The clothes of monks are of two types: ritual and casual. The ritual dress consists of the “Gasa” (chanting robe) and the “Jangsam” (formal robe).
The word “Gasa” is derived from Sanskrit “kasaya,” which means “a light color.” In the lifetime of the Buddha, at first, the monks wore the cloth that had been discarded from dead people before the body was burned. Sometimes the cloth was too small and so they had to sew the pieces together. Later on, lay people began to offer clothes and so even then, the cloth would be cut up and sewed together. Some people say this is due to the image of the rice fields some say it is so that the clothes had no commercial value. At that time the cloth was dyed using bark and leaves, representing the intention of abandoning desire.
“Jangsam” is a ritual robe worn in Korea, China and Japan probably due to the colder climate – the Main Halls where the monks do the chanting are unheated!
Then there are the more casual clothes for going out, receiving guests and working. They are traditionally dyed with charcoal powder. The powder is put in a bag and then dampened to make a black dye. After the clothes are boiled and then washed producing a gray color. Gray means harmony and also reminds the monks of the fact that after death their body will be burned and so become ashes – which are gray.
The reason that monks of other schools of Buddhism wear other colors has to do with history, geography and culture.
