The Battle for the Body in Manichaean Asceticism

Abstract As distinct from most other religious movements, which contain ascetic traditions as one option of expression, Manichaeism is ascetic at its very core, and to be a Manichaean is, by definition, to be an ascetic. Unfortunately, there are none of these fascinating people around anymore, and it is the task of historians to reconstruct, as best they can, the discourse and practices of the Manichaean faith. This historical enterprise of recovery has been hampered by two related obstacles. The first is the diverse and fragmentary character of Manichaean literary remains. The second obstacle is the great liberty modern academics have taken with this material in synthesizing an artificial Manichaeism to match their own preconceptions. The quest for a unified Manichaean tradition, if such existed, must be based on careful comparison of distinct lines of tradition, with due regard for regional variation, in search of those elements that, by their ubiquity in the sources, reveal themselves to be fundamental to Manichaeism as a whole. The practice of asceticism is one such fundamental element of Manichaeism, and this paper examines the Manichaean literary tradition that authorized and interpreted the Manichaean ascetic life.