དཀའ་ཐུབ། | Glossary of Terms

Acts of self-deprivation or mortification practiced for spiritual advancement. This mode of extreme religious practice was rejected by the Buddha, who cultivated them prior to his full awakening and found they brought little benefit.

Harsh, often extreme practices that can include deprivation and physical mortification. Such practices are typically rejected in the Buddhist “middle way.” The term can be used in a more positive sense to refer to the hardships of practice one must endure to reach liberation.