Version 1:
One not free of defilements,
Who will don a yellow robe,
That one, devoid of control and truth,
Is not worthy of a yellow robe.
Version 2:
[One] who, depraved,
devoid
of truthfulness
and self-control,
puts on the ochre robe,
doesn’t deserve the ochre robe.
Version 3:
Whoever being depraved, devoid of self-control and truthfulness, should don the monk’s yellow robe, [they] surely [are] not worthy of the robe.
Commentary:
It doesn’t matter what we wear – street clothes or religious clothes. Our actions in body, speech, and mind cannot be hidden beneath even a thousand layers. Seeing things as they are, practicing with open heart and open mind, then we dress like Buddhas, no matter the style or the color!
(Note: Version 1 is from the John Ross Carter and Mahinda Palihawadana translation. Version 2 is from the Thanissaro Bhikkhu translation. Version 3 is from the Acharya Buddharakkhita translation. I have switched gendered pronouns for non-gendered pronouns. This is indicated with brackets.)
Gosh, there soon might be a lot of disrobing monks and nuns, should they follow this dictum!
Yes…I thought something similar when I first read this….