This past July, I had an old friend named Ian Sloan (previously Venerable Visarada ) visit me in Kauai. He disrobed after being a monk for 25 years. He disrobed because of a conflict of philosophy about what happens at death. It was a combination of accounts from past life regressions in hypnotherapy, what he has read by Edgar Cayce, and the event of his father’s death. He seems to appreciate the Near Death Experiences which can still be explained partially with Buddhism, but he felt it was time to disrobe. 

Monk bowls are black because they are fired with sesame oil 5 times to protect it from rusting. There are two types of bowls allowed; Iron and Clay. Iron bowls need to be fired 5 times and clay bowls only need firing twice. Obviously, the clay bowls do not need to be black in color but are rare to find because they are fragile and very very heavy. Iron bowls are black from the baked-on sesame oil. The oil is also treated or burnt beforehand too.