What this chapter covers: This chapter explains the thirteen voluntary ascetic practices (dhutanga) that a meditator can undertake to strengthen virtue through simplicity, contentment, and few desires. Each practice is a deliberate commitment to live with less — fewer possessions, simpler food, rougher shelter, or greater physical discipline. For each practice, the chapter describes what it means, how to undertake it, detailed directions for observing it, the three grades (strict, medium, and mild), what breaks the commitment, and the benefits it brings.
Why Undertake These Practices?
While a meditator is developing virtue, they should consider taking on one or more of the ascetic practices. These practices perfect special qualities like fewness of desires, contentment, simplicity, seclusion, energy, and modest needs. When virtue is washed clean of stains by these qualities, it becomes truly purified. And the meditator’s commitments will succeed as well.
When their whole conduct has been purified by blameless virtue, they become established in the first three of the ancient Noble Ones’ heritages. From there, they may become worthy of the fourth heritage: delight in meditation practice.
The Thirteen Practices
The Buddha allowed thirteen ascetic practices for those who have gone forth into the homeless life and, caring nothing for bodily comfort, wish to live in a way that matches their spiritual aim. They are:
- The refuse-rag-wearer’s practice
- The triple-robe-wearer’s practice
- The alms-food-eater’s practice
- The house-to-house-seeker’s practice
- The one-sessioner’s practice
- The bowl-food-eater’s practice
- The later-food-refuser’s practice
- The forest-dweller’s practice
- The tree-root-dweller’s practice
- The open-air-dweller’s practice
- The charnel-ground-dweller’s practice
- The any-bed-user’s practice
- The sitter’s practice
What Makes Something an “Ascetic Practice”?
All of these practices share the same basic nature. Their essential characteristic is the deliberate decision — the act of will — to undertake them. Their function is to eliminate craving. They show themselves through the arising of non-attachment. Their underlying cause is the noble quality of fewness of desires.
As for the word “ascetic” (dhuta): it means “shaken off.” These are the practices of a monk who has shaken off defilement by undertaking them. Or they are called ascetic practices because the knowledge that shakes off defilement belongs to them as their defining quality.
How to Undertake a Practice
During the Buddha’s lifetime, all ascetic practices were to be undertaken in his presence. After his passing, one should undertake them before a principal disciple. If none is available, then before someone whose mental poisons are destroyed, or a non-returner, a once-returner, a stream-enterer, a scholar of the scriptures, a commentary teacher, or one who already observes an ascetic practice. If none of these is available, one can sweep the shrine terrace, sit in a respectful posture, and make the declaration as though in the Buddha’s presence. It is also permitted to undertake them by oneself.
Background Note: The story is told of two brothers who were elders at Cetiyapabbata. They were so modest about their ascetic practices that one brother’s commitment to the sitter’s practice remained unknown until the other happened to see him sitting upright on his bed by a flash of lightning one night. When asked about it, the elder — out of sheer modesty — lay down, thus breaking his practice. He then had to undertake it anew.
Practice 1: The Refuse-Rag-Wearer’s Practice
What It Means
“Refuse-rag” (pamsukula) refers to cloth found discarded in places like streets, charnel grounds, or rubbish heaps — cloth that belongs, as it were, to the refuse. Wearing such cloth is the refuse-rag-wearer’s practice.
How to Undertake It
This practice is undertaken with one of two statements: “I refuse robes given by householders” or “I undertake the refuse-rag-wearer’s practice.”
Directions
One who has made this commitment should obtain a robe from one of the following kinds of discarded cloth:
- Cloth from a charnel ground (dropped where the dead are cremated)
- Cloth from a shop doorway
- Cloth thrown from a window into the street by merit-seekers
- Cloth thrown onto a rubbish heap
- Cloth from a childbed (discarded after wiping the stains of childbirth)
- An “ill-luck cloth” thrown away after a ritual bathing
- Rags discarded at a washing place
- Cloth thrown away after returning from a charnel ground and bathing
- Cloth partly scorched by fire
- Cloth gnawed by cattle, ants, or rats
- Cloth cut at the end or edge
- A flag from a ship (taken after the ship is out of sight) or from a battlefield (taken after both armies have left)
- Cloth draped over a termite mound as an offering
- A monk’s discarded robe
- Cloth thrown away at a royal consecration
- Cloth that appeared supernaturally
- Cloth dropped on a highway (if dropped by accident, wait a while before taking it)
- Cloth blown away by the wind (take it only if the owners are not in sight)
- Cloth given by heavenly beings
- Cloth washed ashore by the sea
Background Note: The mother of Tissa the Minister had the stains of childbirth wiped up with a cloth worth a hundred coins. Thinking “The refuse-rag wearers will take it,” she had it thrown onto the Talaveli Road. Monks indeed took it and used it for mending worn patches.
After gathering such cloth, tear off and discard the weak parts. Wash the sound parts and sew them into a robe. Only then should you give up your old householder-given robe.
Cloth given to the monastic community, cloth obtained through formal robe-distribution, and cloth automatically supplied to the occupant of a particular dwelling are not refuse-rags. A robe given by another monk counts as refuse-rag only if it was not obtained through such formal channels. The purest form is cloth placed at a monk’s feet and then given the same way — “pure in both ways.”
The Three Grades
- Strict: Takes cloth only from a charnel ground.
- Medium: Takes cloth that someone left behind thinking “A monk will take this.”
- Mild: Takes cloth given by another monk who places it at his feet.
What Breaks It
The moment any of these three, by personal choice, agrees to accept a robe given by a householder, the ascetic practice is broken.
Benefits
- He lives in line with the original commitment of the homeless life: “Going forth depending on the refuse-rag robe”
- He is established in the first of the Noble Ones’ heritages
- No suffering from guarding possessions
- Independence from others
- No fear of robbers
- No craving connected with wearing robes
- It is a requisite fitting for a contemplative
- It is recommended by the Buddha as “worthless, easy to get, and blameless”
- It inspires confidence in others
- It produces the fruits of fewness of desires
- It cultivates the right way of living
- It sets a good example for future generations
While striving for Death’s army’s rout, The ascetic clad in rag-robe clout Got from a rubbish heap, shines bright As mail-clad warrior in the fight.
This robe the world’s great teacher wore, Leaving rare Kasi cloth and more; Of rags from off a rubbish heap Who would not have a robe to keep?
Minding the words he did profess When he went into homelessness, Let him to wear such rags delight As one in seemly garb bedight.
Practice 2: The Triple-Robe-Wearer’s Practice
What It Means
A triple-robe-wearer owns only three robes: the cloak of patches (the outer robe), the upper garment, and the inner cloth. Nothing more.
How to Undertake It
This practice is undertaken with one of two statements: “I refuse a fourth robe” or “I undertake the triple-robe-wearer’s practice.”
Directions
When a triple-robe-wearer obtains cloth for a new robe, he may store it undyed while he is too ill to sew, while he cannot find a helper, or while he lacks a needle. There is no fault in this delay. But once the cloth has been dyed, it is not allowed to store it. That would be cheating the ascetic practice.
The Three Grades
- Strict: When dyeing, he must first dye either the inner cloth or the upper garment. He wears the freshly dyed one around the waist while dyeing the other. Then he puts that one over his shoulder and dyes the cloak of patches. He is not allowed to wear the outer cloak around the waist. In the forest, he may wash and dye two robes together, but must sit nearby so he can quickly cover himself with a yellow cloth if anyone appears.
- Medium: A yellow cloth is kept in the dyeing room. He may wear it as an inner cloth or upper garment while doing the work of dyeing.
- Mild: He may wear or put on the robes of monks in good standing while dyeing. A bedspread that stays in its place is also allowed, but he must not carry it around. He may also borrow robes of monks in good standing from time to time.
A triple-robe-wearer is also allowed a small yellow shoulder-cloth as a fourth item, but it must be only a span wide and three hand-lengths long.
What Breaks It
The moment any of the three grades agrees to accept a fourth robe, the ascetic practice is broken.
Benefits
The triple-robe-wearer is content with robes as mere protection for the body. He goes wherever he wishes, carrying everything with him like a bird carrying its wings. Special qualities are perfected:
- Few undertakings
- No storage of cloth
- A frugal existence
- Abandoning greed for many robes
- Living with restraint even in what is permitted
- The fruits of fewness of desires
No risk of hoarding haunts the man of wit Who wants no extra cloth for requisite; Using the triple robe where’er he goes The pleasant relish of content he knows.
So, would the adept wander undeterred With naught else but his robes, as flies the bird With its own wings, then let him too rejoice That frugalness in garments be his choice.
Practice 3: The Alms-Food-Eater’s Practice
What It Means
“Alms food” (pindapata) means the lumps of food that fall into the bowl when given by others. An alms-food-eater is one who seeks his food by going from family to family with his bowl.
How to Undertake It
This practice is undertaken with one of two statements: “I refuse a supplementary food supply” or “I undertake the alms-food-eater’s practice.”
Directions
An alms-food-eater should not accept the following fourteen kinds of meals:
- A meal offered to the whole community
- A meal offered to specified monks
- A personal invitation
- A meal given by ticket
- A meal on each half-moon day
- A meal each observance day (uposatha)
- A meal on each first day of the half-moon
- A meal given for visitors
- A meal for travellers
- A meal for the sick
- A meal for those nursing the sick
- A meal supplied to a particular residence
- A meal given in a principal house
- A meal given in rotation
However, if instead of the formal “Take a meal given to the community,” someone simply says “The community is eating at our house — you may take alms too,” it is allowable to consent. Tickets from the community that are not for actual food, and meals cooked in a monastery, are also allowable.
The Three Grades
- Strict: Takes alms brought from ahead or behind him, and gives his bowl to those who take it while he stands at a door. He also takes alms brought to the refectory and given there. But he does not take alms by sitting and waiting for it to be brought later that day.
- Medium: Also takes alms by sitting and waiting that day. But he does not consent to it being brought the next day.
- Mild: Consents to alms being brought the next day and the day after.
Both the medium and mild practitioners miss the joy of an independent life. The text illustrates this with a story: Suppose there is a teaching on the Noble Ones’ heritages in some village. The strict practitioner says to the others, “Let us go, friends, and listen to the Dhamma.” One replies, “I have been made to sit and wait by a man, sir,” and the other says, “I have consented to receive alms tomorrow, sir.” Both are losers. The strict one wanders for alms in the morning, then goes freely and savours the taste of the teaching.
What Breaks It
The moment any of these three agrees to accept an extra gain — such as a meal given to the community — the ascetic practice is broken.
Benefits
- He lives in line with the original commitment: “Going forth depending on the eating of alms food”
- He is established in the second of the Noble Ones’ heritages
- His existence is independent of others
- It is a requisite recommended by the Buddha as “worthless, easy to get, blameless”
- Idleness is eliminated
- Livelihood is purified
- The training rules about meals are fulfilled
- He is not maintained by another
- He helps others
- Pride is abandoned
- Craving for tastes is kept in check
- Rules about eating as a group and substituting meal invitations are not broken
- His life conforms to fewness of desires
- He cultivates the right way
- He has compassion for future generations
The monk content with alms for food Has independent livelihood, And greed in him no footing finds; He is as free as the four winds.
He never need be indolent, His livelihood is innocent, So let a wise man not disdain Alms-gathering for his domain.
Since it is said: “If a monk can support himself on alms and live without another’s maintenance, and pay no heed to gain and fame, the very gods indeed might envy him.”
Practice 4: The House-to-House-Seeker’s Practice
What It Means
“House-to-house” (sapadana) literally means “without a gap.” A house-to-house-seeker goes from door to door in unbroken sequence, without skipping houses to seek better food elsewhere.
How to Undertake It
This practice is undertaken with one of two statements: “I refuse a greedy alms round” or “I undertake the house-to-house-seeker’s practice.”
Directions
The house-to-house-seeker should stop at the village gate and check for danger. If there is danger in any street or village, he may skip it and seek alms elsewhere. If there is a house, street, or village where he regularly gets nothing at all, he can pass it without counting it. But wherever he gets anything at all, he may not later skip that place.
He should enter the village early enough that he can avoid any inconvenient place and go elsewhere. If people giving a meal at a monastery or coming along the road take his bowl and give alms food, that is allowable. When travelling, he should seek alms in any village he reaches at the proper time, not passing it by. If he gets nothing there, or only a little, he should continue to the next village.
The Three Grades
- Strict: Does not take alms brought from ahead or behind, nor alms brought to the refectory. He does hand over his bowl at a door. Even the great Elder Maha Kassapa — who had no equal in this practice — is recorded as having handed over his bowl at a door.
- Medium: Takes what is brought from ahead, behind, and to the refectory, and hands over his bowl at a door. But he does not sit waiting for alms. In this way he matches the strict alms-food-eater’s standard.
- Mild: Sits waiting for alms to be brought that day.
What Breaks It
The ascetic practice of all three is broken as soon as the “greedy alms round” begins — that is, going only to houses where good food is given.
Benefits
- He is always a stranger among families, like the moon — ever new
- He abandons possessiveness about families
- He is compassionate impartially
- He avoids the dangers of being supported by one family
- He does not delight in invitations
- He does not hope for meals to be brought
- His life conforms to fewness of desires
The monk who at each house his begging plies Is moonlike, ever new to families, Nor does he grudge to help all equally, Free from the risks of house-dependency.
Who would the self-indulgent round forsake And roam the world at will, the while to make His downcast eyes range a yoke-length before, Then let him wisely seek from door to door.
Practice 5: The One-Sessioner’s Practice
What It Means
Eating in one session — one sitting — is the one-sessioner’s practice. Once you sit down and start eating, that single session is all you get.
How to Undertake It
This practice is undertaken with one of two statements: “I refuse eating in several sessions” or “I undertake the one-sessioner’s practice.”
Directions
When the one-sessioner sits down in the eating hall, instead of taking an elder’s seat, he should notice which seat is likely to be assigned to him and sit there. If his teacher or preceptor arrives while the meal is still unfinished, he may get up to attend to his duties. But the Elder Tipitaka Cula-Abhaya said: “He should either keep his seat or leave the rest of his meal. Since his meal is unfinished, let him do his duties — but in that case, let him not eat the remaining food.”
The Three Grades
- Strict: May not take anything more than the food he has first laid his hand on, whether it is little or much. If people bring him ghee or other provisions thinking “The elder has eaten nothing,” these are allowable as medicine but not as food.
- Medium: May take more food as long as the food in the bowl is not finished. He is called “one who stops when the food is finished.”
- Mild: May eat as long as he does not get up from his seat. He is called “one who stops with the water” (eating until he takes water for washing the bowl) or “one who stops with the session” (eating until he stands up).
What Breaks It
The ascetic practice of all three is broken the moment food has been eaten at more than one session.
Benefits
- Little illness and affliction
- Lightness, strength, and a happy life
- No breaking of rules about leftover food
- Craving for tastes is eliminated
- Life conforms to fewness of desires
No illness due to eating shall he feel Who gladly in one session takes his meal; No longing to indulge his sense of taste Tempts him to leave his work to go to waste.
His own true happiness a monk may find In eating in one session, pure in mind. Purity and effacement wait on this; For it gives reason to abide in bliss.
Practice 6: The Bowl-Food-Eater’s Practice
What It Means
A bowl-food-eater takes all his food in a single bowl, refusing any second vessel.
How to Undertake It
This practice is undertaken with one of two statements: “I refuse a second vessel” or “I undertake the bowl-food-eater’s practice.”
Directions
When the bowl-food-eater gets curry placed in a dish at the time of drinking rice gruel, he may first eat the curry or drink the gruel — but separately. If he puts the curry into the gruel, it can become unappetizing (especially with cured fish and the like). So mixing is allowed only when it does not make the food unpleasant. Things like honey and sugar may be added freely.
He should take the right amount. He may pick up green vegetables with his hand and eat them. But everything else should go into the bowl. Since a second vessel has been refused, nothing else may be used — not even a tree leaf.
The Three Grades
- Strict: Except when eating sugarcane, he may not throw away rubbish while eating, and he may not break up rice-lumps, fish, meat, or cakes during the meal. All breaking and discarding must be done before starting to eat.
- Medium: May break things up with one hand while eating. He is called a “hand ascetic.”
- Mild: Called a “bowl ascetic.” Anything that fits in his bowl, he may break up with his hand or with his teeth while eating.
What Breaks It
The moment any of these three agrees to use a second vessel, the ascetic practice is broken.
Benefits
- Craving for variety of tastes is eliminated
- Excessive desires are abandoned
- He sees the purpose and right amount in food
- He is not burdened with carrying dishes and saucers
- His life conforms to fewness of desires
The true devotedness imply Of one uprooting gluttony. Wearing content as if ‘twere part Of his own nature, glad at heart; None but a bowl-food eater may Consume his food in such a way.
Practice 7: The Later-Food-Refuser’s Practice
What It Means
A later-food-refuser does not eat again after signalling that he has had enough. The name comes from a comparison to a certain bird (khalu) that, when a fruit drops from its beak, refuses to eat any more.
How to Undertake It
This practice is undertaken with one of two statements: “I refuse additional food” or “I undertake the later-food-refuser’s practice.”
Directions
Once the later-food-refuser has signalled that he is satisfied, he should not accept any more food and eat it. The signal is simply the act of refusing more food.
The Three Grades
- Strict: Once he has signalled he has had enough with respect to the second lump of food (there is no signal with the first lump, but the signal comes when he refuses more while the first is being swallowed), he does not eat the second lump after swallowing the first.
- Medium: Also eats the food with respect to which he has signalled satisfaction — that is, the portion already in hand.
- Mild: Goes on eating until he gets up from his seat.
What Breaks It
The moment any of these three eats food that has been made allowable again after he has signalled satisfaction, the ascetic practice is broken.
Benefits
- He stays far from committing an offence related to extra food
- No overloading the stomach
- No keeping food back for later
- No need to search for food a second time
- His life conforms to fewness of desires
When a wise man refuses later food He needs no extra search in weary mood, Nor stores up food till later in the day, Nor overloads his stomach in this way.
So, would the adept from such faults abstain, Let him assume this practice for his gain, Praised by the Blessed One, which will augment The special qualities such as content.
Practice 8: The Forest-Dweller’s Practice
What It Means
A forest-dweller lives in the forest rather than in a village.
How to Undertake It
This practice is undertaken with one of two statements: “I refuse an abode in a village” or “I undertake the forest-dweller’s practice.”
Directions
The forest-dweller must leave any village dwelling in time to meet the dawn in the forest. A “village” can mean one cottage or many, walled or unwalled, inhabited or not — even a caravan inhabited for more than four months.
The “village precincts” extend a stone’s throw from the edge of the village. Different traditions measure this differently:
- The Vinaya experts say it is the distance a thrown stone travels — like when young men throw stones to show off their strength.
- The Suttanta experts say it is where a stone thrown to scare crows would land.
- For an unwalled village, the house precinct is where the water falls when a woman standing at the door of the outermost house throws water from a basin. A stone’s throw beyond that is the village. A second stone’s throw is the village precinct.
“Forest,” by the Vinaya method, means everything that is not village or village precincts. By the Abhidhamma method, it is everything beyond the boundary post. By the Suttanta method, it is at least five hundred bow-lengths from the village boundary to the monastery wall.
Background Note: Even if a village is nearby and its sounds are audible from the monastery, the five hundred bow-lengths can be measured by the actual road — even if it goes by boat — provided that rocks, rivers, or other obstacles prevent a straight path. But anyone who deliberately blocks a path to make the distance seem longer is cheating the ascetic practice.
If the forest-dweller’s preceptor or teacher falls ill and cannot get what he needs in the forest, the practitioner should bring him to a village dwelling and attend him there. But he should still try to meet the dawn in the forest. If the illness worsens near dawn, he must attend to the sick person and not worry about the purity of his ascetic practice.
The Three Grades
- Strict: Must always meet the dawn in the forest.
- Medium: May live in a village during the four months of the Rains retreat.
- Mild: May also stay in a village during the winter months.
What Breaks It
If a forest-dweller goes from the forest to hear a teaching in a village, his practice is not broken even if he meets the dawn there or on the way back. But if, after the teacher finishes, he thinks “I will lie down for a bit first” and falls asleep, meeting the dawn asleep in a village — or if by his own choice he meets the dawn in a village dwelling — then his practice is broken.
Benefits
- He can obtain concentration not yet obtained, or preserve what he already has, by attending to the perception of the forest
- The Master is pleased with him: “I am pleased with that monk’s dwelling in the forest”
- His mind is not distracted by unsuitable sights and sounds
- He is free from anxiety
- He abandons attachment to life
- He enjoys the taste of seclusion
- The other ascetic practices become him naturally
He lives secluded and apart, Remote abodes delight his heart; The Saviour of the world, besides, He gladdens that in groves abides.
The hermit that in woods can dwell Alone, may gain the bliss as well Whose savour is beyond the price Of royal bliss in paradise.
Wearing the robe of rags he may Go forth into the forest fray; Such is his mail, for weapons too The other practices will do. One so equipped can be assured Of routing Mara and his horde. So let the forest glades delight A wise man for his dwelling’s site.
Practice 9: The Tree-Root-Dweller’s Practice
What It Means
A tree-root-dweller lives at the base of a tree, refusing any roofed dwelling.
How to Undertake It
This practice is undertaken with one of two statements: “I refuse a roof” or “I undertake the tree-root-dweller’s practice.”
Directions
The tree-root-dweller should avoid these kinds of trees:
- A tree near a frontier
- A shrine tree
- A gum tree or fruit tree
- A tree used by bats
- A hollow tree
- A tree standing in the middle of a monastery
He should choose a tree on the outskirts of the monastery.
The Three Grades
- Strict: Not allowed to have his chosen tree tidied up. He may only move fallen leaves with his foot while living there.
- Medium: May have the area tidied up by people who happen to come along.
- Mild: May summon monastery attendants and novices to clear the area, level it, spread sand, and build a fence with a gate. On special days, he should sit in a concealed place elsewhere rather than at his tree.
What Breaks It
The moment any of these three takes up residence under a roof, the ascetic practice is broken. The reciters of the Anguttara say it is broken as soon as he knowingly meets the dawn under a roof.
Benefits
- He lives in line with the original commitment: “Going forth depending on the root of a tree as an abode”
- It is a requisite recommended by the Buddha as “worthless, easy to get, and blameless”
- The perception of impermanence is aroused by watching leaves change — bright red at first, then green, then yellow as they fall
- Possessiveness about dwellings and love of building projects are absent
- He lives in the company of protective spirits
- His life conforms to fewness of desires
The Blessed One praised roots of trees As one of the dependencies; Can he that loves secludedness Find such another dwelling place?
Secluded at the roots of trees And guarded well by deities He lives in true devotedness Nor covets any dwelling place.
And when the tender leaves are seen Bright red at first, then turning green, And then to yellow as they fall, He sheds belief once and for all In permanence. Tree roots have been Bequeathed by him; secluded scene No wise man will disdain at all For contemplating rise and fall.
Practice 10: The Open-Air-Dweller’s Practice
What It Means
An open-air-dweller lives under the sky, refusing both a roof and a tree root for shelter.
How to Undertake It
This practice is undertaken with one of two statements: “I refuse a roof and a tree root” or “I undertake the open-air-dweller’s practice.”
Directions
An open-air-dweller is allowed to enter the observance hall to hear the teaching or for the observance ceremony. If it rains while he is inside, he may wait until the rain stops rather than leaving while it pours. He may enter the eating hall or fire room to do duties. He may go under a roof to ask senior monks about a meal, to teach or take lessons, or to bring inside beds and chairs that were left out by mistake.
If he is carrying a requisite belonging to a senior monk and it rains, he may enter a wayside rest house. If he has nothing with him, he may not hurry to reach a rest house, but he may walk at his normal pace and enter one, staying there as long as it rains.
The same rules about entering shelter during rain apply to the tree-root-dweller as well.
The Three Grades
- Strict: Not allowed to live near a tree, a rock, or a house. He must make a robe-tent right out in the open and live in that.
- Medium: May live near a tree, rock, or house, as long as he is not covered by them.
- Mild: Allowed to use a rock overhang (provided it has no drip-ledge cut into it), a hut of branches, cloth stiffened with paste, or a tent left behind by field-watchers — treated as a fixture.
What Breaks It
The moment any of these three goes under a roof or to a tree root to dwell there, the ascetic practice is broken. The reciters of the Anguttara say it is broken as soon as he knowingly meets the dawn there.
Benefits
- The impediment of dwellings is severed
- Dullness and drowsiness are expelled
- His conduct deserves the praise: “Like deer the monks live, unattached and homeless”
- He is truly detached
- He is free to go in any direction
- His life conforms to fewness of desires
The open air provides a life That aids the homeless monk’s strife, Easy to get, and leaves his mind Alert as a deer, so he shall find Stiffness and torpor brought to halt.
Under the star-bejewelled vault The moon and sun furnish his light, And concentration his delight. The joy seclusion’s savour gives He shall discover soon who lives In open air; and that is why The wise prefer the open sky.
Practice 11: The Charnel-Ground-Dweller’s Practice
What It Means
A charnel-ground-dweller lives in a place where the dead are cremated or left.
How to Undertake It
This practice is undertaken with one of two statements: “I refuse what is not a charnel ground” or “I undertake the charnel-ground-dweller’s practice.”
Directions
The practitioner should not live in a place merely called “the charnel ground” by villagers. It is not a real charnel ground unless a dead body has actually been burnt there. But once a body has been burnt on a spot, it remains a charnel ground — even if neglected for twelve years.
This is a momentous practice. One who lives at a charnel ground should not build walks or pavilions, have beds and chairs set out, or keep drinking and washing water ready, or preach. He should be diligent. Before going, he should inform the senior elder of the community or the king’s local representative to prevent trouble.
Practical guidelines:
- When walking up and down, look at the funeral pyre with half an eye
- Avoid main roads; take a side path to the charnel ground
- During daylight, identify all the objects there so they will not seem frightening at night
- Even if non-human beings wander about shrieking, do not hit them with anything
- Do not miss going to the charnel ground even for a single day (though the Anguttara reciters say that after spending the middle watch of the night there, he may leave in the last watch)
- Do not take foods liked by non-human beings — such as sesame flour, pease pudding, fish, meat, milk, oil, or sugar
- Do not enter the homes of families
The Three Grades
- Strict: Must live where there are always burnings, corpses, and mourning.
- Medium: May live where there is one of these three.
- Mild: May live in a place that merely has the bare characteristics of a charnel ground as described above.
What Breaks It
When any of these three makes his abode somewhere that is not a charnel ground, the ascetic practice is broken. The Anguttara reciters say it is broken on any day he does not go to the charnel ground.
Benefits
- He acquires mindfulness of death
- He lives diligently
- The sign of the body’s unattractiveness is available for meditation
- Greed for sensual pleasures is removed
- He constantly sees the body’s true nature
- He has a great sense of urgency
- He abandons vanity about health and youth
- He overcomes fear and dread
- Non-human beings respect and honour him
- His life conforms to fewness of desires
Even in sleep the dweller in a charnel ground Shows naught of negligence, for death is ever present to his thought; He may be sure there is no lust after sense pleasure preys Upon his mind, with many corpses present to his gaze.
Rightly he strives because he gains a sense of urgency, While in his search for final peace he curbs all vanity. Let him that feels a leaning to nibbana in his heart Embrace this practice for it has rare virtues to impart.
Practice 12: The Any-Bed-User’s Practice
What It Means
An any-bed-user accepts whatever sleeping place is assigned to him, without preference.
How to Undertake It
This practice is undertaken with one of two statements: “I refuse greed for resting places” or “I undertake the any-bed-user’s practice.”
Directions
The any-bed-user should be content with whatever resting place he gets when told “This falls to your lot.” He must not make anyone else shift from their bed.
The Three Grades
- Strict: Not allowed to ask about the resting place: “Is it far? Is it too near? Is it infested by non-human beings or snakes? Is it hot? Is it cold?”
- Medium: May ask questions about the place, but may not go and inspect it.
- Mild: May inspect it and, if he does not like it, choose another.
What Breaks It
As soon as greed for resting places arises in any of these three, the ascetic practice is broken.
Benefits
- He carries out the advice “He should be content with what he gets”
- He regards the welfare of his fellow practitioners
- He gives up concern about inferiority and superiority
- Approval and disapproval are abandoned
- The door is closed against excessive desires
- His life conforms to fewness of desires
One vowed to any bed will be Content with what he gets, and he Can sleep in bliss without dismay On nothing but a spread of hay.
He is not eager for the best, No lowly couch does he detest, He aids his young companions too That to the monk’s good life are new.
So for a wise man to delight In any kind of bed is right; A Noble One this custom loves As one the sages’ Lord approves.
Practice 13: The Sitter’s Practice
What It Means
A sitter refuses to lie down. He rests only in the sitting posture.
How to Undertake It
This practice is undertaken with one of two statements: “I refuse lying down” or “I undertake the sitter’s practice.”
Directions
The sitter may get up during any of the three watches of the night and walk up and down. Lying down is the only posture that is forbidden.
The Three Grades
- Strict: Not allowed to use a back-rest, cloth band, or binding-strap to prevent falling while asleep.
- Medium: Allowed to use any one of these three supports.
- Mild: Allowed to use a back-rest, a cloth band, a binding-strap, a cushion, a “five-limb” chair (four legs plus a back support), and a “seven-limb” chair (four legs, a back support, and armrests on each side).
Background Note: The seven-limb chair was originally made for the Elder Pithabhaya (“Abhaya of the Chair”). He became a non-returner and then attained final liberation (nibbana).
What Breaks It
As soon as any of these three lies down, the ascetic practice is broken.
Benefits
- The mental shackle is severed — the pleasure of lying prone, the pleasure of lolling, the pleasure of drowsiness
- His state is suitable for devotion to any meditation subject
- His posture inspires confidence
- His state favours the application of energy
- He develops the right practice
The adept that can place crosswise His feet to rest upon his thighs And sit with back erect shall make Foul Mara’s evil heart to quake.
No more in supine joys to plump And wallow in lethargic dump; Who sits for rest and finds it good Shines forth in the Ascetics’ Wood.
The happiness and bliss it brings Has naught to do with worldly things; So must the sitter’s vow befit The manners of a man of wit.
General Observations on the Ascetic Practices
Are They Always Wholesome?
All the ascetic practices — whether undertaken by trainees, ordinary people, or those whose mental poisons have been destroyed — are either wholesome or, in the case of a fully liberated person (arahant), neutral. No ascetic practice is ever unwholesome.
Someone might object: “But the texts say ‘One of evil wishes, a prey to wishes, becomes a forest-dweller.’” The answer is this: a person of evil wishes may indeed live in the forest with unwholesome states of mind. But the ascetic practice itself — the act of undertaking and the knowledge that shakes off defilement — is never unwholesome. What is unwholesome shakes off nothing and cannot serve as the practice of the path.
Four Kinds of People
There are four kinds of people in relation to the ascetic life:
- Ascetic but not a preacher of asceticism — like the Elder Bakkula, who shook off his own defilements through the practices but did not instruct others.
- A preacher of asceticism but not ascetic — like the Elder Upananda, who instructed others in the practices but had not shaken off his own defilements.
- Neither ascetic nor a preacher — like Laludayin, who failed in both.
- Both ascetic and a preacher — like the Elder Sariputta, the General of the Dhamma, who succeeded in both.
The Five Ascetic States
Five mental states accompany the decision to undertake an ascetic practice:
- Fewness of desires — non-greed that shakes off craving for forbidden things
- Contentment — non-greed in relation to what is allowed
- Effacement — non-greed and non-delusion that counter self-indulgence
- Seclusion — non-greed and non-delusion that counter distraction
- That specific quality (idamatthita) — the knowledge by which one undertakes and persists in the practices
Non-greed shakes off craving for what is forbidden. Non-delusion shakes off the confusion that hides the dangers in those same things. Together, non-greed and non-delusion also prevent the two extremes: indulgence in sense pleasures and excessive self-mortification.
Who Should Practice?
The ascetic practices are particularly suitable for those of greedy temperament and those of deluded temperament. The cultivation of these practices is both a difficult path and an abiding in simplicity. Greed subsides through the difficult path. Delusion is overcome by the diligence that simplicity requires.
The forest-dweller’s and tree-root-dweller’s practices are also suitable for those of angry temperament. Anger subsides in one who dwells alone without coming into conflict.
How They Group Together
The thirteen practices can be understood as essentially eight — three principal and five individual:
- Three principal practices: The house-to-house-seeker’s, the one-sessioner’s, and the open-air-dweller’s. The house-to-house seeker naturally keeps the alms-food-eater’s practice too. The bowl-food-eater’s and later-food-refuser’s practices are well kept by one who keeps the one-sessioner’s practice. And what need has an open-air-dweller for the tree-root-dweller’s or any-bed-user’s practice?
- Five individual practices: The forest-dweller’s, the refuse-rag-wearer’s, the triple-robe-wearer’s, the sitter’s, and the charnel-ground-dweller’s.
They can also be grouped by what they relate to:
- Robes: Two practices (refuse-rag-wearer, triple-robe-wearer)
- Food: Five practices (alms-food-eater, house-to-house-seeker, one-sessioner, bowl-food-eater, later-food-refuser)
- Dwelling: Five practices (forest-dweller, tree-root-dweller, open-air-dweller, charnel-ground-dweller, any-bed-user)
- Energy: One practice (sitter)
Or simply two kinds: twelve dependent on requisites and one on energy.
When to Practice and When Not To
When cultivating an ascetic practice, if your meditation improves, continue the practice. If your meditation deteriorates, set it aside. If your meditation improves regardless of whether you practice, still practice — out of compassion for future generations. And if your meditation does not improve either way, still practice — to build the habit for the future.
Who Practises What
If there is a charnel ground in the open that also qualifies as forest, one monk can observe all thirteen practices simultaneously.
- Monks: All thirteen
- Nuns: Eight (the forest-dweller’s and later-food-refuser’s practices are forbidden by training rule; the open-air-dweller’s, tree-root-dweller’s, and charnel-ground-dweller’s are impractical because nuns may not live without a companion, and finding a like-minded companion for such places is difficult)
- Novices: Twelve (all except the triple-robe-wearer’s)
- Female probationers and female novices: Seven
- Male and female lay followers: Two (the one-sessioner’s and the bowl-food-eater’s)
In all, this gives forty-two instances of practice across the different groups.
At its root, however, all ascetic practices are of one kind: they consist in the single act of will to undertake them. As the commentary says: “It is the volition that is the ascetic practice.”
This is the second chapter, “The Description of the Ascetic Practices,” in the section on Virtue in the Path of Purification, composed for the purpose of gladdening good people.