CONCISE SUMMARY:

the three monks' robes: already in Indian Buddhist texts the typical garment for monks was described of consisting of three items: a rectangular piece of cloth which was wrapped around the waist, covering the lower part of the body (this inner robe, skr. antarv$asa) was always worn, also during periods of work; another piece of cloth was draped over the left shoulder (upper garment, skr. uttar$asa$nga), covering the upper part of the body; third robe, the upper garment (skr. sa$mg$a$ti) was usually worn when the monk was in the public, for examples on begging tours; although the basic design of this outfit is quite simple, there were many complex variations concerning these robes and the outer robe could be made several strips (tia2o 條) of cloth (usually 5, 7, 9, 13, 15, or even more; each stip consists of several patches, ge2 隔); there were also careful descriptions how to sew a robe, using different kinds of stiching technics; in China there were many controversies concerning the proper style of monks' robes; in the course of time the robe was highly charged with symbolism the the three robes sometimes represented different sets of Buddhist terms (e.g. the three poisons greed, anger, and ignorance and their respective elimination; another symbolic connection were the three realms 三界 or the three assemblis 三會). There is evidence that the original Indian style of robe was brought to China, but underwent changes in the course of time, and there was an adaption to Chinese customs, climate, etc. Gradually, there deveoped the sleeved robe, typical of East-Asian Buddhism, usually combined with trousers; at the end of the Tang - after having been criticised for long periods of time - this style of robe seems to have been firmly established; the outer robe - originally also a rectangular piece of cloth - became heavily charged with symbolism and were still made of a number a patches; however, although originally symbolizing the poverty of a monk, often the outer robe is China (and later Japan) was eventually made of especially fine and colorful materials, becoming a status symbol for high-ranking priests. In order to hold the robe in place, eventually a ring and ribbon (gouniu 鉤紐) was attached to it. In medieval China there was also an extended discussion about the use of silk for monks' robes since the production of silk involved the taking of life; however, eventually the use of silk was firmly established since it also was the easiest obtainable material.

CLOTHING

VETREMENT.HABILLEMENT.HABIT