Kasaya   袈裟

Kasaya 袈裟

Many may consider that the robe (Kasaya) is the clothes worn by the Sangha.  Indeed, the Kasaya carries a much more profound significance. It is worn by those seeking for liberation from reincarnation  (Samsara).  It also has the virtues of both self-benefiting and at the same time benefiting other sentient beings.  The stripes on the robe resembles the farming fields.   It symbolizes the growth of merits in the fields that mutually nourish and benefit oneself and others.

袈裟，在一般人心中的印象便是佛教出家人所穿的衣服。然而，袈裟的意義絕非僅止於此：它是為求解脫之人所穿法服，因而有著「善哉解脫服」之稱；它更有著自利、利他的種種功德，所以也叫做福田衣。袈裟上的條紋有如田地一般，正是其代表「福田」的象徵──田地有生長的意義，代表了佛法的利己利人、種種功德的相互滋長。