Short answers, pulled from the story.
Monasticism is a religious way of life in which a person renounces worldly pursuits to devote themselves fully to spiritual activities. It plays a central role in Buddhism, Christianity (especially Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican traditions), Hinduism, and Jainism, while being explicitly forbidden in Islam, Sikhism, and Zoroastrianism.
The Buddha founded the Sangha, the community of ordained Buddhist monastics, more than 2,500 years ago. The order initially consisted only of male bhikkhus; it was opened to women after the Buddha's stepmother, Mahaprajapati, asked for and received permission to live as an ordained practitioner.
Islam forbids monasticism because Muhammad taught that believers have responsibilities to their families and communities that cannot be abandoned in favor of total withdrawal. When his companion Uthman ibn Maz'un sought to take a vow of chastity and devote himself entirely to night prayers, Muhammad reminded him that even the Prophet maintained a family life and urged moderation.
The Rule of Saint Benedict was created by Benedict of Nursia for his monastery at Monte Cassino, Italy, around 529. It became the most common rule for Christian monastic communities throughout the Middle Ages and remains in use today.
The Dead Sea Scrolls are an extensive group of religious documents, including multiple copies of the Hebrew Bible, that were undisturbed from as early as 300 years before Christ until their discovery in 1946. They are commonly believed to be the library of the Essenes, a Jewish sect that practiced communal ascetic life from the second century BC to AD 100, though no definitive proof links the Essenes as the authors.
Martin Luther lived as a monk at St. Augustine's Monastery in Erfurt, Germany, from 1505 to 1511. The monastery, founded in 1277, is regarded by many historians and theologians as the cradle of the Reformation.