Fulfilling the Goal of Asceticism

Monks, this is the lowest form of livelihood, that is, gathering almsfood. In the world this is a term of abuse: You almsfood-gatherer; you roam about with a begging bowl in your hand! And yet, Monks, clansmen intent on the wholesome take up that way of life for a valid reason. It is not because they have been driven to it by Kings that they do so, nor because they have been driven to it by thieves, nor owing to debt, nor from fear, nor to earn a livelihood.

But they do so with the thought: I am immersed in birth, aging, and death; in sorrow, grief, pain, displeasure, and despair. I am immersed in discontentedness, oppressed by discontentedness. Perhaps an ending of this entire mass of discontentedness might be attained!

It is in such a way, Monks, that this Householder has gone forth. Yet he is craving, inflamed by desire for sensual pleasures, with a mind full of ill will, with intentions corrupted by hate, muddle-minded, lacking clear comprehension, unconcentrated, scatter-brained, loose in his sense bases.

Just as wood from a funeral bonfire, burning at both ends and smeared with excrement in the middle, cannot be used as timber either in the village or in the forest, in just such a way do I speak about this person: he has missed out on the enjoyments of a Householder, yet he does not fulfill the goal of asceticism.

(Reference: SN 22.80)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares how an Ordained Practitioner who is not actively applying The Teachings is not fulfilling the goal of the Ascetic life.

Ordained Practitioners are not forced or required to ordain. Ordained Practitioners choose to ordain and are not required to remain ordained. Instead, the ordained lifestyle provides an opportunity for individuals to live within a supportive environment to actively learn, reflect, and practice these Teachings without the need to attend to the daily activities of household life.

As part of the privilege to ordain and live from the hard work of the Household Practitioners who provide food, water, clothing, shelter, and medical care for the Ordained Practitioners, the Ordained Practitioners should be actively learning, reflecting, and practicing these Teachings to progress on The Path to Enlightenment so that they can provide the Household Practitioners guidance in these Teachings based on their experiences of progressing on The Path to Enlightenment.

The hard work of the Household Practitioners to provide the support to the Ordained Practitioners should culminate in the Ordained Practitioners providing the Household Practitioners opportunities to learn and progress on The Path to Enlightenment through learning these Teachings shared by the Ordained Practitioners. This is the exchange of Kamma.

As a result of the Household Practitioners providing the Ordained Practitioners to deeply explore these Teachings without a need to attend to household life, through the Household Practitioners providing the environment for Ordained Practitioners to advance in their practice, that benefit returns to the Household Practitioners through Teachings that help them in their life. Without this exchange, the Household Practitioners are providing support without receiving support from the Ordained Practitioners. That is not how The Buddha intended these Teachings to prosper and help all beings on The Path to Enlightenment.

So for an Ordained Practitioner to ordain and not actively apply these Teachings and share their experiences with the Household Practitioners to help them in their life, an Ordained Practitioner functioning in this way would essentially be taking advantage of the opportunity provided through the hard work of Household Practitioners receiving free support without providing any support in return.

The Buddha created the ordained lifestyle to create a “womb” for Practitioners to learn, reflect, and practice these Teachings without the daily obligations that exist in the household life. The ordained lifestyle provides an individual the freedom to pursue the spiritual life without all the daily tasks required of a Household Practitioner. But, a wise Ordained Practitioner will appreciate the benefit of this lifestyle and actively work to improve their own practice so that they can provide support to the Household Practitioners.

Additionally, The Buddha setup the ordained lifestyle to be “the lowest form of livelihood”. Stepping out of the royal family to become a roaming Ascetic, Siddhartha Gotama was able to attain Enlightenment as the Fully Perfectly Enlightened Buddha. Stepping down into “the lowest form of livelihood” allowed the mind to cultivate humbleness and eliminate any potential ego that may have existed, along with the elimination of all the other fetters, this helped to move the mind to Enlightenment.

A Practitioner would not have to ordain to attain Enlightenment but, that is one option for progressing to Enlightenment. If one chooses to ordain, it is important to understand that becoming ordained should be considered for only one reason - to attain Enlightenment. There is no other goal for ordaining. And, once ordained, a wise individual would have gratitude and appreciation for the opportunity provided to them by the hard work of Household Practitioners taking the responsibility to improve their practice and share Teachings back with those who are supporting them - the Household Practitioners.

Through actively learning, reflecting, and practicing themselves, Ordained Practitioners can become well prepared to assist many beings on The Path to Enlightenment. But, in doing so, they will need to remain humble understanding that the ordained lifestyle “is the lowest form of livelihood”.