Chapter 4: Dharma, Form, Light, and the Mundane

Question: In the Mahayana texts cited earlier, what color should the dyed robes be to conform to the Dharma?

Answer: According to the scriptures and monastic codes, the general rule is "soiled colors." The texts say: "Use the three colors—blue, black, and madder—whichever is suitable. One of these soiled colors constitutes a proper, Dharma-conforming color."

The reason is that worldly habits are hard to change, and greed and attachment are difficult to eliminate. Monastic precepts adapt to circumstances, and their forms are established accordingly. Examples include patching new cloth onto old, or cutting broad fabric down to a narrow width. Therefore, the five primary bright colors cannot be used for robes that one receives, holds, and practices with. In every case, we must regulate the mind according to circumstances and abandon worldly habits. Just as in the secular world, being fond of bright reds and purples does not signify true honor, and wearing unadorned clothing is a different matter.

It is the distinctive so-called "impure" or "soiled" colors that are uniquely embraced by the Buddhist community, serving to distinguish the correct path from wrong ones. Among the ninety-six types of non-Buddhist paths, their followers do not follow a uniform standard: some go naked, some wear clothes, some wear white, some dye their garments, with no fixed rule. Buddhism is not like that; all disciples wear dyed robes whose colors are not pure bright, cutting off extravagance and luxury.

However, the names "blue" and "black" mentioned above are similar to the five primary colors, but as the treatises and monastic codes state, they are "like but not identical to." The color dyed from madder (tumeric or similar) exists in this land; it is reddish but with more black, like a "kāṣāya" color. The sutras say: "If you see my disciples dressed in reddish robes, do not proclaim it as blood." The treatises state: "When I wear a red robe, the beads it reflects look like flesh," and so on. Today, monks who come from the West all wear this color, which is clear evidence.

Nevertheless, true red (vermilion) is considered a correct pure color, but it has slight differences. The deep crimson (true brilliant red) is rejected by the Vinaya as invalid. It is clearly understood that the correct color is the "impure" color, which is the kāṣāya color. Because the color is outwardly visible and its luminosity is easy to perceive, seeing the color allows one to recognize the person as one who has attained liberation, as already explained above.

Other mixed, dyed robe colors that are not pure and bright are also permissible. As long as one departs from secular habits, they become a mark of the Path. Thus, the ascetic's patched robe of five-used cloth is considered clean after washing in water. New robes are made "soiled" by tearing or patching to be considered pure. Even the sitting mat, when first made, should be patched with old pieces. These numerous textual examples are all intended to suppress greed for luxury and to break through the attachments and stubbornness of the mind.