Red wood wasp - Red wood wasp

...In a broad sense, it means self-discipline aimed at self-unity and spiritual development, but strict asceticism refers to religious methods that voluntarily inflict pain on the body in order to obtain spiritual bliss, regarding the body as evil in opposition to spiritual bliss. Examples of religious methods of inflicting pain on the body that are common among primitive peoples include circumcision, which inflicts pain on young people at the coming-of-age ceremony, tooth extraction, rubbing poisonous plants on the body, or having people bite ants, but these are imposed heteronomously by the group on young people and are distinguished from asceticism.

*Some of the terminology explanations that refer to the "red-legged wood wasp" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…広義には自己統一と精神性の開発を目的とする自己修練をさすが，厳密な苦行は肉体を精神的至福に対立する悪とみなし，精神的至福を得るために自発的に身体に苦痛を与える宗教的手段をいう。肉体に苦痛を与える宗教的手段として未開民族にもよくみられるものには，成年式のさい青年に苦痛を与える割礼（かつれい），抜歯をはじめ，毒草を身体になすりつけたり，アリに身をかませたりする方法があるが，これらは集団が他律的に青年に課するもので，苦行とは区別される。…

※「アカガシクキバチ」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報