Indra's Web - Sewing a Lay Robe

Sewing a Lay Robe

Wagesa sewing notes

Colors and material to be used:

In constructing a kesa, take coarse cotton cloth as your base. When you do not have coarse cotton cloth, use a fine cotton cloth. If you have neither coarse nor fine cotton, use raw silk cloth. If you have neither silk nor cotton cloth, then use, say, a wool twill or a thin silk gauze, all of which the Tathagata endorsed. In a country that does not have any variety of silk, cotton, or twill, the Tathagata also permitted leather kesas.

Speaking in general terms, when dyeing a kesa, we should use blue-green, yellow, red, black, or purple. Whichever color we choose, it should be a loaded (primary) color.

Dogen's Spiritual Merits of the Kesa (Robe) click here

You might want to choose a traditional color and material per Dogen. Or not.

One alternative that I chose is Funzo-E.

Funzo-E sewing is to find cloth that is dicarded. Handed down material that is no longer useful. You can ask someone that you want to remember or care about for some material. For instance a Grandparent that you like or admire. Or a friend.

Found material that has no commercial value is part of a tradition that spans 2600 years in the Buddhist practice of making a robe. It protects against bandits, both of the internal and external sort.

Zen and Rags by Paula Arai click here

This is a picture of a classy Japanese Wagesa. Nice, but I like the simple American homespun look. See my own Wagesa pictured below. You could order one on line. They are not too expensive and perhaps you like the more traditional look of a Japanese Wagesa.

I have modified the Wagesa so that mine is wider, a bit longer and also has no knot. I rather like this simple version of the Wagesa or Lay robe . You can sew up poems, encouraging words or articles inside before you turn it inside out. The width of my Wagesa in the picture is 6 inches instead of five inches before folding over.

The material I collected from my friends who sit with me each day, as old found materials. It is more work, as you have to join all the individual pieces together and then fold over and sew the robe 'shut'.

You can use a machine if you want to. I found it a nice quiet reflective practice to hand sew much of the Wagesa I am wearing myself. I recommend hand sewing as much as possible. Proprioception and Buddhism go hand in glove. Embody it and be embodied by it.