I am in the middle of v3, & have just watched a film on TCM called SIMON OF THE DESERT. This ascetic stood atop a pillar for years as a form of penance. It reminded me of the extremes of penance depicted on Buddha's 1st volumes. I just cannot relate to these people who feel that they must torture themselves to make peace with a god or the universe or whatever. Why would anyone choose such a belief, even given that this was apparently one of the dominant systems in India at that time. Very few people actually did this; I understand that they were all Brahmans, but if this was the highest caste, I would rather be in a lower one.
The Buddha series is full of these ascetics & their self-inflicted tortures, ranging from minor ones to burial of living people who pray until they die of asphyxiation, thirst or starvation.
hmy:
