Asceticism

General Information

Asceticism denotes a system of practices that aims at the development of virtue and strength of character through self-denial and mortification. It has been an aspect of most religious traditions and of many philosophies, such as Stoicism. Methods of asceticism generally include exercises such as celibacy, fasting, upright posture, periods of silence, performance of unpleasant tasks, and withdrawal from human companionship. It is thought that these practices gradually free a person's spiritual element from the body's demands. Once control has been achieved, a harmony of the whole person is experienced. Forms of self-mutilation, flagellation, and castration have been used in extreme practices of asceticism. Adherents of Jainism in India sometimes even starve themselves to death in striving for sainthood. In most religious traditions some persons, individually or in groups, follow an entirely ascetic way of life; they are called ascetics.

Bibliography
Chadwick, Owen, ed., Western Asceticism (1958; repr. 1979); Colliander, Tito, The Way of Ascetics (1976; repr. 1985); Sheils, W. J., ed., Monks, Hermits, and the Ascetic Tradition (1985).

With kind permision: Believe