Path Three − Sangha Puja
a place where countless Buddhists have been able to realise their highest aspirations. The monastery may be run down and in a state of disrepair, or well appointed and beautiful, but in the hearts of all those people who have faith in Buddhism there will be a constant attitude of respect and homage for it. For these reasons, whenever Buddhists go into a Buddhist monastery, for whatever purpose, they should be self-restrained, making sure that their behaviour is sufficiently modest and suitable. This also includes the clothes that people wear: they should be very careful to make sure that their dress conforms to their status as ‘children of the Buddha’ who are going into a place which is highly sacred, a place which has been glorified by the Lord Buddha, the Great Teacher of the three worlds. This dress code is especially important in the forest monastery, where Bhikkhus tend to be a bit like monkeys that have never had the opportunity to see and admire the material progress and the latest cultural developments that have taken place in cities and towns. When they see people coming to the monastery wearing some of the latest fashions, they feel it’s rather frightening and peculiar. It’s almost enough to make them dizzy and feverish – probably because they get a sudden fright from seeing something they have never seen before. They are so used to living in the forest that they have become part of it; and in such an environment it is not easy to imagine such things. So when they suddenly see strange things which depart from the way of Dhamma, an unusual change takes place in their minds and they feel profoundly dismayed. Most forest Dhutanga Bhikkhus say they have a similar kind of reaction; and we should sympathise with them. If someone were to explain to them about the material and cultural 135