Holy Anorexia & Buddhism

Buddha Under the Bodhi Tree

Just a quick thought about what we talked about in class today...

Holy anorexia in the Christian religion is very similar to the legends of Siddhartha Gautama in Buddhism.

Here's a brief summary of the story:

Siddhartha Gautama was a prince that was confined to the walls of his palace and protected from the outside world under his father's command. When Siddhartha was older, he escaped but he was then exposed to all the suffering in the world. To understand this better, Siddhartha sat under the sacred Bodhi tree and lived in extreme asceticism. Starving, he only rose when he reached enlightenment. Through this transformation Siddhartha became Buddha.

There's an obvious connection between the lifestyle choice to deprive oneself across both religions. What I found interesting was that it was women in Christianity, instead of a male role in Buddhism, that took on this lifestyle initially.

Another thought I had was that in ancient times, Buddha's choice was deemed virtuous and the monk in The DaVinci Code was looked upon as a little...crazy.

Funny how religions have a crossover in sacraments that apply to the opposite gender roles, but as time moves on they seem to fade away.