Penance - Kugyo

A religious act of suppressing physical desires, inflicting self-torture, and engaging in unbearable training in an attempt to escape the sins and impurities of this world, perfect one's character, achieve one's cherished desires, and attain the glory of being born in heaven. Originally, it referred to training undertaken by non-Buddhist religious practitioners in India to attain enlightenment. In ancient India, asceticism was called tapas (meaning heat). It is broadly divided into abstinence and harsh practices. The former range from reducing food and being vegetarian to fasting, while the latter includes a variety of acts such as throwing oneself into a fire or a deep pool, lying on ashes, thorns, or cow dung, or holding one's breath. A remote forest was chosen as the place for asceticism, and was called an ascetic forest. Through this ascetic practice, practitioners could ensure a second life in heaven after death, please the gods, achieve their wishes, obtain supernatural powers such as clairvoyance, and even prolong life and control the death and life of others. Compared to other second life ethics such as charity and rituals, the all-purpose tapas was selfish and unsocial, and its purpose was secular and its methods were full of magic, so it was eventually replaced by the philosophical knowledge that emerged. For the same reason, Buddha also rejected ascetic practice. He left his home and studied meditation, but was not satisfied and practiced all kinds of ascetic practices for another six years. However, he was unable to reach the highest level of knowledge or peace of mind through intense ascetic practice, and abandoned it, believing that extreme ascetic practice only harms the body and is not the path to enlightenment. Later Buddhism also rejected formal asceticism, but adopted the spirit of diligence and perseverance. It also highly respected difficult practices performed for Buddhist purposes, such as offering alms or showing compassion, as well as the harsh practices performed by ascetic monks.

[Shizuo Karashima]

"Hara Makoto, 'Asceticism in Classical India' (1979, Shunjusha)" ▽ "The Problem of Practice in Buddhism, edited by the Japanese Association for Buddhist Studies (1965, Heirakuji Shoten)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

肉体的欲求を抑えて、自虐(じぎゃく)的に身を痛め、堪えがたい修行に励む宗教的行為で、現世の罪や穢(けがれ)を免れて、人格を完成し、あるいは宿願を達成し、また生天(しょうてん)（天に生まれること）の栄光を得ようと試みる。もとインドにおいて仏教外の宗教行者が、悟りを得るためになした修行をいう。古代インドでは苦行はタパスtapas（熱力の意）とよばれた。それは節食と荒行(あらぎょう)に大別される。前者は減食、菜食から断食(だんじき)に及び、後者は火や淵(ふち)に身を投げたり、灰や棘(いばら)や牛糞の上に臥(ふ)したり、呼吸を止めるなどさまざまな行為がある。苦行の場としては人里離れた林間が選ばれ、苦行林と称した。この苦行によって、修行者は死後の生天を確実にし、神を喜ばせて願い事を達成し、千里眼などの神通(じんずう)を得、さらには延命や生殺までも図った。万能なタパスも、布施(ふせ)や祭祀(さいし)など他の生天倫理に比べると、利己的で非社会的であったうえに、その目的が世俗的であり、またその方法が魔術性に満ちていたので、やがて出現した哲学的な知見に優位をとってかわられた。同じ理由で仏陀(ぶっだ)（釈迦(しゃか)）も苦行を排した。仏陀は出家して禅定(ぜんじょう)を学んだが満足せず、さらに6年間、あらゆる苦行を行った。しかし激しい苦行によって最高の知見、心の平安に達せず、極端な苦行は身を損なうだけで悟りの道ではないとそれを捨てた。後の仏教も、形式的な苦行は排したが、その精進(しょうじん)、忍耐の精神だけを取り入れ、布施や慈悲など仏道にかなった目的のための難行(なんぎょう)や、修験者(しゅげんじゃ)が行う荒行も苦行と称して大いに尊重した。

［辛嶋静志］

『原実著『古典インドの苦行』（1979・春秋社）』▽『日本仏教学会編『仏教における行の問題』（1965・平楽寺書店）』

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