The Purpose

 The monastic life is never chosen for itself.  It is chosen as a conversion process.  The techniques and discipline is for the conversion, to live more deeply in the Spirit of Christ.  It requires a contemplative path.  The monastic life is a vehicle to help take the monk somewhere.  The vehicle is not the goal or the life.  Recovery is not chosen for itself.  It too is a conversion process.  That is why people in recovery practice the steps, go to meetings, help out.  Recovery is not a life.  It is a vehicle to take one to a new way of living, free of addiction.  To just stop drinking is not a conversion process.  It is a dry drunk.  And that is hell.