A chronicle of the life of a Buddhist monk from childhood to the end of his days.

The Grande Chartreuse, considered one of the world's most ascetic monasteries is based in the French Alps. In 1984, German filmmaker Philip Gröning wrote to the Carthusian order for permission to make a documentary about them. They said they would get back with him. Sixteen years later, they were ready. Gröning, sans crew or artificial lighting, lived in the monks' quarters for six months -- filming their daily prayers, tasks, rituals, and rare...

Somewhere in Northern Russia, in a small Russian Orthodox monastery, lives a very unusual man. His fellow monks are confused by his bizarre conduct. Those who visit the island believe that the man has the power to heal, exorcise demons and foretell the future. However, he considers himself unworthy because of a sin he committed in his youth. A parable about faith and salvation, The Island combines the realities of everyday Russian life with monastic...

The year is 1144--the civil war between King Stephen and Empress Maud still rages on--and Brother Cadfael is called upon to be an interpreter to the Welsh village of Saint Asaph. Cadfael is Welsh born and he welcomes the journey to his homeland as a pleasant break from his duties as a brother at the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Shrewsbury.

A near fatal fall brings Brother Haluin to a deathbed confession heard by Brother Cadfael. A journey of expiation with Cadfael leads to many shocking discoveries and murder.

In 1141, two monks have arrived in Shrewsbury from Winchester, where their abbey was destroyed. Now Brother Humilis, who is very ill, and Brother Fidelis, who is mute, must seek refuge at Shrewsbury. And from the moment he meets them, Brother Cadfael senses something deeper than their common vows binds these two brothers. And as Brother Humilis's health fails, Brother Cadfael faces a poignant test of his discretion and his beliefs as he unravels a...

In 1142, in the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul a momentous chain of events begins. Following the demise of Richard Ludel, his 10-year-old son becomes the new lord of Eaton. Soon after, a corpse is found in the forest and Brother Cadfael must track down a ruthless murderer.

Innocent bystander Tom Broadbent is riding his horse through a New Mexico canyon when he comes upon prospector Stem Weathers, who's just been shot. Before Weather dies, he gives Tom a notebook filled with mysterious numbers, asking him to pass it on to his daughter. Taking this assignment to heart, Tom puts himself and his wife at ever greater, more pointless risk as he tries to deliver the notebook. Soon the Broadbents find themselves the target...

In October of 1142, a local landlord makes a present of the Potter's Field to the local clergy. This substantial meadow, previously owned by a potter called Ruald and his lovely young wife, is transferred to the Benedictine Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul in August of 1143. Shortly afterward the Benedictine monks begin to plow it, which turns up long raven tresses of a young woman, dead a year or more...

Setting out for the Saint Giles leper colony outside Shrewsbury, Brother Cadfael has more pressing matters on his mind than the grand wedding coming to his abbey. But as fate would have it, Cadfael arrives at Saint Giles just as the nuptial party passes the colony’s gates. When he sees the fragile bride looking like a prisoner between her two stern guardians and the bridegroom—an arrogant, fleshy aristocrat old enough to be her grandfather—he...