CHIANG RAI, Thailand — In Thailand, it’s not uncommon to hear the chanting of the monks as you wake up on a Sunday morning, or to walk past a hoard of saffron-robed novices on your way to the market.

In her late 30s, struggling to balance a busy corporate marketing career with raising a family, Linda Strauss felt herself yearning for more. She found it in a Zen Buddhist monastery in upstate New ...