Gasa: letting go of our possessions

By Chun Ock-bae

``Gasa’’ is a translateration of a Sanskrit term meaning monk's robe; the monk's or nun's robe is made from scraps of material. The Sanskrit term denotes decayed, impure (in color), dyed, not of primary color, so as to distinguish it from the normal white dress of the people. A gasa is an official robe, which monks wear like a mantle on top of the ``jangsam,’’ the outer garment. It is, in fact, patchwork clothing, and dyed with miscellaneous colors, other than the five primary colors _ blue, yellow, red, white and black. It is supposed to be made out of several pieces of material.

The gasa of the Buddha’s, in particular, is called the ``geumnan-gasa,’’ made of golden thread, which came down as evidence of enlightenment transmission, along with alms bowls in the Seon school. There are a few more names for the robe symbolically, including an immaculate robe, a dustless robe and a meritorious robe.

Korean monks cut a distinctive figure, with shaved heads, baggy gray clothes, and grey cloth knapsacks. Korean monks wear a traditional outer jacket with wide sleeves and baggy gray pants. If you go to the countryside, you can find common Korean people who also wear this traditional clothing. The only distinctive monastic version of this ensemble is the gray color, as a mark of asceticism. The gray robes worn by a monastic declare that one is a practitioner, and represent the spirit of no belongings, letting go of all worldly desires. Another mark of the Seon monk is to wear old clothes covered with patches, layer upon layer. While such garments are supposed to show detachment from material possessions, they often serve as a kind of monastic status symbol.

Gasas originally meant the clothes of the Buddha but later came to refer to the three piece ceremonial robes; the outer garment called the ``seunggari,’’ the middle garment called the ``yuldaraseung’’ and the undergarment called the ``antahwoi.’’ The seunggari among them represents gasas.

There are nine different kinds of seunggari depending on the number of pieces it is made from, which varies from nine to 25 according to each monk's status in the community. The 25-piece gasas are worn by senior monks and the nine piece gasas are worn by newly-ordained ones.

In Korea, a dyed cloth is for ceremonial and formal occasions. They come in different colors and shapes according to the rank of the monk.

Buddhist monks in India were originally supposed to wear robes made from discarded cloth that was ritually polluted or literally filthy. The procedure was to cut out usable pieces, wash them, sew them together, and dye the resulting garment with ochre. From that uniform color, Buddhist patchwork robes in general came to be called ``kasaya.’’ As the monastic institution evolved, new cloth for robes came to be provided by lay donors, but the practice of cutting the cloth into small pieces and sewing them together to make robes was retained.

In the colder climates of Central Asia and China, however, the Indian mode of dress was often insufficient, so monks from those regions wore their native clothing and draped the Indian upper robe or full dress robe on top of that. Worn over a Chinese-style full-length sleeved robe that was tied at the waist with a belt or sash, the ``jiasha,’’ lost its function as a practical piece of clothing to cover and protect the body but retained its meaning as an emblem of membership to the monastic order.

As for the gasas’ color, in Korea, chestnut brown is used for the Jogye Order and red for Taego Order and other orders. Other orders wear yellow. It really depends upon the order and country in question. Yellow is used in China and yellowish-brown or yellowish-red is used in Thailand.

In addition to the belief in the robe itself, faith in the Buddhist work of robe-offering was formed so that the provider could attain good fortune by donating it to monks. Hence, a custom arose of organizing the ``gye’’ (a mutual assistance society) for offering robes and a tradition of donating them on special holidays.

Traditionally, the robes were sent by patriarchs to their Dharma successors as a symbol of the teaching lineage. In the time of the Buddha, the daily necessities for practicing monks used to be called ``samwuiilbal.’’ It refers to three pieces of clothing and one ``patra’’ (begging bowl). For the monks who lead a simple, frugal life of practice, those were good enough and they could sleep under a tree or on a rock. However, as people gathered and formed Buddhist communities later, more necessities were added to the list.