I&#x27;ve always understood the relationship between societies and monks (priests, ministers, nuns, etc.) to be one of &quot;offset&quot;. Monks are taken care of so they can pursue the esoteric studies that the common person has no time for. In exchange, the common person&#x27;s spiritual&#x2F;religious&#x2F;etc. enrichment is guided with assistance from the monk, similar to how patronage happens in the arts.<p>I&#x27;m sure this could be explained in an even more conduct way, but I&#x27;m having a hard time putting down in words how I see the relationship works in my mind.