three robes and one begging bowl ［三衣一鉢］ ( sanne-ippatsu): The only belongings that the precepts of early Indian Buddhism allow a monk to possess. They exemplify the austere lifestyle of a monk and the determination to divest oneself of worldly attachments in order to seek the way. Monks wore one or another of the three kinds of robes according to the occasion or activity. Monks used their bowls as receptacles for food when eating a meal or when begging.