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衲 functions as both noun and verb, originally denoting a patchwork garment or the act of patching, and by extension, it is closely associated with Buddhist monastic robes. It combines the clothing radical 衤 (semantic) with the phonetic 内 (nà). Because Buddhist monks took vows of poverty and wore robes stitched from discarded rags and donated fabric, 衲 became synonymous with monastic life. Monks humbly refer to themselves as 老衲 (lǎonà, "old patched robe"), a self-deprecating pronoun. Over time, the term shifted from a literal description of patched garments to a metonym for the Buddhist clergy and their asceticism.
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