Why is the monk’s robe saffron?
Question: Are the monk’s robes necessary to be saffron or a dark shade of red-orange? As some foreigners asked doubtfully why the monks wear saffron robes.
Answer: Since the Buddha’s Time, the colour of the monk’s robes was not consistent. The cause was they dyed the monk’s robes with heartwood and gum. As a result, the colour was not consistent. No matter dying from the different kinds of heartwood, even the same type of heartwood still made the inconsistent coloured robes.
When Luang Por was a primary student living in the country, I used to help my uncles dye the monk’s robes. At that time, they used the heartwood of jackfruit. Its colour was dark yellow; however, some species of jackfruit trees in the nearby area gave a very dark colour. In contrast, some trees gave bright yellow like the colour of the Sonchampa flower. Therefore, dying with the heartwood does not provide consistent colour.
So, they have used the word “To dye with astringent water” since the Buddha’s Time. Doing so maintains the quality of the clothes so that clothes would not rot quickly because of the chemical properties of the gum. Some kinds of gum prevent the growth of fungi. Some types of gum do not have that property; however, they give a dark colour, making it difficult to see the stain. Some make the clothes not retain moisture. These are the objectives of dying the monk’s attire. Therefore, the monk’s robes have not had the same colour since the Buddha’s Time. The monks don’t mind about it.
However, the colour of the Buddha’s robes was flame–colour because of His perfections. It was yellow, orange, and a little red. This colour was attractive. It might not be as flashy as red or pink. It was beautiful and did not raise the seer’s lust, but the seer became more faithful.
Some Arahants had their robe colour like the colour of young cattle. You can see what colour it is in the field. Some are dark brown. Some are light brown.
In conclusion, the colour of the monk’s robe is as follows.
1. Don’t be mottled. If it is spotted, it is not neat.
2. While a monk is wearing the robes, their colour should be consistent. If not, it is not neat except dying the robes with astringent water. It has been allowed since the Buddha’s Time.
We don’t dye with heartwood now because we don’t want the ordination to cause deforestation. Instead, we use a synthetic colour similar to the local area’s traditional colour of heartwood or gum. For example, in the ordination in Sri Lanka, the monk’s robes are dark red. It shows that Sri Lanka had the dye of this heartwood in the past, so it is the favoured colour now. The Burmese monks have a different shade of robes from Thai monks; however, it was the dye of heartwood.
In Thailand, the pilgrim monks dyed with heartwood and did not mind why it was dark. At the same time, the monks in the town bought the saffron dye in the market. They determined the appropriate colour, not too bright yellow or red or pink. They used saffron. The pilgrim monks used brown or dark saffron that looked similar to the traditional colour of the heartwood. They did not define the exact colour of the monk’s robes.
When the monks wear robes of which colour do not break Dhammavinaya, they should study more dharma, meditate, and follow the Dhammavinaya seriously for being the merit fields. And you, the laypeople, have them as the merit fields; you should make merit with them so that they would teach us dharma for a long time.
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