佛制比丘六物圖 1.78

1.78

Third, explaining the manner of wearing [the robes]. The Vinaya commands: "Wear the three robes neatly." The Sanqian weiyi states: "When wearing them, one must not face a stupa, a senior monk, or the three preceptors, nor should one turn one's back [to them]; one must not hold them with the mouth or shake them with both hands." The Vinaya states: "One should drape it over the shoulder; it must not hang down over the arm or elbow." This was an earlier regulation. As related by the deva in the Gantong zhuan, four regulations in all were instituted: "First, from the initial conversion of the five monks onwards, the kāṣāya was uniformly prescribed to be worn on the left arm, with the sitting mat under the kāṣāya. Next, because young and handsome [monks] entered the city to beg for food and were frequently loved by women, it was then prescribed that the corner of the robe should be over the left shoulder, weighed down with the sitting mat. Again, because a monk was challenged by non-Buddhists saying, 'How can the cloth one sits upon be placed on top of the dharma robe?', from then on the regulation was restored, ordering it to be worn over the left arm with the sitting mat beneath. Finally, because monks wore their robes untidily, non-Buddhists ridiculed them saying, 'Like courtesans, like elephant trunks!' Because of this, it was first prescribed to fix a hook and loop on top, so that the corner of the robe would pass over the left arm and be placed under the armpit, not allowing it to hang down, avoiding the faults mentioned above." Today, one should follow the later regulation; otherwise, draping it over the shoulder or letting it hang over the elbow or arm is strictly non-Dharmic, because offenses were established for this among the śaikṣa rules.