"Unnatural asceticism", masochism, etc, in the long term

[excreationist]

Asceticism - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

"Unnatural asceticism", in contrast, covers practices that go further, and involves body mortification, punishing one's own flesh, and habitual self-infliction of pain, such as by sleeping on a bed of nails.

Pursuing enlightenment, Buddha first practiced severe asceticism before recommending a moderated middle way. In Christianity, Francis of Assisi and his followers practiced extreme acts of asceticism

I was wondering if it can be done in the long term..... does it require the pain to get stronger? Maybe their techniques could make going to hell more bearable....

 

[Jarhyn]

I think a lot of it comes down to people not understanding that the Buddha (whoever he was in this context) had a very different reason for this which is approaching the concept of agency and what it means and how to interact with the idea of it.

I know I am more powerful as an agency in this world for the fact that I could stick my hand into a fire and just let it be burned, according to my own will. My body will not be able to fight me effectively to pull it back. Among "other people" some could and some couldn't.

Ascetism is, to me anyway, a gateway to learning a skill.

It is a very difficult and obviously painful skill to learn: the ability to recognize no emotions are "negative" but some in the moment merely unimportant, and to take direct control of the behaviors normally dictated by such emotion.

It is a way to improve one's agency over their own body, and beyond.

But the extreme ascetics, like hoarders, place inappropriate value in the fruits of that pursuit.

Learning how better to BE ascetic is still useful; I'm glad some people are, in fact, a little crazy about it. But they're still crazy.

Or "what is in the box?" "Pain" "and if I take my hand out of the box?" "Death!"

It is learning to keep your hand in the fucking box