cīvara

(Sanskrit; Pāli). The robes worn by a Buddhist monk, and the first of a monk's four traditional requirements (niśraya). The earliest robes were made of rectangular pieces of cotton cloth and typically three were worn: an inner robe, from the waist to the knee; an upper robe around the torso and shoulders; and an outer robe used as an overgarment. Monks are instructed never to enter a village without wearing all three. New robes are traditionally donated by the laity in the kaṭhina ceremony. In the early Indian orders, and in contemporary south-east Asia, a reddish-yellow colour is preferred. This is called kasāya or kasāva in the Pāli sources, or kaṣāya in Sanskrit, and is often translated into English as saffron or ochre. Elsewhere in Asia there is much variation. In Tibet the robes are maroon; in China and Korea, brown, grey, and blue, and in Japan, black or grey.