The Distinction of Monastic Attire and the Bestowal of the Gasa during the Goryeo Dynasty

This study analyzes the regulations on monastic attire and the significance of the policy of bestowing gasa(monastic robes) during the Goryeo Dynasty. While Goryeo generally prohibited monks from wearing clothes made of luxurious fabrics like neung(綾), ra(羅), geum(錦), and su(繡), high-ranking monks who received monastic titles and positions were permitted to wear attire befitting their status. This served as a visual representation of the institutional hierarchy within the Goryeo Buddhist community. The bestowal of gasa was conducted as a reward for national events or as a gesture of respect toward specific eminent monks. Records show that in the early Goryeo period, the bestowed robes were mainly manap gasa(磨衲袈裟) and cheop gasa(貼袈裟). In the later period, however, there was an increase in cases of mansu gasa(滿繡袈裟) and geumnan gasa(金襴袈裟) being granted. This suggests that the gasa transcended its original meaning as a tool for ascetic practice and took on the character of a secular gift linked to power. Ultimately, the bestowing of the gasa became a mechanism that created a material disparity between high-ranking monks and ordinary monks. This phenomenon, far removed from the fundamental egalitarianism of a monk who has left the secular world for spiritual practice, indicates that the Goryeo king, in addition to the institutionalized Buddhist hierarchy, gave special material treatment to eminent monks.