ABSTRACT
This discussion of the Buddhist monastic robe [Sk. kāṣāya, J. kesa] is a supplement to ‘Den'e’ [‘Transmission of the robe’], an essay written by Anna Seidel almost fifteen years ago. At the time, I was myself working on a dissertation on early Chan, and the question of Chan Dharma transmission became the topic of many lively discussions between us. 1 In her essay, she established many insightful connections between the early Chan tradition and Daoist and Confucian notions of lineage. She continued to explore these connections in two articles, ‘Kokuhō’ [1981] and ‘Dynastic Treasures and Taoist Sacraments’ [1983]. 2
