(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Religion 101: Asceticism [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2023-08-20
Asceticism is a common religious practice which is generally found in many religious traditions. We can define religious asceticism as a practice in which certain human biological, social, and psychological needs and desires are deliberately repressed in order to enhance spiritual awareness. Most common are fasting (denying the body food and water), isolation (denying the need for interaction with other people), celibacy (denying the body sexual gratification), and self-induced pain (this can range from self-flagellation found among Christians and Muslims to piercing the flesh in the American Indian Sun Dance). Most often, asceticism is a way of enhancing and strengthening spiritual experiences, and for most people it is of relatively short duration and is associated with specific rituals.
In his book Sex and Spirit, Clifford Bishop writes:
“Asceticism (from Greek askesis, exercise, training) can be found in all religions, but is more important in some (such as early Christianity and classical Jainism) than in others (such as Confucianism and Shinto). It typically involves celibacy, fasting, poverty, seclusion and, often, a degree of self-mortification, in a program of self-discipline and self-denial intended to achieve a spiritual goal, which varies from faith to faith.”
Fasting
With regard to fasting, which is the most common ascetic practice, British philosopher A.C. Grayling, in his book Life, Sex and Ideas: The Good Life Without God, writes:
“Fasting at certain times of year is a practice very ancient and widespread in human cultures. It has become annexed to religious observance, the Lent of Christianity and the Ramadan of Islam noticeable among them.”
Ramadan is the nineth month in the Islamic lunar calendar. As one of the five pillars of Islam, Ramadan is a period of fasting and spiritual growth. According to the Qur’an, fasting allows believers to be more conscious of God. Religious Studies Professor Mohammad Hassan Khalil, in an article in The Conversation, writes:
“By abstaining from things that people tend to take for granted (such as water), it is believed, one may be moved to reflect on the purpose of life and grow closer to the creator and sustainer of all existence.”
In their book The Complete Illustrated Guide to Islam, Raana Bokhari, Mohammad Seddon, and Charles Phillips write:
“Muslims believe that fasting is a shield from wrongdoing, because abstention leads to self-control—whether from over-eating or from gossip.”
Fasting carried to the extreme can, of course, result in death. The primary example of religious extremism using fasting to cause death is seen in Japan where some Buddhist monks practiced self-mummification. In her chapter in Mummies of the World, Melanie Jenssen-Kim writes:
“Becoming a mummy was a conscious decision on the part of the monk; a deeply pious individual who more or less determined the timing of death by adhering to a diet that ended in death by starvation.”
Self-mummification is associated with two Buddhist sects: (1) Shingon, founded by the Buddhist monk Kūkai (later called Kōbō daishi; 774-835), and (2) those who believed in the Bodhisattva Maitreya, the Buddha of the future. Melanie Jenssen-Kim reports:
“The Shingon sect, in particular, teaches the neglect of the body in favor of the spirit, and this teaching is accompanied by extreme personal austerity. Self-mummification was one such way of total asceticism and self-sacrifice; a way of following the path to salvation—to Nirvana.”
Having made the conscious decision to become a mummy and escape the cycle of reincarnation, the monk goes through a series of steps. Melanie Jenssen-Kim reports:
“First, the monk’s body weight was drastically reduced through an extreme diet over a period of about three years (or 1,000 days and/or several periods of 1,000 days). The monk renounced the five types of grain—generally rice, barley, millet, wheat, and soya—thus going without all of the usual foodstuffs and subsisted on tree bark, wild herbs, and the roots of coniferous trees. Following this strict diet, he reduced his water intact and ingested dehydrating substances, such as a tea made from the resin of the Urushi tree, a toxic substance that is also used in the manufacture of varnish. The tea caused vomiting and severe perspiration, reducing the water content of the body so that by that point he had hardly any body fat or muscles at all.”
Seeking Solitude
Another common religious practice centers on solitude, isolating from other people and from the concerns and activities of the world. This is found in spiritual retreats offered in many different religious traditions in which people spend time alone for meditation, prayer, and other solitary spiritual activities. This form of solitude and isolation is not a way of life but rather a break from the normal patterns of life.
In many Native American cultures, contact with the spiritual or supernatural world is made through the vision quest. Going to a remote place, often a place that is considered sacred, the seeker spends time, often several days, alone and fasting and asking the spiritual world to send a vision. In an article in the Plains Anthropologist, Monica Weimer reports:
“Vision seekers were interested in acquiring power, a guardian spirit, or some other form of life guidance. Almost always, the seeker would go to an isolated place, often a hilltop or mountain, and would usually stay for four days without food or water.”
Writing in 1911 about the Sioux vision quest in Light on the Indian World: The Essential Writings of Charles Eastman (Ohiyesa), Charles Eastman reports:
“Knowing that God sets no value upon material things, he took with him no offerings or sacrifices other than symbolic objects, such as paints and tobacco. Wishing to appear before Him in all humility, he wore no clothing save his moccasins and breechclout.”
In some American Indian cultures, the vision quest is done just once as part of the transition from childhood to adulthood, while in others it may be repeated several times.
However, for some individuals—religious extremists—solitude and isolation can become a central feature of not only religious practice but of lifestyle. One example of this can be seen in the establishment of monasteries. The word monastery is from the Greek word monos meaning alone. Monasteries were established as places where monks could live alone. The earliest Christian monastery was Tal Ganoub Qast al-Agouz in Egypt which was founded during the first half of the fourth century CE. This monastery was made up of a cluster of hermitages where the monks lived in relative isolation, coming together primarily in the dining room and in church.
The first Egyptian Christian monasteries were located in the desert, away from people. One interesting spinoff of this type of religious community can be found in Ireland where early Christian monasteries were similar to those in Egypt. In his book The Making of Ireland: From Ancient Times to the Present, James Lydon writes:
“Some have seen a strong Mediterranean influence, echoing the asceticism of the desert fathers and preserving features which are more reminiscent of the Coptic than of the Latin church of the west.”
While monasteries were still communities—although some limited communication among members—there were some people who sought even more isolation and became hermits. James Lydon reports:
“Extreme asceticism, long to remain one of the chief characteristics of Irish monasticism, was adopted by many as a form of martyrdom, impelling them to leave the safety and security of fine and tuath and go into exile in another part of Ireland. They sought austere seclusion in the forest, in mountain valleys, on small islands off the coast.”
In Ireland, some monks sought isolation in remote areas, such as rocky islands off the coast. In the sixth century, monks seeking solitude settled on the Skellig Islands, rocky outcrops in the ocean. By the end of the eighth century, Irish monks had established hermitages in Iceland and, according to some accounts, in Greenland. When the Norse—i.e., Vikings—settled these lands the hermitages were abandoned.
Celibacy
Another form of religious asceticism is celibacy. In some religious traditions, participants may abstain from sexual relations during certain ceremonial periods. One example is seen in the early Catholic Church. Clifford Bishop reports:
“The Church also attempted to limit the days on which a married couple could try to procreate. Sex was made illegal on Sundays, Wednesday, and Fridays; for forty days before Easter and Christmas; and for three days before communion. It was forbidden when performing a penance, and during the time from conception to forty days after parturition.”
In Islam, Muslims are to abstain from sexual relations from sunrise to sunset during the month of Ramadan.
In some religious traditions, such as some forms of Christianity and some forms of Buddhism, sex is seen as impure and, therefore, monks seeking a pure spiritual life turn to celibacy. For some this is a lifestyle that precludes all sexual activity including masturbation.
Physical Pain
While we might view celibacy as a form of asceticism that denies physical pleasure, there are forms of religious asceticism that inflict physical pain. Religious masochism may involve such things as wearing pain-causing clothing (hair shirts, thorn bracelets and anklets), sleeping on hard surfaces, going naked in cold weather and self-flagellation.
In early Christianity self-flagellation—beating oneself with a whip or a strap—was viewed as a means of penance. Some Christians viewed self-flagellation as a method of purification, a way of driving out any evil spirits that might reside in the body. In this way the flagellants seek to subdue the body with pain.
Among some Catholics, ritual self-flagellation is a way of reminding believers that Jesus was whipped prior to his crucifixion. It is felt that enduring the literal suffering of Jesus is a way of getting closer to God.
Among Shia Muslims, the Mourning of Muharram is a set of commemoration rituals marking the anniversary of the Battle of Karbala (680 CE) in which a grandson of Prophet Muhammad, Hussain ibn Ali, was martyred. During this celebration, some people have traditionally engaged in self-flagellation using whips, chains, and swords.
In North America, the Plains Indian Sun Dance is perhaps a classic example of self-mutilation. During this ceremony, many of the dancers will have the flesh on their chest pierced and attached to a rope or leather thong which is then attached to the Sun Dance pole. They dance to the pole four times and on the fourth time, they dance backwards away from the pole with enough force that the tie breaks free of their flesh. Christian missionaries, some of whom were tolerant of self-flagellation in their own religious traditions, were horrified at this practice and, as a result, the ceremony was outlawed in the United States and Canada.
At the Sun Dance and some other American Indian ceremonies, people give “flesh offerings”: small pieces of skin are taken from the arms or chest, wrapped in cloth, and used as offerings.
In Hinduism, the early practitioners of yoga sought to bring about pain. In an article in Archaeology, Daniel Weiss reports:
“It was largely practiced by ascetics who saw the body as something to be controlled and subdued, or even mortified, through extreme activities such as standing or holding their arms above their heads for years on end.”
The Hindu ritual of Charak involves self-inflicted torture including self-flagellation and endurance through pain. During the ceremony, hooks are inserted into the backs of the celebrants, the hooks are then tied to ropes and the celebrants hoisted into the air where they are swung around. Other celebrants may walk across burning coals in their bare feet, roll around over thorns, and have needles pierced through their tongues and cheeks. The practices vary according to local custom.
Some final thoughts
Asceticism is found in many religious traditions throughout the world. For most people it is a part of ceremony that reinforces and reenacts the mythology and theology of a particular religious traditions. In this context, asceticism can intensify the spiritual experience of the ceremony. For a few people, however, asceticism becomes the central focus of the religious tradition and is incorporated into daily life. In the modern religious traditions, the people who carry religious asceticism to the extreme are usually priests, monks, and yogis.
More from this series
Religion 101: Freethought and women's rights
Religion 101: Animism
Religion 101: Pilgrimage
Religion 101: Secularism
Religion 101: Zoroaster's Vision
Religion 102: Biblical Archaeology
Religion 101: Revealed Religions
Religion 101: Humanism
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/8/20/2188062/-Religion-101-Asceticism
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
