were not working. Some people still adhered to tradition and put on the sash when they entered the Buddha Hall or took their meal. But in the present-day tradition, people don't even wear the sash to take their meal or enter the Buddha-hall, yet they feel qualified to be left-home people. In fact, nowadays, left-home people in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam and all the areas of Mahayana Buddhism just wear a long robe and consider that to be the uniform and attire of a Buddhist. This is a big mistake! If a left-home person does not wear his sash, it's just as if he's returned to lay-life. He's no different from a layperson. Wearing a robe with an rounded collar doesn't prove that you are a left-home person. And even if you do wear your sash, you still break the precepts everyday, and are always dishonest. How much more so when you don't wear a sash!

     So now, there is virtually no Buddhism in China, nor in any of the places to which "Buddhism" spread from China. They have all lost the original appearance of Buddhism. When I contemplated this situation, I wanted to reform the trend in China, but I knew that I was just an insignificant person whose words carried no weight. I didn't have any status, and nobody would listen to what I said. Even if I shouted until my throat was sore, no one would believe me. Therefore, I vowed that I would reconstruct Buddhism in the West, and make it flourish once again, so that people will recognize what Buddhism is all about. So as soon as I came to America, I independently advocated wearing the sash and eating one meal a day. Since Americans constantly crave comfort and convenience, they didn't like it too much when they were told to wear the sash. Nevertheless, in America there were few left-home people who don't wear their sash, so I was able to advocate wearing the sash. I also promoted the practice of eating one meal a day, because even before I left home, I ate one meal a day as a layman. And in all these years since I left home, I've always taken only one meal a day. Since I don't have any other virtue or cultivation, all I can do is teach those who leave the home-life under me to imitate my outward behavior. Those who leave home with me, be they men or women, must all eat one meal a day. I will accept a person only if he or she can eat only one meal a day. This is an iron-cast rule for those who leave home with me. It cannot be altered. No matter when, no matter how much pressure there is in a situation, it must not be changed. This is because I have promoted this style of Buddhism of wearing the sash and eating one meal a day for several decades already. I advocated it when I first came to America, and I'm still advocating it now. It's been several decades, and as people gradually get used to it, I believe they will really come to accept it in their hearts. Everyone will come to understand the way I've been teaching people.

Ÿ Everyone knew about the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas' golden reputation of eating one meal a day. Whether they are walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, the left-home people at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas always wear their precept sash. They all own the requisites of three sashes, an almsbowl, and a sitting cloth, as prescribed  by the precepts of Buddhism. It is indicated clearly in the Vinaya that there are ten kinds of merit and virtue that arise from wearing the precept sash. Even if you are not greedy to get that merit and virtue, you should not be without the appearance of a left-home person . You may say, "I'm not greedy and I don't want that merit and virtue." You may not want merit, but you still have to have blessings. Blessings are accumulated bit by bit. No matter when it is or where you are, you have to foster blessings and wisdom. You have to nurture your own blessings and wisdom. If you don't cultivate blessings and wisdom, you won't be qualified to receive people's offerings.

     Nowadays, people have unconsciously allowed a bad habit to turn into a trend, so that those who don't wear their sash are considered authentic, while those who wear it are considered fake. Those who wear their sash are criticized by others as being strange. The Buddha himself owned three sashes, a bowl, and a sitting cloth, and he always wore his sash. The Buddha's disciples were the same. But when Buddhism spread to China, they all stopped wearing the sash! Then in Buddhism people started saying that wearing the sash was wrong. 
There is a story about when the students from mainland China first came to Taiwan. Because they were fleeing for their lives, none of the students, except maybe one or two, remembered to bring their diplomas. When they applied for college in Taiwan, they were at a loss when asked for their diplomas. So they searched everywhere to find a sample diploma. When they found a real one, they forged copies. They submitted the counterfeit diplomas to the Department of Education, and were then allowed to take the entrance exams and enroll in college. However, when someone submitted his authentic diploma to the Department of Education, they thought it was false. They said, "Everyone else's diploma is clean and well-kept. Why is yours all creased and torn up? You must have forged it and made it old and dirty-looking on purpose so that people wouldn't be able to tell." So they refused to accept it. All of you, think about this: the fake ones are considered real, and the real one was thought to be false.

Ÿ If left-home people do not wear the kashaya sash, it is the same as if they are going back to lay-life. Because Buddhism in China has become corrupt, I came overseas to proclaim that left-home people should eat one meal a day and wear the sash in accord with the Buddha's teaching. At the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, we observed these rules of eating one meal and wearing the sash. "If you recognized the true spirit of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, you would rather die than change. You would think, "Do you want me to not wear my sash? Tell me to die, but don't tell me to not wear my sash! Tell me to die, but don't tell me to not eat one meal a day"--with that kind of solid samadhi power, that kind of faith, you are a true member of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. Once I recognize my goal, I won't waver from it even if I have to die. Even if by entering the Chan Hall without my sash, I could get enlightened as soon as I sat down, I wouldn't dare do it! As for wearing the sash, in mainland China not only did they not wear the sash during Chan Sessions, they didn't wear the sash at any time. There wasn't any monastery where people wore the sash. They had already gotten used to it. If people don't wear the sash, then they lose the appearance of a Bhikshu. The long robe and the robe with big sleeves that they wear are