“I saw how they lived, saw how they dressed, and that influenced in a very strict way the monastic protocols that we later put into action in our own monastic order.”

“This monastic life was steeped in a struggle to realize one's own spiritual ideals.”

“These monasteries have a strong scholarly and philosophical tradition and emphasize monastic celibacy and purity.”

“Norbu, a businessman who was a monk during his teenage years, remarked that it is no longer possible to live an isolated monastic life.”