It seems more and more people are seeking ways to channel their inner Thomas Merton. Across the country, "the new monasticism" is on the rise.

A Christian movement, new monasticism is based on communal living guided by 12 "marks," such as being eco-conscious and having a "commitment to a disciplined contemplative life."

While Hawai'i has yet to see commune-like groups, such as Rutba House in Durham, N.C., there's an increasing interest in living the monastic life — if even for just a weekend.

Where do you find our Island brand of monasticism? Besides events at St. Anthony retreat center in Kalihi Valley, two monasteries and a Zen center offer faith practitioners opportunities to burrow into their spiritual psyche.

For widow Mary Sheridan, that means becoming an oblate, or layperson dedicated to a religious life, attached to the Benedictine Monastery in Waialua. She's happy to tell you about her calling, but don't dare call her a "weekend monk."

"There are many paths to the spiritual journey," said Sheridan, a Hawai'i Pacific University professor of social work. "For oblates like me, it's a commitment to trying to follow the Rule of St. Benedict, which expresses itself as a relationship with the monastery. It's not just, 'Gee, for the weekend, I'm playing monk.' "

But asceticism, solitude and often silence are not to be attempted by the faint of heart, which may be why it is usually the full-time religious person who attempts the monastic life. Programs like the monthly oblate program allow lay people the chance to practice some of what monasticism preaches yet still keep a foot in the real world.

It isn't limited to Christianity, either.

When it's completed in 2012, the white granite, gold-topped temple of the Hindu monastery on Kaua'i will welcome pilgrims, though not for overnight stays, said Paramacharya Palaniswami, a monk there.

Also notable are the silent retreats that have been put on for many years by the Diamond Sangha, a Zen Buddhist organization in Palolo. Their retreats draw between 12 and 25 people for about a week, helping people find their path to enlightenment.

Here, we introduce you to lay people of different faiths who regularly practice some form of monasticism.

BUDDHISM

Who: Clark and Kathy Ratliffe (59 and 50, respectively) of St. Louis Heights. Both teach at the University of Hawai'i (he's in the school of nursing; she's in educational psychology).

What they do: Meditate several times daily at home as well as go to zendo (temple) services as time allows. They also attend regular silent retreats, a physically demanding but spiritually rewarding experience. "That is a regular punctuation of our lives," said Clark Ratliffe. "We in fact met at the zendo temple during one of those retreats years ago."

How physically demanding is it? They wake at 4 a.m. and within 10 minutes are in the zendo. There's a walking meditation, stretching, two hours of zazen (meditation) until breakfast. After breakfast is a work shift, such as KP duty, until a sutra service and two more zazen hours until lunch. After that is more work, zazen, followed by a 2 p.m. dharma talk, and more zazen until dinner. Zazen continues until the 9 p.m. bedtime. They follow this schedule silently for three to eight days. He's been doing retreats for 38 years; she for 28. For a while, they participated separately so one parent could be home with their daughter. Now she's off at college, and they attend jointly again.

What they get out of it: "I've lived a monastic life during the nonretreat times," said Clark. "Our life isn't so different."

He's reminded of a story of the fellow who went to Buddha to complain about his problems — a sharp-tongued wife, lazy children, terrible crops. He asked Buddha to help him fix the situation, but Buddha responded: "Everybody has 100 problems. This monk over here has 100 problems, I have 100 problems. I can't help you with those."

"What good are you?" the fellow asked.

"Maybe I can help you with your 101st problem."

"What's the 101st problem?"

"Not wanting to have any problems," Buddha responded.

Clark said the biggest benefit is living right here, right now: "This moment, in all its fullness and completeness, is completely pregnant with possibilities. That's a wonderful way to live."

Adds Kathy, whose college major was religious studies (though she didn't study Zen — "it looked too hard"): "When I was a teen, I did a lot of questioning. I tried all different kinds of traditions, but all disappointed me. (They said) 'Believe what we have to tell you.' "

Finally, after graduation and further searching, she took up aikido, which led her to a Zen center. She burst into tears when the Zen leader told her not to believe what he had to tell her, but to find out for herself.

"It's not the answers to the question that are important, it's the questioning," she said. "My questioning has become deeper and deeper. That questioning brings me some element of peace."

Favorite religious figure: Clark: "My wife is. If a religious figure is one to support you in your practice, nobody has done a better job of that."

Kathy: "Anyone who is awake. Religion doesn't have a monopoly on that."

CATHOLICISM

Who: Mary Sheridan, 58, of Honolulu is a social worker and HPU professor of social work.

Faith tradition: Roman Catholic

What she does: Sheridan, a widow, has chosen to become an oblate, "which means trying to incorporate the Rule of St. Benedict into my daily life." In practical terms, that means taking to heart the document that describes "a balanced life, listening to others, hospitality and prayer," she said.

Besides attending Mass at least once a week at her regular downtown parish, Sheridan attends monthly services at the Benedictine Monastery in Waialua, volunteers to recatalog the library and tries "to have a regular prayer life."

While these are tangible activities, for her the biggest changes are internal, rather than external: "It's a way of life, embodying those values. It's hard to describe, because I hope people would see a different attitude rather than, 'She hops on one foot for 15 minutes.' We're big on humility, and that doesn't mean groveling; it means recognizing who you are and what God is."

What she gets out of it: "I've enjoyed my contacts not only with this monastery but other Benedictine monasteries. It's sort of as if you're part of a family. Say I'd like to make a retreat, I'm part of an oblate group, they already know what you're about. I've grown a great deal, gained more of a closeness with God. I've certainly worked on being more of a listener, and that's been a tremendous help."

Her favorite religious figure: "Right now, it would be Blessed Marianne Cope. I'm just so touched by the fact that we have two saintly people from Moloka'i, Father Damien and Mother Marianne. ... She and her sisters worked so hard under such terrible conditions with such faith."

HINDUISM

Who: Kartikeya "Karti" Katir, 16, a junior at Da Vinci High School in Davis, Calif.

Faith tradition: Hindu

What he does: Annual retreat to Kaua'i's Hindu monastery. Katir has a daily spiritual reminder: "Every morning before I go to school, I go downstairs to the shrine room, where I pray. Then I go to school."

Other regular activities: The monthly puja gathering of the Golden Gate Mission from all over Northern California, with lunch, testimonies and the singing of bahjans (devotional songs).

His family also goes to temples, mostly the Ganesha temple in Sacramento, and members of the Golden Gate Mission make pilgrimages to Kaua'i's temple, usually once a year.

Last summer, Karti spent a month at the Kaua'i monastery, attending services, listening to the guru, meditating and working alongside other members of the monastery in the massive gardens. He weeded, planted and took care of the hillside property, which includes a waterfall and newly planted tropical gardens. He also did computer work at Hinduism Today, the monthly magazine that's published there.

What he gets out of it: "Extreme spiritual indulgence. You learn a lot when you're surrounded by that many great people. It's not really something you share with other people, only you can know (what you get out of it). It's an amazing self-realization. ... I learned a lot about my religion, a lot of mystical things."

Favorite religious figure: The late Guru Shri Shiyva Subramunyaswami of the Kaua'i temple. "I spent a lot of time learning from him and reading his books."