ORANGE
I would gladly assign the color orange to describe Luang Prabang, Laos. Colors – one of the most powerful natural tools in the world. Everyone sees colors slightly differently, isn’t that crazy? In fact, some countries only have certain colors or basic colors in their lexicon. Communities around the world may never know what the difference between blue and indigo.
My Lao lesson on colors really brought this to my attention. My Lao teacher mentioned in passing that the Buddhist robes were considered yellow in Lao. When he first said this, I had to stop him. Their robes are just so clearly orange, why on earth would he say they are yellow? Apparently, this is an ancient tradition. Even though everyone sees orange, the robe is still considered yellow in the Lao language. Like many languages, there is no easy answer for why a language is the way it is (if anyone knows French, you can easily relate!).
I was speaking with some Novices at the Library – a local hang out for Novices to practice languages with foreigners here in Luang Prabang. I asked them for some insight into the orange verse yellow phenomenon.
The Novices explained it beautifully to me.
Their initial response to my question was as follows: “What colors do you see in the flame of a fire?”
Naturally I replied with: “Orange, yellow, red.”
Why does this matter? Because the Buddhist robes in Laos are all shades of a flame. Often you will see dozens of shades of orange, blue bags for them to use, and yellow wraps for the belt of the robe.
The flame is a symbol of truth according to Buddha, and the truth must stem from inner encouragement – this is why monks wear orange. It is so that when they walk down the street, onlookers are reminded of the flame, so that they can reconnect with their inner truth. Additionally, it is so they are noticed for their sacrifice to Buddha and the temple and to remind everyone to do the same.
