The History of Buddhist Thought c10.3

c10.3

Ascetic practices are found in very early stages of society. They appear in connection with ideas of tabu, or the sanctity of the priest and wonderworker, and the exercise of magic. These have no necessary connection with any particular type of religious belief, and in the earliest known form of religion in India little of an ascetic tendency appears. But the tāpasin, the performer of austerities (tapas), existed, and there was a strong belief in the results to be obtained by such practices. Probably pre-Aryan influences were at work. The adept might acquire marvellous powers and control the course of nature, and the belief that such powers were real certainly existed among the early Buddhists.