Within the Thai Forest Tradition, dhutanga, or ascetic practices, function as deliberate disciplines that simplify life so that the heart of practice—meditation and insight—can deepen. These practices are understood as voluntary supports rather than compulsory rules, and they are not regarded as ends in themselves. By limiting possessions, comforts, and social involvement, they sharpen the sense of renunciation and keep the purpose of monastic life clearly in view. In this way, dhutanga serves as a constant reminder that the aim is liberation, not refinement of a comfortable religious lifestyle.

A characteristic feature of these disciplines is the radical simplicity they impose: living in forests or other secluded places, dwelling under trees or in the open air, eating only one meal a day from a single bowl, wearing robes made from discarded cloth, and maintaining only the most basic requisites. Such conditions deliberately reduce choice and stimulation, encouraging contentment with little and a mind that is more easily satisfied. This simplicity supports the development of concentration by removing many of the distractions that ordinarily pull attention outward. The result is a lifestyle that naturally channels energy toward mindfulness and meditative absorption.

Dhutanga also plays a crucial role in confronting defilements directly. Living in remote forests, charnel grounds, or other austere environments brings latent fears, cravings, and aversions to the surface, where they can be observed and understood. Rather than avoiding these inner disturbances, practitioners use the rigors of the environment as a kind of laboratory for seeing the workings of greed, hatred, and delusion. In this sense, the hardships of ascetic practice are not valued for their own sake, but for the way they expose clinging and allow wisdom to cut through it.

Forest masters associated with this movement have emphasized these practices as powerful means for those who are truly intent on the contemplative life. Seasonal wandering on foot with minimal possessions, for example, embodies the ideal of dependence on little and trust in the Dhamma. At the same time, there is an insistence that dhutanga be used skillfully and appropriately, adapted to individual temperament and circumstances. When grounded in right view and guided by experienced teachers, these disciplines help preserve an austere, wilderness-based monastic ideal and foster humility, contentment, and the mental clarity needed for the realization of Nibbāna.