Namo tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammâ Sambuddhassa!

Dressing for the Temple
 

By Rasika Wijayaratne 

To school we wear school clothes, to work we wear work clothes, to parties we wear party clothes and so on. In short we dress appropriately to the place we are visiting. We wear white when we go to the temple because that is the colour that is appropriate for the temple.

White is a very pleasant colour to the eye. When people in Sri Lanka go to temple, regardless of whether it is sil or not, they wear all-white. Dark colours are simply not appropriate for the temple, so we need to dress as close to white as possible, especially during sil. Avoid colours such as black unless it is for shoes or coats.

This is  common sense but worth re-iterating for the benefit of our Buddhist youths; when we visit the temple we need to ensure that we are neat and tidy, clean-shaven, with hair well kept. We should wear clean, undamaged and decent clothes. We need to go to all this trouble because the temple is a very special place, a place where the three precious jewels of the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha reside.

Related Youth Articles

1. Daily Dâna by Rasika Wijayaratne (on generosity)  [ http://vihara.org.au/go?to=dailydana ]

2. Five Precepts by Rasika Wijayaratne (on morality)  [ http://vihara.org.au/go?to=pansil ]

3. Metta Meditation by Rasika Wijayaratne (basic instructions on the meditation on loving-kindness)  [ http://vihara.org.au/go?to=mettamed ]