Daily practice and routine of Buddhist Ascetics in Nepal Mandala

The Renowned Vietnamese Dhutanga ascetic practitioner Minh Tuệ & other Dhutanga ascetic are practicing the ascetic Dhamma Dhutanga daily in various places in Nepal. First precept is to wear a robe sewn from discarded clothes.

They have a tradition of going to the Ghats, cremation center and collecting clothes and fabrics thrown away during the last rites of the dead rituals and later sewing them into Robes. Currently, they are practicing the thirteen dhutanga precepts at various places around the World Heritage Sites of Pasupati, Swayambhu Mahachaitya and Khasti Chaitya (Bauddha).

Dhutanga refers to thirteen specific voluntaries, ascetic practices in Theravada Buddhism designed to shake off defilements, reduce attachment, and support mindfulness. These practices, highly praised by the Buddha, include living in the forest, wearing robes made from rags, and eating only one meal a day. They are not mandatory but are aimed at training the mind toward liberation.

It is believed that long before Buddha appeared into this world, there did exist ascetic practices designed for oppressing the body in as variegated as numerous ways. Those who adopted them believed that they would enable them to get liberated from the sorrow any living being. On the other hand, others were convinced that the ultimate goal of existence lied in knowing how to enjoy it to the full and focused all their efforts on best enjoying sensuous pleasures.

From his very first teaching, Buddha categorically rejected these two paths that he qualified of “extreme paths”. In this teaching, he explains us that only the moderate path, the “middle path”, can lead us to the development of wisdom and right knowledge of reality. The two extreme paths develop, on their behalf, attachments and false views, contrary to the moderate path, which enables the lessening of attachments and the development of right view. (Narendra Manandhar)