大宋僧史略 1.40

1.40

案漢魏之世。出家者多著赤布僧伽梨。蓋以西土無絲織物。又尚木蘭色并乾陀色故。服布而染赤然也。則西方服色亦隨部類不同。薩婆多部皂色衣也。曇無德部絳色衣也。彌沙塞部青色衣也。著赤布者乃曇無德僧。先到漢土耳後梁有慧朗法師。常服青納。誌公預記云。興皇寺當有青衣開士廣行大乘。至朗果符其言矣。廣明服色。如五部威儀所服經中。今江表多服黑色赤色衣。時有青黃間色。號為黃褐。石蓮褐也。東京關輔尚褐色衣。并部幽州則尚黑色。若服黑色。最為非法也。何耶。黑是上染大色五方正色也。問緇衣者色何狀貌。答紫而淺黑非正色也。考工記中。三入為𦄿。五入為緅。七入為緇。以再染黑為緅。緅是雀頭色。又再染乃成緇矣。知緇本出絳。雀頭紫赤色也。故淨秀尼見聖眾衣色。如桑熟椹。乃淺赤深黑也。今秣陵比丘衣色倣西竺緇衣也。又後周忌聞黑衣之讖。悉屏黑色。著黃色衣。起於周也。又三衣之外。有曳納播者。形如覆肩衣。出寄歸傳。講員自許即曳之。若講通一本則曳一支。講二三本又隨講數曳之。如納播是也。又後魏宮人見僧自恣。偏袒右肩乃一施肩衣。號曰偏衫。全其兩扇衿袖。失祇支之體。自魏始也。復次脚曳𩌈𩍜。或革屣[奄-大+與]遮短𩍓靴等。寄歸傳云。西域有持竹蓋或持傘者。梁高僧慧韶遇有請。則自携杖笠也。今僧盛戴竹笠。禪師則葼笠。及持澡罐漉囊錫杖戒刀斧子針筒。此皆為道具也。近有衣白色者。失之大甚。佛記袈裟變白不受染色。此得非是乎。或有識如法眾主奪之而壞其色。真為護法有力之勝士也。昔唐末豫章有觀音禪師。見南方禪客多搭白納。常以瓿器盛染色。勸令染之。今天下皆謂黃納為觀音納也。此師早曾聽學護法為情。于今稱之。

According to records, during the Han and Wei eras, those who went forth mostly wore saṃghāṭīs made of red cloth. This was because there were no woven silk fabrics in the Western regions, and they also valued the colors of red dye (mulan) and gandha; hence they wore cloth dyed red. The colors of robes in the Western regions also differed according to the school: the Sarvāstivāda wore black robes; the Dharmaguptaka wore deep red robes; the Mahīśāsaka wore blue-green robes. Those wearing red cloth were monks of the Dharmaguptaka who had arrived first in the Han land. Later, under the Liang, Dharma Master Huilang constantly wore blue-green patchwork. Master Baozhi made a prophecy beforehand, saying: 'At the Xinghuang Monastery there will be a blue-robed bodhisattva who will broadly propagate the Mahāyāna.' When Lang appeared, it indeed matched his words. A broad explanation of robe colors is found in the Scripture on the Clothing of Deportment of the Five Schools. Nowadays, south of the Yangtze, they mostly wear black and red robes, occasionally with mixed blue-green and yellow, called 'yellow-brown' or 'stone-lotus brown.' In the Eastern Capital and the Guanzhong regions, brown robes are favored; in Bing Prefecture and You Prefecture, black is favored. Wearing black, however, is most contrary to the Dharma. Why? Black is a superior dye, a primary color, one of the five cardinal colors. To the question: 'What does a zhi (monastic) robe look like?', the answer is: 'It is purple with a light black tone; it is not a primary color.' In the Kaogongji, dipping three times produces xian (light red); five dippings produce zou (purplish-red); seven dippings produce zhi (blackish). Dipping it again into black makes zou, which is the color of a sparrow's head; dipping it again makes zhi. Thus we know that zhi originally derives from deep red; it is the purplish-red of a sparrow's head. Therefore, the nun Jingxiu saw the color of the robes of the holy assembly to be like ripe mulberries—that is, light red and deep black. Today the robe color of bhikṣus in Moling (Nanjing) imitates the zhi robes of India. Furthermore, under the Later Zhou, out of aversion to hearing the prophecy concerning 'men in black robes,' they completely abolished black robes and wore yellow robes; this began with the Zhou. In addition to the three robes, there is the yenapo, shaped like a shoulder-covering robe; it appears in the Record of the Western Seas Sent Home. When lecturers allow themselves, they wear it: if one masters the lecture of a single text, one drags one strip; if one lectures on two or three texts, one drags accordingly to the number of lectures; such is the napo. Furthermore, when palace women of the Later Wei saw monks performing the pravāraṇā (reflection), baring the right shoulder, they donated a shoulder-covering garment, termed the 'half-shirt' (pianshan). It preserved both flaps, collar, and sleeves, losing the original form of the saṃkakṣikā; this began with the Wei. Furthermore, on their feet they wear socks or slippers, yuqian sandals, or short boot-like shoes. The Record Sent Home says: 'In the Western Regions there are those who hold bamboo parasols or umbrellas.' When the eminent monk Huishao of the Liang received invitations, he would carry a staff and wear a bamboo hat himself. Today monks extensively wear bamboo hats, Chan masters wear palm-bark hats, and they carry water flasks, water filters, tin staffs, razor knives, small axes, and needle cases; these are all requisites. Recently there are those who wear white robes; this is a grave transgression. The Buddha prophesied that when the kāṣāya turns white and cannot receive dye, will it not be this? If there are discerning and Dharma-compliant monastic leaders who seize them and destroy their color, they are truly powerful and superior people who protect the Dharma. Formerly, at the end of the Tang, Chan Master Guanyin of Yuzhang saw that southern Chan pilgrims mostly wore white patchwork robes; he always filled jars with dye and urged them to dye them. Today everyone in the realm calls yellow patchwork robes 'Guanyin patchwork.' This master had studied early on and had a heartfelt concern for protecting the Dharma, and he is praised to this day.