A Kesa (also known as an Okesa) represents Sakyamuni Buddha’s original robe, and is a ceremonial shawl worn over a koromo. Our Kesa is made from a nice cotton and linen blend fabric (above pictures are with a polycotton that we no longer use) and sewn together from large patches of black material.

Japanese buddhism kesa (袈裟) used to be worn covering the entire body beneath the head, including both shoulders, but now they are worn with the right shoulder exposed, except in special cases (偏袒右肩; Hendan-uken).

Zen monks in Japan wear a Japanese-style long cotton kimono (yukata 浴衣) under the koromo, with a collared white undershirt (juban 襦袢) under the kimono. The ceremonial kesa, a vestige of the upper robe that covered one shoulder of Buddhist monks in India, is worn over the koromo.

Aug 1, 2019 · The kesa is the symbol of the substance of the Buddha’s Law, the garment of “drizzle and dew, mist and clouds.” Heaven and earth, the entire universe, are one single kesa. No world exists outside of the kesa.

Jul 18, 2018 · Known as Shichijo-gesa (七条袈裟) or “seven-striped kesa,” this type was meant to be worn by monks while in training or participating in ceremonies, according to the writings of Dogen—the 13th-century Japanese Buddhist monk who founded the …

In Japanese Soto Zen, the kesa was tied with rope or cord. Monks of our Order use a kesa clip and ring, a practical solution adopted from our Chinese Dharma relatives in Malay-sia and used commonly by Rinzai Zen monastics.

What do you say to the Zen habit worn by all Buddhist monks? The Kesa holds great symbolic importance in Buddhism.

Before we put the kesa on for the first time in the day we place it on our head, making it physically higher than ourselves, and chant this sutra: We save all sentient beings. Dogen said “Since ancient times it (the kesa) has been called gedap-puku “.

In Japan, the Kesa robe carries profound cultural and spiritual significance, intimately entwined with the practice of Zen Buddhism. Known as "kesa-e" in Japanese, it stands as one of the most revered and emblematic elements of Zen monastic life.

Discover the sewing of the Zen kesa and its importance in Zen. We share the teachings of humility and simplicity through the kesa.