The Naga Babas are well known all over India, their naked bodies covered in ash from the sacred fires, most of the time alone except when there is one of the great Khumb Mela festivals.
Naga babas at Khumb Mela in Haridwar, 2010.
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The Buddha was not fond of the physical body. He taught that it was a strong source of attachement and hence of suffering. The monastic rules (Vinaya) specify that monks must never be naked, not even when alone. Of the forty meditation subjects He defined, one is on the loathsomeness of the body (patikkulamanasikara), as an antidote for sensual passion.
"He said: 'Nakedness is unbecoming, unsuitable, improper, unworthy of an ascetic, not allowable and not to be done'. He objected to it on two grounds. The first was because like all austerities or surface changes, nudity does not lead to significant inner change. He said: 'Not nakedness nor matted hair, not mud nor fasting, not lying on the ground, being unwashed or squatting on the heels will purify one who has not passed beyond doubt'. He also objected to nudity because it contravened the norms of polite society for no good reason." [From 'Nudity' in the Guide To Buddhism A To Z]
As we can see, the Buddha's arguments agaist nudity are mostly cultural and so, while they made sense in 500 BC India, they can be reverted in today's Western society.
First, being accustomed to a life of comfort, any discomfort is a worthwhile subject for meditation and hence inner change. Then, our society has fewer and fewer norms against nudity, to a point where almost no one is shocked by the sight of a naked body.
Clothes are a form of societal discrimination by enforcing consumerism. I don't like clothes, so I try to be naked whenever possible.
And, of course, I try to practice naked whenever possible.
Yoga asanas (postures) are best practiced naked. Without the bindings of clothes, movements are more free and I can focus on the exact sets of muscles and sinews that are being stretched or contracted.
The pranayama (breath control) techniques that I practice are strongly heat-inducing; even in winter I perspire profusely. By the way, it's pranayama, in part, that allows Tibetan yogis to practice naked in the Himalayas.
Meditation is also best practiced naked: legs lock best and your body is in direct contact with the environment.
If you look for a patron Saint of naked Buddhist yoga you'll find him in Tibet: Jetsun Kabum, Milarepa - who, by the way, was not a monk.
Rechungpa meets Milarepa - http://www.rinpoche.com/mp1.html
I am a Theravada Buddhist in my heart but my attitude towards the body sympathizes with Tibetan Vajrayana... The different flavors of Buddism (Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana, Zen, and much more) are not that different, after all, as you can read in Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions, by H. H. the XIV Dalai Lama. Highly recommended.
Mind you: all this talk about nakedness has nothing to do with sex! See the 'Brahmachari' in my name? It means one who has vowed total sexual abstinence.
Does this mean that I am 'against' sex? Heck, no! It just is distracting, for the time being, in my spiritual life.
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