Red And Orange Monks In Chiang Mai, What Are The Differences ?

[Member]

Can somebody tell us what are the exact differences between the monks wearing (often brand new) orange robes and those wearing the dark red ones ?

Think I have heard that dark red monks spend most time on studying and meditation and are not as materialistic as the orange ones. Do the red ones practice a 'higher level' of Buddhist teachings ?

Anyone who knows ?

[Semper]

Do the red ones practice a 'higher level' of Buddhist teachings ?

No, all of them use mobile phones, cd players etc..

[Ulysses G.]

Just be careful of the ones that beg for money. They are fakes.

[Member]

Found.

'The saffron robes monk wear dates back centuries. Orange was chosen mainly because of the dye available at the time. The tradition stuck and orange is now the color of choice for Theravada Buddhist followers in Southeast Asia, as opposed to a maroon color for Tibetan monks. Tibetans follow their version of Mahayana Buddhism. Red is considered a "poor" colour in Tibet so the idea of wearing red symbolises deflecting attention from yourself and focus on compassion & kindness towards other beings - that is one of the main principles of buddhism.'

[Drew Aitch]

The two main coloured robes that the Thai monks wear are bright orange and that more lacklustre brown shade we see a lot of around here.

The brownish ones are worn by the 'Forest Monks' from the Ajahn Chah's lineage, while the brightly coloured orange ones belong to the 'City" Monks'. They are also issued to novice monks (nayn (เณร)) that are training at either city of forest temples. This is why you will see a mishmash of rags coming out for breakfast at first light.

The forest monks stain their own glad-rags using dye from the jackfruit tree. This probably accounts for some of the variations in these ochre brown robes as seen on the monks from various wats.

City monks on the other hand, have a consistent bright orange robe which is easily controlled by factory dying.

But hey, just because I think I'm right, it doesn't mean I am. It just means I 'THINK' I am

Aitch

[Member]

The two main coloured robes that the Thai monks wear are bright orange and that more lacklustre brown shade we see a lot of around here.

The brownish ones are worn by the 'Forest Monks' from the Ajahn Chah's lineage, while the brightly coloured orange ones belong to the 'City" Monks'. They are also issued to novice monks (nayn (เณร)) that are training at either city of forest temples. This is why you will see a mishmash of rags coming out for breakfast at first light.

The forest monks stain their own glad-rags using dye from the jackfruit tree. This probably accounts for some of the variations in these ochre brown robes as seen on the monks from various wats.

City monks on the other hand, have a consistent bright orange robe which is easily controlled by factory dying.

But hey, just because I think I'm right, it doesn't mean I am. It just means I 'THINK' I am

Aitch

Interesting, but it looks like Ajahn Chah is only a subgroup of Theravada, and not especially connected to the red robes, what you think ?

Ajahn Chah - Wikipedia

Biography of Ajahn Chah

The Wisdom of Ajahn Chah

[Beetlejuice]

The dark red monks live in the Wats (temples) and still practice traditional Buddism that dates back centuries.

The orange monks are more Hi Tech and reside mostly in the computer Plaza when they spend most of they`re time blessing the computers and sampling the software.

Edited May 11, 2011 by Beetlejuice

[realthaideal]

I heard a good one a long time ago that the red robed ones are healthy, but the orange colored ones contain much more vitamin C.

I believe all the other info above on robes is much more accurate though. DOn't forget there is a great resource here on TV, the Buddhist Subforum. All kinds of cool topics and learning going on in that area. Definitely worth dropping in there or posting questions like this in there. Probably already covered even.... hmm, I'll go do a search now even....

[jackr]

Always thought the monks in red were Burmese, seeing more here than usual after the troubles over there few years back.

[LJW]

The orange monks are Therwadaa, and the brownish monks are Thamayut, which King Bhumiphon was a member of...

Basically, Thamayut monks are stricter than Therwadaa

[Rama]

The bright orange ones are Theravedic (sometimes called the Hinayana tradition) tradition the tradition followed in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Burma, cambodia, and Laos. The darker maroon ones are followers of the Mahayana tradition - the tradition followed by the Tibetians, most Chinese Buddhists (Pure Land Buddhists), Korean, and japanese (including Zen). Theravedic is the overwelming Buddhist tradition in Thailand. Thai Theravedic followers mostly consider the Mahayana tradition heretics.

[garycm]

The two main coloured robes that the Thai monks wear are bright orange and that more lacklustre brown shade we see a lot of around here.

The brownish ones are worn by the 'Forest Monks' from the Ajahn Chah's lineage, while the brightly coloured orange ones belong to the 'City" Monks'. They are also issued to novice monks (nayn (เณร)) that are training at either city of forest temples. This is why you will see a mishmash of rags coming out for breakfast at first light.

The forest monks stain their own glad-rags using dye from the jackfruit tree. This probably accounts for some of the variations in these ochre brown robes as seen on the monks from various wats.

City monks on the other hand, have a consistent bright orange robe which is easily controlled by factory dying.

But hey, just because I think I'm right, it doesn't mean I am. It just means I 'THINK' I am

Aitch

and you are right.

[elektrified]

Always thought the monks in red were Burmese, seeing more here than usual after the troubles over there few years back.

I always thought the same but I am no expert by any means.

I do know that it is almost always the ones in red that are asked for ID on the buses to and from the Golden Triangle, Mae Sai, etc.

Edited May 12, 2011 by elektrified

[Member]

[uptheos]

The orange monks are Therwadaa, and the brownish monks are Thamayut, which King Bhumiphon was a member of...

Basically, Thamayut monks are stricter than Therwadaa

Having watched the royal anthem tribute in the cinema more times than I can remember, I thought HM was dressed in orange robes.

Now i'll have to pay closer attention.

[jdinasia]

I'll chime in ... and am happily subject to correction.

All the colored robes other than the Chinese grey/brown or Santhi Asoke's brown are part of the Thai Sangha ----(this would obviously exclude the other random Tibetan --Mahayana monks.) There are two main branches of Theravedan Buddhism in the Thai Sangha.

Now --- to the question in the OP. This is of course a generalization because I don't think any monk hits 100% into either of these groups --- but the orange shade monks tend to be teaching and dhamma oriented monks. The darker red shade (not the Mahayana red -- often with yellow) are still part of the Theravadan Thai sangha, but are more contemplative (meditation) monks.

Again,.... there are plenty of shades of "grey" to go with these generalizations but I have spent some real time with most types of monks (and nuns) in Thailand and I think my conclusions are correct.

[Member]

I'll chime in ... and am happily subject to correction.

All the colored robes other than the Chinese grey/brown or Santhi Asoke's brown are part of the Thai Sangha ----(this would obviously exclude the other random Tibetan --Mahayana monks.) There are two main branches of Theravedan Buddhism in the Thai Sangha.

Now --- to the question in the OP. This is of course a generalization because I don't think any monk hits 100% into either of these groups --- but the orange shade monks tend to be teaching and dhamma oriented monks. The darker red shade (not the Mahayana red -- often with yellow) are still part of the Theravadan Thai sangha, but are more contemplative (meditation) monks.

Again,.... there are plenty of shades of "grey" to go with these generalizations but I have spent some real time with most types of monks (and nuns) in Thailand and I think my conclusions are correct.

Interesting.

[Johpa]

The bright orange ones are Theravedic (sometimes called the Hinayana tradition) tradition the tradition followed in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Burma, cambodia, and Laos. The darker maroon ones are followers of the Mahayana tradition - the tradition followed by the Tibetians, most Chinese Buddhists (Pure Land Buddhists), Korean, and japanese (including Zen). Theravedic is the overwelming Buddhist tradition in Thailand. Thai Theravedic followers mostly consider the Mahayana tradition heretics.

To the best of my knowledge, no Thais or other Southeast Asians follow the Mahayana tradition in any numbers that would be noticable.

[elektrified]

The bright orange ones are Theravedic (sometimes called the Hinayana tradition) tradition the tradition followed in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Burma, cambodia, and Laos. The darker maroon ones are followers of the Mahayana tradition - the tradition followed by the Tibetians, most Chinese Buddhists (Pure Land Buddhists), Korean, and japanese (including Zen). Theravedic is the overwelming Buddhist tradition in Thailand. Thai Theravedic followers mostly consider the Mahayana tradition heretics.

To the best of my knowledge, no Thais or other Southeast Asians follow the Mahayana tradition in any numbers that would be noticable.

Don't know about it at all but there are a heck of a lot of them that wear red robes. It is very noticeable.

[jdinasia]

Other than when speaking with a few Tibetan monks I have NEVER seen the bright read you can find them wearing ... in Thailand.

http://www.monkstore.com/home.php?c=18

From a Q&A with "Phra Farang" http://www.thaibuddhist.com/thai-buddhism/an-interview-with-phra-farang.html

Q. Sometimes you see monks wearing different coloured robes. Is there any significance in this?

Not really. Dhammayuttika monks usually wear a dark brown robe and city-based Mahanikaya monks often wear orange. Some monks may wear a deep red robe. It often depends on the choice of the abbot. In my ten years as a monk, I wore all three colors at various times.

I still have to say that the deep red robe wearing monks have all had a meditation slant (strongly) to their practice. There are a few newish red robed monks at Wat DapPai, I will try and speak with them tmw if I have free time.