Topic summary
Zen monk
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Zen.
Monasticism
Zen developed in a Buddhist monastic context and throughout its history, most Zen masters have been Buddhist monastics (bhiksus) ordained in the Buddhist monastic code (Vinaya) living in Buddhist monasteries. East Asian Buddhist monasticism differs in various respects from traditional Buddhist monasticism, however, emphasizing self-sufficiency. For example, Zen monks do not live by begging; they store and cook their own food in the monastery and may even farm and grow their own.