Asceticism (Gk., askesis, ‘exercise’, as of an athlete). The practice of self-denial or self-control as a means of religious attainment through discipline. Asceticism occurs in all religions, since in all religions there are more important things in life than living, and to attain particular goals, or to serve others, the giving up of some things on one's own behalf may be the only way forward. Nevertheless, asceticism is somewhat suspect in Judaism (but see BAḤYA BEN JOSEPH) and in Islam, because it seems to imply a denial of the goodness of God's creation. Even so, ṣawm (fasting during the month of Ramadhan) is one of the Five Pillars of Islam; see also ZUHD.

In Hinduism, the most basic structure of ordinary life, the four stages of life (āśrama) are marked by discipline, culminating in complete renunciation; the practice of asceticism is marked pravrajya (going forth from home). The efficacy of self-mortification (tapas) is so great that even the gods engage in it. This is even more marked in Jainism, where the ideal is the one who dies his death before it actually occurs (see SALLEKHANĀ). The practice of control becomes literally manifest in the many techniques of yoga.

All of these were practised by Gautama in the early stages of the quest for enlightenment which culminated in his becoming the Buddha.

Renouncing these practices as counterproductive, the Buddha came to be critical of contemporary ascetic movements, and in several discourses he describes and criticizes their many and varied practices. Although the Buddha prohibited extreme practices, he allowed twelve optional practices (dhutanga) of a moderately ascetic kind but resisted the attempt to make five of them compulsory for monks; thirteen are listed in Visuddhimagga 11.

Among Jains, the commitment to asceticism is the central dynamic of the whole system. Those far enough advanced in the emancipation of jīva from karma (see GUNASTHĀNA) undergo initiation (dīkṣa) and take the Five Great Vows (mahāvrata); but the laity are closely integrated, by being on the same path, and by the formality of dāna, gifts in support of the ascetics. The two immediate aims of the Jain ascetic counterbalance each other, saṃyama being restraint, and tapas being the generation of ‘heat’ (i.e. spiritual power).

Among Sikhs, asceticism is viewed with caution: the Gurus advocated for all Sikhs full involvement in family life coupled with self-discipline. For the amritdhārī this frequently means a vegetarian diet and avoidance of alcohol. Austerities and penances are considered painful, irrelevant and not conducive to spiritual development. (see GRAHASTI; NIRMALĀ; SRĪ CHAND; TOBACCO.)

The origins of Christian asceticism are to be found in the strongly eschatological consciousness of early Christians who looked forward to an imminent end of the world in which good would triumph over evil in a holy war. They were to prepare themselves by watchfulness, prayer, fasting, and, for many, sexual continence (cf. 1 Samuel 21. 5), anticipating martyrdom as the test of their faithfulness and a sign of the imminence of the final struggle. With the triumph of Christianity in the 4th cent. this attitude of eschatological awareness was inherited by the monastic movement, and Christian asceticism became archetypically monastic. A systematic understanding of the demands of such asceticism on human nature was developed, notably by Evagrius, and later by Cassian and Dorotheus. The Renaissance brought a reaction against Christian asceticism, intensified by the Reformation with its tendency to suggest the worthlessness of human effort.

39. Asceticism (See also Austerity, Discipline.)

1. Albigenses heretical and ascetic Christian sect in France in 12th and 13th centuries. [Christian Hist.: EB, I: 201]
2. Alexis, St. patron saint of beggars and hermits. [Christian Hagiog.: Brewer Dictionary, 22]
3. Anthony, St. founder of monasticism. [Christian Hagiog.: Attwater, 49]
4. Béguines 12th-century French mendicant order. [Fr. Hist.: Espy, 98–99]
5. Cathari heretical and ascetic Christian sect in Europe in 12th and 13th centuries. [Christian Hist.: EB, II: 639]
6. Cistercians Roman Catholic monastic order observing strict asceticism, founded in 1098. [Christian Hist.: EB, II: 948]
7. Clare, St. founder of mendicant Order of Poor Glares. [Christian Hagiog.: Hall, 69]
8. Crazy Ivar lived in hole on side of river bed. [Am. Lit.: O Pioneers!, Magill I, 663–665]
9. Diogenes (412–323 B. C.) despised worldly possessions; made his home in a tub. [Gk. Hist.: Hall, 104]
10. Fakirs fanatical mendicant sects found primarily in India. [Asian Hist.: Brewer Note-Book, 310]
11. Franciscans 13th-century religious order whose members lived in poverty. [Christian Hist.: EB, IV: 273]
12. Gandhi, Mohandas K. (1869–1948) Indian spiritual leader; embodied Hindu abstemiousness. [Indian Hist.: NCE, 1042]
13. Jerome, St . Christian monastic leader who searched for peace as hermit in desert. [Christian Hist.: EB, V: 545]
14. Manichaean Sabbath Manichaean observance of Sunday, demanding abstinence from food and sex. [Christian Hist.: EB, VIII: 746]
15. Paul of Thebes, St . first Christian hermit; cave-dweller most of life. [Christian Hagiog.: Attwater, 268]
16. Priscillianism rigorously ascetic Christian sect found in Europe until the 6th century. [Christian Hist.: EB, VIII: 219]
17. Stoicism philosophical school in Greco-Roman antiquity advocating rationality and austerity. [Gk. Hist.: EB, VIII: 746]
18. Stylites, St. Simeon Christian monk whose philosophy was so ascetic that he dwelt atop a column to meditate. [Christian Hist.: EB, IX: 216]
19. Timon of Athens lost wealth, lived frugally; became misanthropic when deserted by friends. [Br. Lit.: Timon of Athens ]
20. Trappist monks order with austere lifestyle. [Rom. Cath. Hist.: NCE, 2779]
21. Waldenses members of 12th-century French religious movement living in poverty. [Christian Hist.: EB, X: 519]
22. Xenocrates temperate philosopher, noted for contempt of wealth. [Gk. Hist.: Brewer Dictionary, 1169]

asceticism. The term, derived from the Greek word for ‘exercise’ or ‘training’, denotes (1) practices employed to combat vices and develop virtues and (2) the renunciation of various facets of customary social life and comfort or the adoption of painful conditions for religious reasons. In the NT there are repeated exhortations to self-denial. In the early Church many ascetic practices seem to have been common, including renunciation of marriage, home, and property; some ascetics practised extreme forms of fasting and self-deprivation. The theoretical foundations of Christian asceticism were developed by Clement of Alexandria and Origen. Taking over from the Stoics the idea of ascetic action as a purification of the soul from its passions, they saw it as a necessary means for loving God more perfectly and for attaining to contemplation. Origen also stresses its value as a preparation for martyrdom. The Desert Fathers from the late 3rd cent. and the subsequent monastic tradition tended to favour a more temporate external asceticism and to lay more stress on interior abnegation and cultivation of virtues. In the Middle Ages, with the growing devotion to the humanity of Christ, asceticism became increasingly inspired by a desire for conformation to His sufferings. This led to more violent forms of asceticism, such as flagellation and the wearing of hair-shirts and chains. At the end of the Middle Ages there was a twofold reaction: various movements stressed the interior life and questioned the value of external ascetic observances, and the Protestant Reformers, with their insistence on justification by faith, denied the propriety of many conventional works of penance. The ascetical idea, however, was upheld in the RC Church. Among the Puritans asceticism, in the negative sense of abstinence from particular pleasures and recreations, was widely upheld. In a more positive sense it also found a place in Methodism and among the Tractarians and their successors. According to its classical Christian exponents, asceticism is not an end in itself but essentially a preparation for the life of union with God.

asceticism , rejection of bodily pleasures through sustained self-denial and self-mortification, with the objective of strengthening spiritual life. Asceticism has been common in most major world religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity: all of these have special ascetic cults or ascetic ideals. The most common ascetic practice is fasting , which is used for many purposes—to produce visions, as among the Crow; to mourn the dead, as among various African peoples; and to sharpen spiritual awareness, as among the early Christian saints. More extreme forms have been flagellation (see flagellants ) and self-mutilation, usually intended to propitiate or reach accord with a god. Asceticism has been associated with taboo in many non-Western societies and in such well-developed religions as Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism. See Essenes ; fakir ; hermit ; Rechabites .

Bibliography: See W. J. Sheils, ed., Monks, Hermits and the Ascetic Tradition (1985).

asceticism The strict discipline of one's body has been a precept of many religions, and clearly Christians who expected an early return of the Lord to earth prepared for it with prayer, fasting, and abstention from sexual relations. There is strong approval of renunciation of marriage in certain of the epistles (e.g. 1 Cor. 7: 7) and the gospels (e.g. Matt. 19: 12) and Rev. (14: 4). This was a minority opinion, but it became widely held that asceticism was a prerequisite for entering eternal life. It was certainly also a proof of serious discipleship and in Luke 9: 23 the word ‘daily’ has been significantly added to Mark 8: 34, so making a practicable kind of asceticism acceptable in the continuing life of the Church which was not shortly to be terminated by the Parousia.

asceticism the practice of severe self-discipline and abstention from all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons. The term comes (in the mid 17th century, via medieval Latin or Greek) from Greek askētēs ‘monk’, from askein ‘to exercise’.

ASCETICISM.

This entry includes two subentries: