Buddhist monks shave their heads, primarily so they have one less thing to worry about.<\/li>\n

The idea is to follow the path of \u2018lack of self-interest\u2019 (they are not even allowed to look at their face in the mirror) and also focus on the path of enlightenment.<\/li>\n

Lack of self-interest means limiting attention to their appearance (ego) and using that energy on the acts of kindness.<\/li>\n

While the same could be achieved by leaving the hair and beard unkempt & unwashed, Buddha is believed to have opted for the \u2018clean\u2019 look for hygienic reasons.<\/li>\n

These rules are recorded in the Buddhist text called Vinaya-Pitaka<\/i><\/a> (basket of discipline).<\/li>\n

The rules for robes are also found in Vinaya-Pitaka<\/i> only, and these come from Buddha\u2019s teaching the first monks and nuns to make their robes from \u201cpure cloth\u201d.<\/li>\n

Pure cloth meant materials that no one wanted, e.g., chewed by rats or oxen, soiled by childbirth or menstrual blood, or used for wrapping the dead before cremation.<\/li>\n

Any unusable part of this cloth was trimmed, and the cloth was washed clean.<\/li>\n

It was then dyed by boiling with vegetable matter, bark, tuber, leaves, flowers, and spices such as turmeric or saffron.<\/li>\n

This is what gave the robe the saffron\/reddish colour.<\/li>\n

Ready access and affordability of the natural dye (some plant matter is more readily available in a certain region) played a role in why monks from different regions wear different coloured robes.<\/li>\n

Myanmar\u2019s and Tibet\u2019s monks, for example, wear maroon-coloured robes because natural maroon dyes were the cheapest and easiest to source in those regions.<\/li>\n

The monks now wear robes made from donated cloth and not from the \u201cpure cloth\u201d as defined above.<\/li>\n

The robes of the monks in South-East Asia have 3 parts: inner, outer, and an additional for cold weather.<\/li>\n

The inner and outer robes are made from cut pieces of cloth and must not come from a single piece of cloth.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nAlso Read:
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