Monks are people who have chosen to live a simpler and more spiritual life. They leave the normal day-to-day world behind and spend their time living in a monastery (a type of special building). They dedicate themselves to prayer, meditation, and helping others. Monks usually don't have a lot of material possessions, like money or fancy clothes, but instead focus on living a life of prayer and fidelity to their faith. They often pray together and do activities to serve their faith, such as helping the poor or sick, teaching or studying about their religion, or helping to protect religious sites.