaving only for prayers and to discuss dreams and visions. Seclusion intensifies spiritual exercises under guidance. |
| Quanzhen monasticism 1170 CE | Taoism (Daoism) | The Quanzhen school, founded in Shandong around 1170 by Wang Chongyang and others, keeps monasteries such as the White Cloud Monastery in Beijing. Its name means Complete Perfection, and its adepts are expected to keep celibacy and practise self-cultivation. |
| Kaihogyo 860 CE | Mahāyāna Buddhism | Tendai monks walk a route on Mount Hiei, praying at halls and shrines, in courses of 100 or 1,000 days spread over seven years; Soo (831 to 918) is held to be its founder. It is an ascetic practice of devotion and endurance. |
| Sesshin | Zen Buddhism | A period of intensive retreat in a Zen monastery or centre, devoted almost exclusively to seated meditation in periods of 30 to 50 minutes. It deepens practice beyond the ordinary monastic routine. |