Who set the dress code for devotees to pay homage to sacred relics?

Did the Buddha stipulate that devotees should come dressed in white to pay homage to Buddha relics? True, white is pleasing to the eye, and it is standard practice to wear simple white clothing that suffi- ciently covers the body. But can anybody say that devotees must wear white to a place of worship, to participate in a pooja (ritual), or to attend a Buddhist monk’s funeral?

Recently, a family that missed the opportunity to pay homage to the Kapilawasthu Buddha relics exposition in Colombo travelled all the way from Panadura to Pellmadulla, only to be told by the organisers that the party could not join the long queue because two of them were dressed in non-white, pastel-hued clothes. The party pleaded with the authorities, but were mistreated and subjected to rude remarks. After five hours of pleading, the group was finally allowed to join the queue.

This incident reminded me of a dire incident I experienced a few years ago, at the funeral of the Ven. Soma Thera.

I went straight from my office to the funeral venue at Independence Square. I parked my car opposite the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) grounds. A massive crowd had gathered in the precincts of Torrington. The popular Thera’s demise had caused turmoil among his followers, who had suspicions about the circumstances surrounding it.

When the pyre was set alight, an ugly scene followed. Youths in national dress started to assault a group that was distributing leaflets. The youths then turned on people who had come to the funeral dressed in coloured clothes. With difficul- ty, I made my way through the crowds and reached a safe area. I was wearing a light beige shirt. With the blessings of the Triple Gem I found my way to Maitland Place, where I had parked my car.

Will some learned monk or lay scholar of Buddhism enlighten us on the Buddha’s teachings on dress and coloured clothes?

Our Sunday school Dhamma teacher related the Patacharaa story about a distraught woman who had lost all her loved ones and all her possessions, all in a single day. She walked into the Jethawanarama, without even a piece of thread to cover her body.

When the priests tried to stop her from entering the revered dwelling of the Buddha, the Lord Buddha himself inter- vened and ordered that the woman be allowed to enter the temple. K. K. S. Perera

Panadura