Chapter 12: Washing and Caring for the Kesa
How to Wash the Kesa
In the vinaya, it’s said that having made a kesa, one is not to sew a new robe for six years. But in India, monks didn’t wear jikitotsu, kimono, and so on, so the level of wear and tear a robe received is probably difficult for us to imagine. Today, we wear multiple layers under the kesa; we also don’t wear the kesa as often. As a result, there’s little call for us to wash our robes.
However, Dogen Zenji, in Shobogenzo Kesa Kudoku, did write in detail about how to properly wash the kesa. According to those instructions, people of old used to wash using hot water with ash. Today, because we can, it’s better to select detergent appropriate to a particular fabric and use that.
That said, it’s necessary to remind ourselves that the kesa, ultimately, is the buddha body—it’s the buddha mind. As such, we must treat it with reverence. Never treat the kesa as you would your kimono or other laundry. Prepare a purely clean wash basin and drying rod, then wash the kesa taking care not to harm it in any way.
For more specific instructions, please refer to Shobogenzo Kesa Kudoku.
How to Keep and Protect the Kesa
In Hōbuku Kakushō, we find this instruction: “Wrap the kesa in a cloth and place it safely on top of the kanki 1; this is the teaching of the founders.” Also, “In the way of the Buddha, show reverence for the three robes as if they are a pagoda, as if they are the world, as if you are taking care of your own flesh.”
In the vinaya, it is acceptable to use a case or bag to store the kesa.
Also, when receiving the three robes, be sure to do so according to the ceremony of ju-e sahō 2.
In the vinaya, it’s said that having made a kesa, one is not to sew a new robe for six years. But in India, monks didn’t wear jikitotsu, kimono, and so on, so the level of wear and tear a robe received is probably difficult for us to imagine. Today, we wear multiple layers under the kesa; we also don’t wear the kesa as often. As a result, there’s little call for us to wash our robes.
However, Dogen Zenji, in Shobogenzo Kesa Kudoku, did write in detail about how to properly wash the kesa. According to those instructions, people of old used to wash using hot water with ash. Today, because we can, it’s better to select detergent appropriate to a particular fabric and use that.
That said, it’s necessary to remind ourselves that the kesa, ultimately, is the buddha body—it’s the buddha mind. As such, we must treat it with reverence. Never treat the kesa as you would your kimono or other laundry. Prepare a purely clean wash basin and drying rod, then wash the kesa taking care not to harm it in any way.
For more specific instructions, please refer to Shobogenzo Kesa Kudoku.
How to Keep and Protect the Kesa
In Hōbuku Kakushō, we find this instruction: “Wrap the kesa in a cloth and place it safely on top of the kanki 1; this is the teaching of the founders.” Also, “In the way of the Buddha, show reverence for the three robes as if they are a pagoda, as if they are the world, as if you are taking care of your own flesh.”
In the vinaya, it is acceptable to use a case or bag to store the kesa.
Also, when receiving the three robes, be sure to do so according to the ceremony of ju-e sahō 2.
