ABSTRACT
https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781315828060/49546f0e-ce84-4e70-9b40-7107f16ee305/content/unfiga_3_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/>N view of the clear traces of Monastic influence which can thus be seen in the ritual, it is not surprising to find that the whole ceremony has a clearly defined mystical meaning, for, after all, one of the principal objects of monasticism is to develop the inner life of a man along mystical lines. This is true both of Buddhist monasticism and the similar institution in the West, for although the monks in the course of centuries undertook many tasks of practical utility, such as teaching children, feeding the poor and the like, they originally developed out of the hermits who withdrew from secular life in order to meditate upon spiritual matters and by asceticism and religious practices endeavour to achieve the beatific vision. In this connection it is significant that one of the few places in Europe where a Society of men still survives, who by means of certain religious exercises strive to achieve this end, is in the cluster of monasteries which are to be found on Mount Athos, near Salónica. Let us therefore turn to consider this aspect of the Hung ceremony.
