Deep Commentary

The Buddha taught these verses specifically for monastics. The monastic robe, or Kasaya, is a garment of liberation and a field of merit. To ordain is to renounce worldly desires and attachments. In ancient times, the Buddha and the noble sangha lived simply with only an alms bowl and robes, wandering to teach the Dharma and escape the cycle of birth and death. To them, worldly pleasures held no meaning or attraction. Therefore, wearing the Kasaya requires shedding impurities—the afflictions and desires that a monastic must strive to eliminate. The nobility of a monastic lies in abandoning what worldly people crave and strictly upholding the precepts. Wearing the robe while still harboring greed for fame and worldly entanglement renders one unworthy. As emphasized in the Sutra of Forty-Two Chapters, true monastics sever desires, recognize their pure mind, and realize the ultimate truth without external seeking. Ignorance is rooted in craving and desire; as long as we are enslaved by them, we remain in the cycle of Samsara. Thus, practitioners must deeply reflect on these teachings, diligently purify themselves, and strive for liberation. Only then are they genuinely worthy of the Kasaya.