They are not ascetic, and consider fasting silly.

他们不是禁欲主义者，把斋戒看成是傻事。

youdao

The idea, explains Kosha Joubert, another resident, is not to adopt a dreary, ascetic lifestyle but to demonstrate that it is possible to live in a green manner without undue sacrifice or disruption.

居民Kosha Joubert说，我们并非要过那种沉闷的，禁欲的生活，而是作为绿色生活的典范，避免不必要的牺牲或破坏。

youdao

"Be systematically ascetic . . . do . . . something for no other reason than that you would rather not do it" (William James).

有计划地克制…做…某事，没有别的理由只因你最好别做它” （威廉·杰姆森）。

youdao

Though the building has had many enemies over the years (even the Catholic Church, to which Gaudi devoted much of his ascetic life while working on the basilica, did not consecrate the building until last year) it has survived and thrived.

FORBES: Daily Travel Flashback: The Construction and Attempted Destruction of La Sagrada Familia