I'm suddenly thinking about the difference between karate and aikido (neither of which I know a lot about *g*).
In karate, you reject the attack and the attacker. In aikido, you embrace the attack and the attacker, and make his energy your own.
So, in spiritual aikido, we do not deny the demands of the flesh, we accept them, but put them to use. This is the principle behind much of Tantric teaching, which also calls for the discipline of which you wrote.
And, interestingly, following Tantra for spiritual reasons has some mind-boggling fleshly benefits.
Re: The spirit and the flesh
I'm suddenly thinking about the difference between karate and aikido (neither of which I know a lot about *g*).
In karate, you reject the attack and the attacker.
In aikido, you embrace the attack and the attacker, and make his energy your own.
So, in spiritual aikido, we do not deny the demands of the flesh, we accept them, but put them to use. This is the principle behind much of Tantric teaching, which also calls for the discipline of which you wrote.
And, interestingly, following Tantra for spiritual reasons has some mind-boggling fleshly benefits.