Then, a day or two later, I watched a foreign film called Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring. It’s a beautifully artistic film about a one-room Buddhist monastery which sits on a raft and floats in the middle of a small lake, surrounded by breathtaking scenery—woods, mountains, rocks & waterfalls. In the monastery live one old monk and a young boy monk-in-training. The story follows the seasons of the young man’s life. What really struck me, though, was the simplicity of the ascetic lifestyle, and the peace and beauty and holiness of it—living like that would keep you close to the Creator, esp. since they lived so close to nature.