Whether it is in film and television dramas or in monasteries, there seem to be many kinds of "dresses" for monks that everyone sees. Sometimes he wears a robe, red and yellow, which looks very "designed", and sometimes he wears a simple "plain clothes". Why is that?
The Buddha's rules on the dress of the monks
Shakyamuni Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, initially stipulated that monks could only have three garments – the Andae, the Utara and the Sanghali.
1 Anbukai
Gojo Clothes, commonly known as Gotiao, is a middle lobe made of five pieces of cloth. In the time of the Buddha, it was the underwear worn by the bhikshus; It is also said to be used for sprinkling and sweeping, so it is also called a dress.
2. Yutara monks
The seven-strip garment, commonly known as the seven-strip garment, is a garment sewn from seven strips of cloth, which is used by bhikshus to listen to the sutras, recite sutras, and confess, or gather in large gatherings, so it is also called the garment of the congregation.
3 Monk Li
Nine to twenty-five (singular) strips, commonly known as ancestral clothes, are the formal clothes of monks, also known as solemn clothes, which are the ceremonial clothes of monks, and must be worn when preaching, speaking, seeing the elders, summoning the king, or marching to the street to beg for food.
The clothing of today's monks
In fact, due to various factors, there is not only one type of clothing worn by monks today, but can be broadly divided into two categories. One is the vestment, that is, the three garments; One is the regular clothes, that is, Haiqing, gown, hat, shoes and socks, etc.
01 ancestral clothes
Among all the monks' clothing, the most well-known is probably the ancestral garment (sanghali), which is also a symbol of Buddhism.
Zuyi is also known as the robe, the robe is Sanskrit, translated into Chinese is not the right color, dyeing meaning, so the robe is called bad color clothing, which means that you cannot use blue, yellow, red, white, blue and other positive colors to make clothes. And because the robe must be put together with many small pieces of cloth and then sewn together, it is also called miscellaneous clothes or cut clothes.
Ancestral clothes are divided into three grades and nine kinds: the lower three are nine, eleven, and thirteen, each of which is two long and one short; The three types of medium grade are 15, 17 and 19, all of which are three long and one short; The three kinds of top grade are twenty-one, twenty-three, and twenty-five, each with four long and one short.
The number of intervals in the coat ranged from 27 for 9 to 127 for 25. The more strips and intervals, the more noble the identity of the wearer.
At the same time, it is said that the ancestral clothes were sewn by Venerable Ananda under the guidance of the Buddha to simulate the shape of a paddy field. Shitian grows grain to nourish life, and the field of the Dharma robe grows to raise the Dharma body and wisdom life, which can be the blessed field of the world, so it is also called Futian clothing.
In addition, the most primitive ancestral clothes were not fitted with a coat hook. In the "Four Divisions", it is said: "When the Buddha's disciple Sariputta entered the house in white clothes, he was deeply afraid that the wind would blow his robe and fall off his shoulders to the ground. Thus, the Buddha listened to the disciples on the left shoulder and chest on the collar of the ancestral robe, wearing a nail hook button and fastening the ancestral garment. Later, it evolved into ruyi-shaped clothes hooks and clothes rings.
02 Kaisei
After Buddhism was introduced to China, monks' uniforms were originally inherited from India. However, the climate in many parts of China is cold, and it is obviously not enough to protect against the cold. Therefore, Han Buddhism invoked the Buddhist system of "allowing a hundred and one things to be long", and in addition to the three clothes, other commonly used monks' clothes such as small coats, medium coats, long coats and robes were made.
"Haiqing" is the robe, which is one of the main garments in the mainland Sangha, which is derived from the clothing style of the Han and Tang dynasties in the mainland. Because of its style with a wide waist and wide sleeves, a round neck and a square placket, it is much fatter than other clothes, so it is also called a "robe".
The Haiqing collar is made of three layers of cloth and is called "three treasure collars". In the middle of the front of the collar, there are also 53 lines of blue lines, called "Fifty-three ginseng of the good wealth boy", which can also strengthen the durability of the collar. In addition, the cuffs of the robe are open, while the cuffs of the "sea green" are sewn together.
Those who have already received the ordination can wear ancestral clothes in addition to Haiqing; Those who have not received the ordination are only dressed in sea green, and are not allowed to wear ancestral clothes. There is also yellow, which is worn by the abbot of a temple or the presiding person in the puja, and is not allowed to be worn by the general public.
Haiqing, taken from the meaning of "sea" can accommodate all things, free and unhindered, "green", because of its color blue out of blue, is intended to encourage those who plan to cultivate the Tao, different from the ordinary, from generation to generation. As long as you wear sea blue, you are already a true layman who has taken the precepts at home.
While respecting the ancient system, Buddhism also respects the ancient system, in order to clean up the appearance and solemn manners, although Haiqing is not a "Dharma robe", it can still be used to this day. Haiqing is also the most honorable monk's dress in the mainland Sangha in addition to the ancestral clothes, and it is often worn on important occasions such as recitation, listening to scriptures, meeting guests, meeting and meeting elders.
03 shirts and gowns
After Baizhang Zen Master proposed to advocate the agricultural Zen system, because the monks needed to go out of the slope, the fat sea green was inconvenient to wear, so shirts and gowns appeared on this basis.
The shirt is made of a "triple treasure collar" and the waist sleeves of the cheongsam, and the buttons are buttoned on the right side of the armpit. There are types of shirts that are long to the instep, second shirts that are only knee-length, and short shirts that are not knee-length. The style of the gown is a short cardigan with sleeves or sleeveless.
In the thirties of the last century, Master Taixu also advocated a new type of cardigan "Taixu gown", the length was just knee-length, the collar was sewn with two layers of cloth overlapping, the placket was opened in the middle of the chest, and the buttons were nailed to the edge of the placket, which is now the "Luohan gown".
In addition, in order to keep out the cold, the elderly monks in winter wear more shawl hats, commonly known as "Guanyin Dou". There are also crowns such as the Heavenly Crown, the Treasure Crown, and the Pilu Crown, which cannot be worn by ordinary monks, and can only be worn by the Dharma Master at the "Flame Mouth" or major Dharma meetings.
04 Shoes and socks
There are roughly three types of shoes worn by monks in the mainland: mango shoes, Luohan shoes and monk shoes. "Mango shoes" are woven from grass. The "Luohan shoes" are made of fabric, and the upper is sewn with three strips of cloth and some square holes in the upper. Although the "monk shoes" are also made of fabric, there are no holes in the whole body, and a hard beam can be sewn on the front of the shoe.
The socks worn by the monks are stockings, also known as Arhat socks, which reach the knees and the trouser legs are tucked into the socks, which can not only keep out the cold, but also show the majesty of the monks.
The contemporary Pure Land Sect Elder Tai Dou Ming once said, "As long as I put on my monk's robes, I won't take them off again." "Although the monk's uniform has been continuously improved in the development of the times. However, for monks, no matter how their appearance changes, their original intention of spreading the Dharma and benefiting life is as solid as a rock and has not changed.