hachi 鉢

Also hōbachi 宝鉢 (Sk: patra). A bowl used by Buddhist monks for meals, and as a begging bowl. The hachi is rounded and deep with no foot ring. It is most frequently made from lacquered wood, iron teppatsu 鉄鉢, or pottery, but there are also examples made from stone, gilt bronze, silver, and porcelain. According to ancient Buddhist law, a monk's only possessions should be three robes and one iron bowl, sanne ippatsu 三衣一鉢. If the bowl gets broken it may be repaired up to five times and re-used; sōryo no teppatsu wa gotetsu 僧侶の鉄鉢は五綴. The word gotetsu is also used to refer to a monk's bowl. The hachi is found as an attribute *jimotsu 持物 held by the thousand-armed Kannon, *Senju Kannon 千手観音.