Some say that each color has a meaning, at least that is what I've been told. This results in certain customs. In India the young bride-to-be is dressed in red and in Korea the young bride on her traditional honeymoon wears a crimson coat. Red is considered the color of passion. In the western world, the bride-to-be wears white, the color of purity. Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka wear saffron (yellow) because it is the color of intelligence. Originally the wandering philosophers (sadhus) of ancient India wore gherva, a reddish color derived from rubbing bricks on white cloth. This signified the five elements -- earth, water, fire, air and ether -- and the fact that the person had passed out of society, passed out of the established norms and duties of human life in an effort to gain wisdom and understanding.

When Buddhism passed to China in about 1st century CE, the Chinese changed the yellow, of which they are not so fond, to grey and so in Korea, ordained Buddhists (and lay people doing special practice) wear grey. The color of ashes -- recalling Buddhists' customary future cremation -- and all colors mixed, grey comes in many shades from light to almost black. The cloth used for the robes is in varying thicknesses and textures of fabric in order to be suitable for the rigorous extremes of the Korean climate. Traditionally the clothes were made of the cheapest and most readily available cloth. Special kinds of hand woven cotton (which were not so special way back when) suitable for the very distinct seasons of spring, autumn and winter were used and ramie or linen were considered best for the summer. As the clothes were large, many layers could be heaped on below the outer grey wear. Therefore, even though the fabrics used were of varying thicknesses, compensation for the basic lack of warmth of cotton could be acquired by heaping up layers below.

Basic monks' clothes consist of an array of garments. Based on the traditional Korean hanbok, monks' clothes are made one "ch'i" larger everywhere (a ch'i is a traditional measurement which equals the width of the base of the first finger.) The clothes consist of very baggy pants, bhaji; a short working jacket, choksam; a longer formal jacket with a flowing tie in front, dongbanga; and an overcoat, drumagi. In addition, there is the ceremonial dress. The main robe is called a changsam and as it is made of 10 meters of cloth, it is very large and flowing, reaching down to the ankles and has pleats in the skirt part. Over this is worn the Buddhist robe, a garment made of patches of brown cloth and secured to the left with a Turk's Head knot, leaving the right shoulder uncovered -- a sign of respect in ancient India. It is made of patches because it therefore has no commercial value and some say that it is an image of the paddy fields through which the Buddha spent many years wandering... Let us take a look at the clothes in more detail. There are the pants, bhaji in Korean, which are very baggy and comfortable. The fabric is gathered at the waist with a belt which is tied at the side. At the ankle, the bagginess is gathered and folded using another piece of cloth to tie it, traditionally, or elastic, these days. Then there is the working jacket, choksam. It is short, with short sleeves, large pockets in the front and it is done up with buttons or press fasteners. If you are going out of the temple, you put a coat, drumagi, on top of this. The coat is long and flowing and it is secured with a tie on the inner left and a long flowing tie on the outer right. The sleeves are long and it usually has no pockets, just two holes through which you can put your hands to adjust the inner garments! If you are receiving guests in the temple, you wear a dongbanga. This is a short jacket -- longer than the working one -- which has a tie in the front like the coat and deep pockets inside.

Probably the most interesting types of monks' clothes are the summer, heavily starched ramie and linen, and the wonderful padded winter fare. Korean summers are hot (35 degrees Centigrade) and humid (85%-95%). Ramie and linen are not only porous allowing the skin to breathe but when starched, the clothes stand out from the body. Everyone always wants to touch the cloth because it looks so rough and coarse, but I can assure you, there is nothing so comfortable for the climate! Unfortunately, these clothes used to be cheap but are now terribly expensive... Korean winters are cold, the temperature often going down to -10 or -20 degrees Centigrade. Although layers can and are worn under the loose clothes, this is not enough. You need a barrier against the wind and the dry cold. Originally introduced from China, cotton-wool padded clothes, nubi in Korean, are worn.

To make nubi clothes requires an enormous amount of time. However, once made, if they are well cared for, they last a long time. (While writing this, I am wearing a nubi joki, vest or waistcoat, which is at least 15 years old!) First of all the clothes are cut out and then, traditionally, straight parallel lines are ironed on with an indo, a small cast-iron, iron which is thrust into hot oak embers, wiped off on a piece of cloth and used to make the lines to be stitched through the layers to keep the cotton wool in place. This piece of cloth is placed on top of a layer of cotton wool which has been placed on top of another layer of cloth. The lines are stitched in perfectly even stitches using waxed thread. (Some people hold a candle below to catch the needle when it is pulled through so that it doesn't go into the fingers.) Before this kind of nubi, Koreans used to stitch around the edge only. Then, when the garment was dirty, it was unstitched, the cloth washed, boiled and starched and then it was all sewed up again! Needless to say, these days, not many people have time to unsew and sew up clothes all the time. Therefore nubi clothes are popular. Although the ordained Sangha's robes are rather interesting to the visitor, they are very practical and comfortable to wear. The bagginess means that they last a long time and life on the floor (continual getting up and down, sitting cross-legged) is easy. Don't ever try these clothes yourself because you may find them so convenient that you never want to take them off!?

At different times during the year, there are changes in schedule. When more manpower is required for agricultural activities, all join in. In the early spring there is a special week for lay people. During that week, the monks look after the lay people, who are doing special religious practices, and do some extra practice themselves. Bowing, reading texts, reciting sacred words and so on are all part of the way people practice Buddhism and try to improve themselves.