Understanding Self-Mortification in Buddhism : หน้า 39/263

It is for this reason that the Lord Buddha should want to start his sermon by instructing the ‘group of five’ that indulgence of the senses is unsuitable, base, ignoble, without benefit, unsuitable for a Buddhist monk — and should be shunned, not indulged or prized. 2. Self-Mortification [attakilamathānuyoga] This is the practice of self-denial or self-mortification — which is a non-Buddhist practice. It is one of many practices favoured by non-Buddhist ascetics such as Niganthas. In fact, even amongst the ascetics who practice self-mortification there are many different schools: some refuse to wear clothes, some always stand in order to defecate, some use their bare hands to clean up after defecation, some accept alms from a maximum of only one household or two households per day, some live on only one mouthful of food per day, some accept alms from only one benefactor per day, or only one particular woman benefactor per day, some fast for ten days, fifteen days each time they take a meal. Some eat only the tips of the rice, some eat only rice husks, some eat only pickled vegetables and fruit, some eat only rice, some eat only bran. Some wear only clothes made of jute. Some leave their hair to grow long and cover their nudity with their own hair. Some wear only animal skins. Some wear only clothes made of owl feathers. Some lie on a heap of thorns. Some never wash. All of these non-Buddhist practices are examples of self-mortification. Such practices cause physical harm without any good benefit in return. They only increase one’s suffering.