region. In reaction to the growing sectarianism
throughout Tibet, those involved sought out common
ground between the schools and developed massive
new literary collections that could be shared by all the
schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The Rnying ma philos-
ophy of Rdzogs chen played a particularly important
role in this movement. The shape of today’s Rnying
ma school derives directly from the efforts of these
nonsectarian masters of the nineteenth century.
See also:Tibet
Bibliography
Germano, David. “Architecture and Absence in the Secret
Tantric History of the Great Perfection (rdzogs chen).” Jour-
nal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies17, no.
2 (1994): 203–335.
Rinpoche, Dudjom. The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism:
Its Fundamentals and History,tr. Gyurme Dorje and Mat-
thew Kapstein. Boston: Wisdom, 1991.
Smith, E. Gene. Among Tibetan Texts: History and Literature of
the Himalayan Plateau.Boston: Wisdom, 2001.
Thondup, Tulku. Masters of Miracles and Meditation: The
Longchen Nyingthig Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism.Boston:
Shambala, 1996.
JACOBP. DALTONROBES AND CLOTHING
Buddhist robes (kasaya; Chinese, jiasha; Japanese,
kesa) originally reflected the ideals of a life of poverty
and simplicity. The VINAYAor monastic codes per-
mitted a monk only three rectangular pieces of cloth
of different sizes for use as religious robes. The small-,
medium-, and large-sized robes were worn alone or in
combination with each other. These rectangular man-
tles had no tailoring and simply wrapped around the
body. They resembled the clothing of ordinary people
and therefore used distinctive colors, materials, and
fabrication to distinguish the wearer as one who had
left the ordinary world to embark upon the path to en-
lightenment. As Buddhism spread throughout Asia,
the robes delineated in greater detail such things as
rank and sectarian affiliations through further varia-
tions in color, materials, and fabrication. The robes
also came to be regarded as merit-making objects
themselves, requiring special treatment, much like any
other ritual object.
Regulations for early Buddhist robes
To differentiate Buddhist robes from the ordinary
white robes of common people, the robes were dyed.
Texts do not concur on the exact colors to be used, but
most prohibit the use of undiluted primary colors.
However, there is consensus that the preferred color is
kasaya,which literally means impure, and came to re-
fer to a reddish-yellow or brownish-yellow saffron or
ocher color. THERAVADAmonks still regularly wear this
color; MAHAYANAmonks wear it less often. The actual
shades vary, but the use of impure or mixed coloring
is essential and emphasizes the teaching of nonattach-
ment and nonpreference even for the color of one’s
robes. The use of impure or muddied color was such
an important characteristic that the word, kasaya,be-
came the common name for the robes themselves.
According to the PRECEPTS, the actual material for
Buddhist robes was not as important as the humble
origins of the material. The best material was that
which had no value to others, such as unwanted and
soiled rags. The precepts urged monks to be wearers
of robes taken from the dust heap. While acceptable
materials included silk, cotton, wool, hemp, and even
fur, the most important characteristic was that they be
tattered and defiled in some way, such as having been
charred by fire, gnawed by rats, used as a shroud for
the dead, or stained with menstrual blood, mucus,
urine, or feces. Texts also caution against the use of
embroidery and ornate weaving, a proscription later
ignored. Plain, common materials are best, but the
primary requirement is that they should not engender
covetousness or attachment.
The third distinguishing feature of Buddhist robes
is that they should be sewn from many pieces. Against
charges that robes of whole cloth might reflect sensual
enjoyment, the Buddha announced that robes made of
uncut cloth should not be worn. Although in later pas-
sages of the Vinaya the Buddha allowed two of the
three robes to be made of whole cloth, the standard
kasayawas a patchwork marked by horizontal and ver-
tical divisions. The Vinaya reference to patterns of rice
fields bordered by embankments inspired the patch-
work design of the kasaya.
Robes were patched together in vertical columns,
always odd in number, and edged by a binding. The
smallest of the three regulation robes had five columns,
each comprised of one long and one short panel; the
medium-sized robe had seven columns, each com-
prised of one short and two long panels; and the largest
and most formal robe either had nine columns, eachROBES ANDCLOTHING