Self-discipline,
abstinence, and
renunciation of material goods and worldly concerns, to various degrees, are parts of religious practice within many religious and spiritual traditions. Ascetic lifestyle is associated particularly with
monks,
nuns, and
fakirs in
Abrahamic religions, and
bhikkhus,
munis,
sannyasis/vairagis,
siddhas, goswamis, and
yogis in
Indian religions.
Abrahamic religions Bahá'í Faith In the
Baháʼí Faith, according to
Shoghi Effendi, the maintenance of a high standard of moral conduct is neither to be associated nor confused with any form of extreme asceticism, nor of excessive and bigoted puritanism. The religious standard set by
Baháʼu'lláh, founder of the Baháʼí Faith, seeks under no circumstances to deny anyone the legitimate right and privilege to derive the fullest advantage and benefit from the manifold joys, beauties, and pleasures with which the world has been so plentifully enriched by
God, who Baháʼís regard as an all-loving creator.
Christianity icon of St.
Anthony the Great, father of Christian monasticism and early
anchorite. The
Coptic inscription reads 'Ⲡⲓⲛⲓϣϯ Ⲁⲃⲃⲁ Ⲁⲛⲧⲱⲛⲓ' ("The great Abba Anthony"). Notable Christian authors of
Late Antiquity such as
Origen,
Jerome,
John Chrysostom, and
Augustine of Hippo, interpreted meanings of the
Christian Bible within a highly asceticized religious environment. Scriptural examples of asceticism could be found in the lives of
John the Baptist,
Jesus, the
twelve apostles, and
Paul the Apostle. and
Francis of Assisi, practiced asceticism as well. According to British
historian and
Roman Catholic theologian Richard Finn, much of early Christian asceticism has been traced to
early Judaism, not to Ancient Greek asceticism. including
Anthony the Great ( St. Anthony of the Desert),
Mary of Egypt, and
Simeon Stylites, collectively known as the
Desert Fathers and
Desert Mothers. In 963 CE, an association of monasteries called
Lavras was formed on
Mount Athos, according
Eastern Orthodox tradition. In the modern era, Mount Athos and
Meteora have remained significant centers. Sexual abstinence, as practiced by
Encratites sect of Christianity, for example, was only one aspect of ascetic renunciation, and both natural and unnatural asceticism have been part of Christian asceticism. Other ascetic practices have included simple living, begging, Evidence of extreme asceticism in Christianity appears in second-century texts and thereafter in both Eastern and Western Christian traditions, including the practices of chaining one's body to rocks, eating only grass, praying seated on a pillar in the elements (e.g., the monk
Simeon Stylites, solitary confinement inside a cell, abandoning personal hygiene and adopting lifestyle of a beast,
mortification of the flesh, and voluntary suffering. Nevertheless, said practices were often rejected as beyond acceptable by ascetics like
Barsanuphius of Gaza and
John the Prophet. Ascetic practices were linked to the Christian concepts of
sin and
redemption. The ascetic literature of early Christianity was influenced by pagan
Greek philosophical traditions, especially those of
Plato and
Aristotle, which sought the perfect
spiritual way of life. According to
Clement of Alexandria, philosophy and scriptures can be seen as "double expressions of one pattern of knowledge".
Evagrius Ponticus (345–399
CE) was a highly educated monastic teacher who produced a large theological body of work, mainly ascetic, including the
Gnostikos (, , "learned", from , , "knowledge"), also known as
The Gnostic: To the One Made Worthy of Gnosis. The
Gnostikos is the second volume of a trilogy containing the
Praktikos, intended for young monks seeking
apatheia (i.e., "a state of calm which is the prerequisite for love and knowledge"), The
proto-Protestant Lollards and
Waldensians originated as ascetic lay movements within
medieval Western Christianity, and both were persecuted by the
Roman Catholic Church throughout several centuries. Notable examples of
Protestant asceticism are the
Anabaptist Churches (
Amish,
Hutterites,
Mennonites,
Schwarzenau Brethren),
Quakers, and
Shakers, which espouse their
pacifist ethics and
separation from the world by
simple living, which includes
plain dressing and preference for
antiquated technology. Certain
Christian monasteries and
convents, such as the Evangelical-Lutheran
Sisters of the Holy Spirit at Alsike Convent, allow Christians to commit a certain period of time (such as the summer period) to living as a hermit in a
hermitage. While living as a
hermit, individuals reside in desolated cabins that do not contain running water, and focus on
prayer (particularly the
Divine Office).
Islam Muslim ascetic (
fakir) in
Bengal during the 1860s The Arabic term for "asceticism" is
zuhd. The
Islamic prophet Muhammad and
his followers practiced asceticism. have cherished their own ascetic tradition for several centuries.
Islamic literary sources and
historians report that during the
early Muslim conquests of the Middle East and North Africa (7th–10th centuries), some of the Muslim warriors guarding the
frontier settlements were also ascetics; numerous historical accounts also report of some
Christian monks that
apostatized from Christianity,
converted to Islam, and joined the
jihad,
Monasticism is forbidden in Islam. Scholars in the field of
Islamic studies have argued that asceticism (
zuhd) served as a precursor to the later doctrinal formations of Sufis that began to emerge in the tenth century Sufism emerged and grew as a mystical, Acceptance of asceticism emerged in Sufism slowly because it was contrary to the
sunnah, states
Nile Green, and early Sufis condemned "ascetic practices as unnecessary public displays of what amounted to false piety". The
ascetic Sufis were hunted and persecuted both by Sunni and Shia rulers, in various centuries. Sufis were highly influential and greatly successful in
spreading Islam between the 10th and 19th centuries, Sufism was adopted and then grew particularly in the frontier areas of
Islamic states, Ascetic practices of Sufi fakirs have included
celibacy,
fasting, and
self-mortification. Sufi ascetics also participated in mobilizing Muslim warriors for
holy wars, helping travelers, dispensing blessings through their perceived
magical powers, and in helping settle disputes. Ritual ascetic practices, such as
self-flagellation (
Tatbir), have been practiced by Shia Muslims annually at the
Mourning of Muharram.
Judaism were a Jewish sect of mystics and ascetics in
medieval France and
Germany (12th–13th centuries) The history of Jewish asceticism is traceable to the 1st millennium BCE with the references of the
Nazirites, whose rules of practice are found in
Book of Numbers 6:1–21. After the Jews returned from the
Babylonian exile and the Mosaic institution was done away with, a different form of asceticism arose when
Antiochus IV Epiphanes threatened the Jewish religion in 167 BCE. The
Essene tradition of the
Second Temple period is described as one of the movements within historic Jewish asceticism between 2nd century BCE and 1st century CE. The
Ashkenazi Hasidim (
Chassidei Ashkenaz) were a Jewish mystical, ascetic movement in
medieval France and the
German Rhineland, According to Shimon Shokek, these ascetic practices were the result of an influence of medieval Christianity on Ashkenazi Hasidism. Jewish sects who practiced asceticism existed both in
ancient and
medieval times, most notably the
Essenes. According to
Allan Nadler, Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies and Former Director of the Jewish Studies Program at
Drew University, two most significant examples of medieval Jewish asceticism have been the
Ashkenazi Hasidim and Havoth ha-Levavoth. Another significant school of Jewish asceticism appeared in the 16th century, led from
Safed. These mystics engaged in radical material abstentions and
self-mortification with the belief that this helps them transcend the created material world, reach and exist in the mystical spiritual world. A studied example of this group was
Hayyim ben Joseph Vital, and their rules of ascetic lifestyle (
Hanhagoth) are documented.
Indian religions '' in
yoga position with pictures of
Shiva, reading a book in
Varanasi, Northern India Asceticism is found in both non-theistic and theistic traditions within
Indian religions. The origins of the practice are ancient, and a heritage shared by the three major Indian religions:
Buddhism,
Hinduism, and
Jainism. They are referred to by many names, such as Sadhu, Pravrajita, Bhikshu, Yati, etc. Asceticism in Indian religions includes a spectrum of diverse practices, ranging from the mild self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living typical of Buddhism, Hinduism, and
Jainism, Some ascetics live as hermits relying on whatever food they can find in the forests, then sleep and meditate in caves; others travel from one holy site to another while sustaining their body by begging for food; yet others live in monasteries as monks or nuns. Self-torture is a relatively uncommon practice but one that attracts public attention. In Indian traditions such as Buddhism and Hinduism, self-mortification is typically criticized. However, Indian mythologies also describe numerous ascetic gods or demons who pursued harsh austerities for decades or centuries that helped each gain special powers.
Buddhism depicted in
Greco-Buddhist style during his extreme fasting prior to being
Awakened.
2nd-
3rd century,
Gandhara (modern-day eastern Afghanistan),
Lahore Museum,
Pakistan Buddhism is devoted primarily to
awakening or enlightenment (
bodhi),
Nirvāṇa ("blowing out"), and
liberation (
vimokṣa) from
all causes of suffering (
duḥkha) due to the existence of
sentient beings in
saṃsāra (the cycle of compulsory
birth, death, and rebirth) through the
threefold trainings (
ethical conduct,
meditative absorption, and
wisdom).
Classical Indian Buddhism emphasized the importance of the individual's
self-cultivation (through numerous spiritual practices like keeping
ethical precepts,
Buddhist meditation, and
worship) in the process of liberation from the
defilements which keep us bound to the cycle of rebirth. According to the
standard Buddhist scholastic understanding, liberation arises when the proper
elements (
dhārmata) are cultivated and when the mind has been purified of its
attachment to
fetters and
hindrances that produce unwholesome mental factors (various called
defilements,
poisons, or
fluxes). The
historical Buddha () initially adopted an extreme ascetic life in search of enlightenment. However, after enlightenment he rejected extreme asceticism in favor of a more moderate path, the "
Middle Way". Thus, Buddhism's main concern is not with luxury or poverty, but instead with the human response to circumstances. Another related teaching of the historical Buddha is "the teaching through the middle" (
majjhena dhammaṃ desana), which claims to be a metaphysical middle path between the extremes of
eternalism and
annihilationism, as well as the extremes of existence and non-existence. This idea would become central to later Buddhist metaphysics, as all Buddhist philosophies would claim to steer a metaphysical middle course. According to
Hajime Nakamura and other scholars, some early Buddhist texts suggest that asceticism was a part of Buddhist practice in its early days. Furthermore, records from about the start of the common era through the 19th century suggest that asceticism continued to be a part of Buddhism, both in
Theravada and
Mahayana traditions.
Theravada Textual evidence suggests that ascetic practices were a part of the Buddhist tradition in
Sri Lanka by the third century BCE, and this tradition continued through the medieval era in parallel to
sangha style monastic tradition. In the Theravada tradition of
Thailand, medieval texts report of ascetic monks who wander and dwell in the forest or crematory alone, do austere practices, and these came to be known as . Ascetic Buddhist monks have been and continue to be found in
Myanmar, and as in Thailand, they are known to pursue their own version of Buddhism, resisting the hierarchical institutionalized structure of monasteries in Buddhism.
Mahayana In the Mahayana tradition, asceticism with esoteric and mystical meanings became an accepted practice, such as in the Tendai and Shingon schools of Japanese Buddhism. In Chinese Buddhism, self-mummification ascetic practices were less common but recorded in the ''Ch'an
(Zen Buddhism) tradition there. More ancient Chinese Buddhist asceticism, somewhat similar to Sokushinbutsu
are also known, such as the public self-immolation (self-cremation, as shaoshen 燒身 or zifen 自焚) practice, aimed at abandoning the impermanent body. The earliest-documented ascetic Buddhist monk biography is of Fayu (法羽) in 396 CE, followed by more than fifty documented cases in the centuries that followed including that of monk Daodu (道度). This was considered as evidence of a renunciant bodhisattva, and may have been inspired by the Jataka tales wherein the Buddha in his earlier lives immolates himself to assist other living beings, or by the Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabhārāja-related teachings in the Lotus Sutra''. Historical records suggest that the self-immolation practices were observed by nuns in Chinese Buddhism as well. It may be an adoption of more ancient pre-Buddhist Chinese practices, or from
Taoism. It is unclear if self-immolation was limited primarily to Chinese asceticism tradition, and strong evidence of it being a part of a large scale, comprehensive ascetic program among Chinese Buddhists is lacking.
Hinduism renunciant (
sādhvī) of the
Vaishnava tradition, 19th-century
British India Renunciation from worldly life and a pursuit of spiritual life, either as a part of a monastic community or as a hermit, has been a historic tradition of Hinduism since ancient times. The renunciation tradition is called
Sannyasa, and this is not the same as asceticism—which typically connotes severe self-denial and self-mortification.
Sannyasa often involved a simple life, one with minimal or no material possessions, study, meditation and ethical living. Those who undertook this lifestyle were called
Sannyasi,
Sadhu,
Yati,
Bhiksu,
Pravrajita/Pravrajitā and Parivrajaka in Hindu texts. The term with a meaning closer to asceticism in Hindu texts is
Tapas, but it too spans a spectrum of meanings ranging from inner heat, to self-mortification and penance with austerities, to meditation and self-discipline. The 11th century literary work
Yatidharmasamuccaya is a Vaishnava text that summarizes ascetic practices in Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism. In Hindu traditions, as with other Indian religions, both men and women have historically participated in a diverse spectrum of ascetic practices. These Kesins of the Vedic era, are described as follows by Karel Werner: {{Blockquote| The Keśin does not live a normal life of convention. His hair and beard grow longer, he spends long periods of time in absorption, musing and meditating and therefore he is called "sage" (muni). They wear clothes made of yellow rags fluttering in the wind, or perhaps more likely, they go naked, clad only in the yellow dust of the Indian soil. But their personalities are not bound to earth, for they follow the path of the mysterious wind when the gods enter them. He is someone lost in thoughts: he is miles away. The Vedic and Upanishadic texts of Hinduism, states Mariasusai Dhavamony, do not discuss self-inflicted pain, but do discuss self-restraint and self-control. The monastic tradition of Hinduism is evidenced in first millennium BCE, particularly in its
Advaita Vedanta tradition. This is evidenced by the oldest Sannyasa Upanishads, because all of them have a strong Advaita Vedanta outlook. Most of the Sannyasa Upanishads present a Yoga and nondualism (
Advaita) Vedanta philosophy. These texts mention a simple, ethical lifestyle but do not mention self-torture or body mortification. For example: {{Blockquote| These are the vows a Sannyasi must keep:Abstention from injuring living beings, truthfulness, abstention from appropriating the property of others, abstention from sex, liberality (kindness, gentleness) are the major vows. There are five minor vows: abstention from anger, obedience towards the guru, avoidance of rashness, cleanliness, and purity in eating. He should beg (for food) without annoying others, any food he gets he must compassionately share a portion with other living beings, sprinkling the remainder with water he should eat it as if it were a medicine. Similarly, the
Nirvana Upanishad asserts that the Hindu ascetic should hold, according to
Patrick Olivelle, that "the sky is his belief, his knowledge is of the absolute, union is his initiation, compassion alone is his pastime, bliss is his garland, the cave of solitude is his fellowship", and so on, as he proceeds in his effort to gain self-knowledge (or soul-knowledge) and its identity with the Hindu metaphysical concept of
Brahman. Other behavioral characteristics of the
Sannyasi include:
ahimsa (non-violence),
akrodha (not become angry even if you are abused by others), disarmament (no weapons), chastity, bachelorhood (no marriage), avyati (non-desirous), amati (poverty), self-restraint, truthfulness, sarvabhutahita (kindness to all creatures),
asteya (non-stealing),
aparigraha (non-acceptance of gifts, non-possessiveness) and
shaucha (purity of body speech and mind).
Bhagavad Gita In the
Bhagavad Gita, verse 17.5 criticizes a form of asceticism that diverges from scriptural guidance and is driven by pride, ego, or attachment, rather than for genuine spiritual growth. Verse 17.6 extends the criticism of such ascetic practices, noting that they are considered harmful to both the practitioner's body and the divine within. With these two verses,
Krishna emphasizes that true ascetic practices should align with scriptural teachings and aim towards higher spiritual goals.
Jainism (
mahāvratas) of
Jain ascetics Asceticism in one of its most intense forms can be found in
Jainism. Ascetic life may include nakedness symbolizing non-possession of even clothes, fasting, body mortification, penance and other austerities, in order to burn away past karma and stop producing new karma, both of which are believed in Jainism to be essential for reaching
siddha and
moksha (liberation from rebirths, salvation). In Jainism, the ultimate goal of life is to achieve the liberation of soul from endless cycle of rebirths (moksha from
samsara), which requires ethical living and asceticism. Most of the austerities and ascetic practices can be traced back to
Mahavira, the twenty-fourth
Tirthankara who practiced 12 years of asceticism before reaching enlightenment. Jain texts such as
Tattvartha Sutra and
Uttaradhyayana Sutra discuss ascetic austerities to great lengths and formulations. Six outer and six inner practices are most common, and often repeated in later Jain texts. According to John Cort, outer austerities include complete fasting, eating limited amounts, eating restricted items, abstaining from tasty foods, mortifying the flesh and guarding the flesh (avoiding anything that is a source of temptation). Inner austerities include expiation, confession, respecting and assisting mendicants, studying, meditation and ignoring bodily wants in order to abandon the body. The Jain text of
Kalpa Sūtra describes Mahavira's asceticism in detail, whose life is a source of guidance on most of the ascetic practices in Jainism: Both Mahavira and his ancient Jaina followers are described in Jainism texts as practicing body mortification and being abused by animals as well as people, but never retaliating and never initiating harm or injury (
ahimsa) to any other being. With such ascetic practices, he burnt off his past
Karma, gained spiritual knowledge, and became a
Jina. These austere practices are part of the monastic path in Jainism. The practice of body mortification is called
kaya klesha in Jainism and is found in verse 9.19 of the
Tattvartha Sutra by
Umaswati, the most authoritative, oldest surviving Jaina philosophical text.
Monastic practice In Jain monastic practice, the monks and nuns take ascetic vows after renouncing all relations and possessions. The vows include a complete commitment to nonviolence (
Ahimsa). They travel from city to city, often crossing forests and deserts, and always barefoot. Jain ascetics do not stay in a single place for more than two months to prevent attachment to any place. However, during the four months of monsoon (rainy season) known as
chaturmaas, they stay at a single place to avoid killing life forms that thrive during the rains. Jain monks and nuns practice complete celibacy. They do not touch or share a sitting platform with a person of the opposite sex. Jain ascetics follow a strict
vegetarian diet without root vegetables. Prof. Pushpendra K. Jain explains: Clearly enough, to procure such vegetables and fruits, one must pull out the plant from the root, thus destroying the entire plant, and with it all the other micro organisms around the root. Fresh fruits and vegetables should be plucked only when ripe and ready to fall off, or ideally after they have fallen off the plant. In case they are plucked from the plants, only as much as required should be procured and consumed without waste. Śvētāmbara monks and nuns wear only unstitched white robes (an upper and lower garment), and own one bowl they use for eating and collecting alms. Male Digambara sect monks do not wear any clothes, carry nothing with them except a soft broom made of shed peacock feathers (
pinchi) to gently remove any insect or living creature in their way or bowl, and they eat with their hands. They sleep on the floor without blankets and sit on wooden platforms. Other austerities include meditation in seated or standing posture near riverbanks in the cold wind, or meditation atop hills and mountains, especially at noon when the sun is at its fiercest. Such austerities are undertaken according to the physical and mental limits of the individual ascetic. When death is imminent from an advanced age or terminal disease, many Jain ascetics take a final vow of
Santhara or
Sallekhana, a fast to peaceful and detached death, by first reducing intake of and then ultimately abandoning all medicines, food, and water.
Sikhism While
Sikhism treats
lust as a vice, it has at the same time unmistakably pointed out that man must share the moral responsibility by leading the life of a householder. What is important is to be God-centred. According to Sikhism, ascetics are certainly not on the right path. When
Guru Nanak visited
Gorakhmata, he discussed the true meaning of asceticism with some yogis:
Other religions Inca religion In Inca religion of medieval South America, asceticism was practiced. The high priests of the Inca people lived an ascetic life, which included fasting, chastity and eating simple food. The
Jesuit records report Christian missionaries encountering ascetic Inca hermits in the Andean mountains.
Taoism Historical evidence suggests that the monastic tradition in
Taoism practiced asceticism, and the most common ascetic practices included fasting, complete sexual abstinence, self-imposed poverty, sleep deprivation, and secluding oneself in the wilderness. More extreme and unnatural ascetic Taoist practices have included public self-drowning and self-cremation. The goal of this spectrum of practices, like in other religions, was to reach the divine and get past the mortal body. According to Stephen Eskildsen, asceticism continues to be a part of modern Taoism.
Zoroastrianism In
Zoroastrianism, active participation in life through good thoughts, good words and good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep the chaos at bay. This
active participation is a central element in
Zoroaster's concept of
free will. In the
Avesta, the sacred scriptures of Zoroastrianism, fasting and
mortification are forbidden. == Academic views ==