A remarkable book about Russian monks, published last year, reads like something from the middle of the 19th century. You feel transported back in time to the era of Russian faith that gave birth to Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. Yet, the non-fiction tales collected in "Everyday Saints" are entirely contemporary.

This plain-speaking young man in his deep red and gold robes, praying with such intent for all of us, a living Buddha in his own right, expressed a deep compassion for the suffering of the entire planet and all of the living beings on it as he spoke of the nuclear threat.

They are monks -- but they're also scholars, academics and even geeks. Shaolin Temple in Central China's Henan province encourages its monks to lea...

In our post-religious, commitment-optional society, in which "do whatever works for you" is often cited as the cardinal virtue, why would anyone commit to a prescribed set of rules -- especially rules that date back to the Middle Ages?

Basic to art are the very qualities demanded of the monk: single-mindedness, beauty, immersion, praise and creativity. The merger of one with the other makes for great art; the meaning of one for the other makes for great soul.