WELCOME TO THE CLOISTER
In monasteries, the word cloister is used in two ways:
(1) to mean the "enclosure" - that area of the monastery
into which people who are not in the community are not allowed unless there are exceptional
circumstances (e.g. doctors to treat the ill, workmen to make repairs).
(2) an enclosed area used by the inhabitants
of the monastery for open air exercise and meditation. Some
ancient cloisters contained a covered walkway separated from
the gardens by arches. Most large art museums contain at least
a portion of one of these, as the arches were usually beautifully
carved. The purpose of the beauty in the cloister was to
elevate the heart of the
monk to the Ultimate Creator of Beauty. 
Usually the monk
would do his/her share of work in the gardens and otherwise
come to the cloister during quiet free times to read spiritual
books, meditate, and stroll. Mendel was doing so when he began
to notice the different flowers in the sweet-pea patch, and musing
upon that led him to think about how the Lord arranged for variation
in nature, leading to the discovery of genetics.
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