The history of Picked-Up Robes Offering Ceremony

The Picked-Up Robes Offering Ceremony
The history of Picked-Up Robes Offering Ceremony
Edited from the Inner Dreams Kindergarten Program

 

Welcome the New Year 2012 with the Dhammachai Picked-Up Robes Offering Ceremony

 

The picked-up robes offering ceremony is one of the big merits because of its merit is countless.  It is also a strongest merit in this period because January 1st, 2012 is a very good day for the disciples who have gone to the temple later than the foundation of the temple.  We give you a chance to get some merit of the building construction and all incoming merits by offering Dhammachai Picked-Up Robes together since the first day of the year 2012.  This is to award yourself and make it better and ever.

 

Dhammachai Picked-Up Robes Offering Ceremony for Everything

 

The merit of offering picked-up robes is countless because it does not happen often and our temple has not arranged this kind of merit for 10 years.

So, all Luang Phaw’s disciples should not miss or overlook this merit.  Before we study the fruits of this merit, you should know about its history first.

 

Dhammachai Picked-Up Robes Offering Ceremony for Everything

The picked-up robes offering ceremony is one of the big merit because it is Maha Sangha Dana – the donor offers to the monk without specifying.  The Lord Buddha taught that Maha Sangha Dana had more fruits than the specified ones.

Moreover, the picked-up robes offering ceremony is not restricted to time.  You can offer the picked-up robes anytime and the importance is any temples can arrange the picked-up robes offering ceremony many times per year.

It sounds that we can make this kind of merit easily, but if you consider it well, you will see that you cannot get this kind of merit easily because it is the only Buddhist merit.

Even if someone names his ceremony as the picked-up robes, it is still not the picked-up robes.  It is the imitation for fooling the unknown ones to misunderstand, believe and give something back because of the misunderstanding like the heretics in the Buddha Time.

So it seems like the brand name imitation.  If the Triple Gems did not appear, we would not have a chance to make the picked-up robes merit.

 

The monks in the Buddha Time had to search for the abandoned clothes to make their saffron robes by themselves

 

If you studied the history of picked-up robes ceremony, you would know that this ceremony had never been arranged in the early period of Buddha Time because the Lord Buddha did not allow the monks to receive saffron robes from any laypeople directly.

So the Buddhist monks had to search for the remnants of abandoned clothes from many places such as forests, savages, or shroud, etc. When they got them enough to make their saffron robes, they had to wash and make it by themselves. So you can see that the monks got their saffron robes with difficulty.

 

Dhammachai Picked-Up Robes Offering Ceremony is another good chance for you to collect the big merit again

 

The saffron robes were very important and necessities for all monks.  It is like the victory flag of Arahant.  The monks have to wear it for doing his monastic duties, self-development, etc for becoming the real monks thorough their lives.  Another important thing is the saffron robes is the last robes for everyone before going to Nirvana.

So it is your luck that you have another good chance to make this merit in the near future. You can offer the victory flag of Arahants and get the countless merit back.

Before going to make this merit on the New Year Day, we should study about its history, example, who began this ceremony? Was he/she a human being? How was it special?

Phra Anuruddha Thera searched for the abandoned remnants of cloth from many places to make his saffron robes

The first person who began the picked-up robes offering ceremony was very special because she was an angel in the Tavatimsa Heaven named “Angel Chalinee.”

The story is …One day, while Phra Anuruddha Thera who had the old saffron robes was searching for the remnants of cloth from the savages for his new ones.  This was because at that time the Lord Buddha did not allow his monks to receive the saffron robes from the laypeople directly.

 

Angel Chalinee placed her celestial clothes on Phra Anuruddha Thera’s way because she would like to offer it to him

While Phra Anuruddha Thera was searching for the remnants of cloth, Angel Chalinee saw him and intended to offer three pieces of celestial cloth to him. Suddenly, she reminded that she could not offer to him directly because the Lord Buddha did not allow.

So she placed them on the savage near his way and made them easy to see.  Finally, Phra Anuruddha Thera found these celestial clothes and brought them back to make his new saffron robes.

 

From this event, the donors who want to offer clothes to the monks will place their clothes in some places in order that their clothes are abandoned and the monks can pick their clothes up to make the saffron robes later.

This event was the beginning of the picked-up robes offering ceremony.  Those who wanted to make merit in the Buddha Time followed the Angel Chalinee’s method.  They intently left their clothes on the branches of trees, savages, forests, paths or anywhere they thought that the monks would walk past and see it easily.  They did it like their clothes were abandoned, so the monks could pick up to make the saffron robes because the clothes were abandoned.  This kind of robes was called “Pha-Pa” because the monks picked up from the forests or “Pha-bang-su-kul”, the dirty cloth (from dust).

Translated by Chadawee Chaipooripat


 

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