Grounded. . .
Ever wondered why monks wear orange robes?
By now most of us have seen the orange robes and dress of most modern buddhist monks, but why this color and where does its use come from? Traditionally in their time the monks in India did not wear orange clothes; they largely colored their clothes with the soil (red earth) because they wanted to exist here with the existential and experiential understanding that the body is just an outcrop of the planet.
The idea is to always be conscious that your physical self is just an outcrop of the land that you walk upon. Keeping the body well is important (the earth suit as my wife calls it). If your body becomes troublesome because of some health issue, then all your attention will be only on the body and taking care of the body will take a hundred percent of your time and life. The body should not be an impediment, but a platform from which you can grow.
The earliest monks wore clothes that were washed in soil because the best way to make the body stable was to be connected to the Earth. Especially for one who is focused on something beyond the body. So this is like covering yourself by Earth because your clothing has the quality of the Earth. It connects you in so many ways and you are always conscious that your body is a part of this Earth. Even when death comes, you do not have a great amount of struggle because you know that the body was always a part of this Earth and you will simply be returning to your origins.
Grounded.
Peace and Love, Jim
#grounded #thedailybuddha
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