On receiving enlightenment at Bodh-Gaya, Buddha announced the first sermon in Banares to five people of the happy group and eighty Gods (Lok Deve.)  The five ascetics grasped the scope of the teaching and became ‘Arhats’, saintly state leading to ‘Nirvana’. Although these five were enlightened from within; they dressed up as lay people did.  So, Buddha laid down procedures in which monks should dress-up.  Buddha came to know from meditation and other Gods, the dress worn by the followers of the preceding Buddhists.  Buddha, then, asked his disciples to dress up in symmetrical, round clothes below the waist.  He said that his follower monks should make the best use of clothes donated by lay people by cutting or sewing them as required.  Buddha permitted the ones to wear only red, yellow and saffron clothes.

The father of the King Ajatsatrun, King Jughen Nyinpo, was a follower of the Buddha.  He had high respect for monks and wherever he saw a monk, is bowed before the monk.  One day, while riding on his elephant, the King came across a beggar Coho, who was dressed-up like a monk.  Deceived by the dress worn by the beggar, the King stepped down off his elephant and bowed down to the beggar.  Later, the King realized his mistake.  He requested the Buddha to make some sort of mark on the dress of the monks, so that lay people could differentiate between the monks and the others. 

Buddha agreed to the proposal.  Buddha asked his disciple Ananda if he had seen the mountain to the east of Bodh-Gaya (Laphak Pori).  Ananda had not seen it.  Buddha told Ananda to hold on to his dress and follow with him to the mountain.  From the top of the mountains, they could see the beautiful sets of rectangular fields of Bodh-Gaya (Magahya) underneath.  Buddha said to Ananda that the design on the dress of the monks should resemble the fields.  Ananda, then, conveyed to the monks the wish of the Buddha and so the dress was designed in the same way.

ORIGIN OF THE DRESS OF TIBETAN MONKS

As Buddhism spread from India to Tibet and other countries, the way of dressing also changed according to the climatic condition and habits.  Two ways of wearing a “Shamthap” developed in Tibet, which are “Ulug and Tsanglug.” Under the Tsanglug system, the side folds are made on either sides facing backwards and two folds are made on the front part of the dress.  Two folds facing backwards on either side symbolizes eliminating negative actions and worldly sufferings that sentient beings confront in their life.  The two folds on the front part of the dress represents devotion to moving ahead on the path to Nirvana and the same as the Sitham Wyopermarwa rule, one of the eighteen branches Theravada Buddhism that existed in India.