Twelve ascetic practices
Twelve ascetic practices (Wyl. sbyangs pa'i yon tan bcu gnyis; Skt. pāṃśadhūtaguṇa) — twelve practices of conduct pertaining to the shravaka yana that avoid the two extreme forms of lifestyle, over-indulgence in sense pleasures[1] and excessive self-punishment. They are:[2]
- Wearing clothes found in a dust heap,
- owning only three robes,
- wearing felt or woolen clothes,
- begging for food,
- eating one’s meal at a single sitting,
- restricting the quantity of food,
- staying in isolation,
- sitting under trees,
- sitting in exposed places,
- sitting in charnel grounds,
- sitting even during sleep, and
- staying wherever one happens to be.
Practices or precepts to purify one’s body and mind and shake off adherence to clothes, food, and dwelling. There are twelve items of this practice.”
Dait: 377
“Twelve such ascetic practices are known:
(1) wearing patched robes,
(2) wearing a robe made of three pieces (trichivara),
(3) eating only begged food,
(4) eating only one meal a day,
(5) refraining from all further food,
(6) taking only one portion,
(7) living in a secluded, solitary place,
(8) living on a charnel ground,
(9) living under a tree,
(10) living in the open,
(11) living in whatever place presents itself,
(12) sitting only, never lying down.”
Footnotes
- ↑ This is rather a free translation of 'dod pa bsod nyams kyi mtha' (Adam).
- ↑ According to The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism, 'twelve ascetic virtues', vol. 2, p. 169
