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Early Monastic Buddhism v1.c5.s4: Asceticism

Early Monastic Buddhism v1.c5.s4

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Asceticism

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As the ancient brāhmaṇas were mainly occupied with sacrifices, they practised asceticism only so far as was necessary for their proper performance. Neither in the Pāli nor in the early Vedic texts, there are references to Brāhmaṇas practising extreme self-mortifications as were common among the non-Brāhmaṇic religious sects (samaṇa-brāhmaṇa) and a few ascetic orders which claimed to be Brāhmaṇic. In the Āraṇyakas too, there is not much of ascetic practices, and the central theme of this literature also is the performance of sacrifices, the only difference being that emphasis is laid in it more on meditational exercises than on rituals. In the Pāli text the extreme ascetic practices are spoken of generally in connexion with the paribbājakas and the non-Brāhmaṇic sects. Side by side with the sacrificial rituals of the Brāhmaṇas, there grew up a belief among a certain class of men that śuddhi (purity), or vimukti (emancipation), or svarga (heavenly existence) could be obtained by means of self-mortifications alone. The Nigaṇṭhas, e.g., held that sukha or duḥkha or aduḥkha-asukha vedanā was due to previous karma; hence, if by ascetic practices (tapas) one could purge off the effects of his former deeds and avoid performing fresh acts, he could put an end to his karma. On the complete stoppage of karmaic effects, advent of duḥkha would be arrested, and without duḥkha there could be no vedanā (feeling), and absence of vedanā led to an end of duḥkha.¹ Such reasoning could not but encourage rigorous ascetic practices and in fact it did among the non-Brāhmaṇic religious people.²

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¹ Majjhima, II, p. 214. Cf. B. C. Law, Mahāvīra p. 67. See Infra.

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² See IHQ, II, pp. 698 ff.

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The ascetic practices appear in the Nikāyas in a stereotyped form with hardly any change. These may be summarised as follows: There are ascetics some of whom remain almost naked (acelaka), some are devoid of social manners (muttācāra), some take food by licking hand, while some do not accept food if invited or if any courtesy be shown to them or if food be offered from any form of storing vessel or the interior of a house or by women in certain circumstances, or from a place infested with flies, or where dogs look for food. They do not drink any intoxicating liquors, restrict their visits for alms to one or two or at most seven doors, or limit the quantity of alms to one or two or at most seven pots and so forth. There are some again who live on self-grown vegetables, fruits, or food rejections, and even grass. There are some who put on barks, rags, skins, rough hair-blankets or feathers. There are some who shave their heads, moustaches etc., take to different kinds of sitting postures, use beds of spikes, sleep in the open sky or accept for bed whatever comes to them by chance. There are some who bathe thrice to wash away sins, or are extremely careful in injuring the smallest beings, and sometimes even go to the length of not cleaning their body lest they might injure any being. There are some who live on cow-dung and such other loathsome food or live on just one small fruit and so forth.¹ It will be observed that these ascetic practices are enumerated with a view to show that they are not of much use for *citta-vimutti* (mental freedom), and that Buddha himself in his Bodhisattva stages practised most of these and realised for himself their inefficacies.

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¹ *Dīgha*, I, Kassapasihanādasutta; *Majjhima*, II, Mahāsihanādasutta.

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In the account given in the *Mahāniddesa*² of the various superstitious beliefs current among the ancient Indians for the attainment of purity, a few ascetic practices are mentioned, e.g., strict observance of *sīlas* (moral precepts), living the life of animals, e.g., elephant, horse, cow and so forth, rubbing the body by earth, cow-dung, etc. In the *Jātakas* also, we get a picture of ascetic life,³ but as the dates of composition of the above mentioned works are still under controversy, we leave the details for our present purpose.

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² The *Mahāniddesa* (I, pp. 89) furnishes us with two lists of religieux (*samaṇabrāhmaṇā*) who seek emancipation through the performance of *Vatas* (vowed observances) and *Mutas*. The Vata-suddHikas are Hatthivatika, Assav., Gov., Kukkurav., Kākav., Vāsudevav, Baladevav, Puṇṇabhaddav., Maṇibhaddav. The MutasuddHikas are those who in proper time rub their body by earth, *harita*, gomaya, etc. Cf. "Browsers." "These were solitaries of Mesopotamia, and were so called because they lived on grass like cattle." *E.R.E*, VIII, p. 783.

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³ See *Indian Culture*, IV, pp. 211-216.

Cites (6)