I've read quite a number of cultivation novels but none of the main characters are monks. Are there novels with a monk as the main character?
I liked The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism . It's not a cultivation novel but a slow burn and episodic slice of life novel. It's got Buddhist life lessons (◍•ᴗ•◍)
Sign-in Buddha's Palm the character starts out as a monk but it does deviate later although monk techniques are still his best.
Ze Tian Ji technically. He’s like a priest/monk but not a Buddhist monk or western fantasy-esque priest
There’s an old book you may like: Shike, the last of the Zinja, i read it about 25 years ago, was the first book i read in my life and one of the best books in fact. It directed my early infancy’s taste to eastern culture btw. May be a bit hard to find it today, author’s name is Robert Shea who is, curiously, an English dude! Shike story is based into a historical period of Japan (Genpei war, when Mongolia attempted to invade Japan). MC is a youg monk from an order that kinda of mix taoist/xintoist monks with ninjas (they call themself Zinjas).
theres only two I can think of off the top of my head, The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism And Becoming A Monk In Tokyo (this sadly only has 60 chapters translated.)