The Significance of the
Kaṭhina Robe
Offering Ceremony
Buddhistdoor
International Venerable BD Dipananda 2013-10-31
The three-month rains-retreat seclusion of
Buddhist Saṅgha concludes with the
pavāraṇā
(invitation)
ceremony, which is in turn followed by Kaṭhina robe offering festival. It is a
traditional ceremony and ancient custom mostly found in the
Theravada Buddhist tradition. Today, the
Kaṭhina robe offering is a large, annual
festival where Buddhists get together and celebrate the day by
offering monastics gifts, such as robes and alms.
Kaṭhina means “hard”, “stiff”, “difficult”,
etc. The word Kaṭhina denotes a cloth
offered to the monks annually after the end of the rains-retreat
(vassāvāsa).
It also refers to a wooden frame used by the monks in sewing their
robes. However, the word mostly denotes the robe, cīvara
in pali, known as Kaṭhina cīvara. The character of the
material used symbolizes the cīvara, which is one of the
four requisites of a monk. The Kaṭhina robe is offered to the monastic
Saṅgha by lay followers. Apart from the lay
followers, monks, nuns and novices also can offer to the Buddhist
Saṅgha.
The historical background of the
Kaṭhina robe offering is mentioned in
theVinaya Pitaka. While the Buddha was dwelling at
JetavanaVihar in Shravasti, a group of thirty monks visited the
Buddha after the three-month rains-retreat. The Buddha asked them
about their retreat and noticed their worn out robes. It is said
that at the time, monks used to wear sewn pieces of cloth collected from different
places such as cemeteries, streets, rubbish-heaps, etc.To
rectify this, the Buddha granted permission to celebrate the
Kaṭhina ceremony with the following such
rules:
- Only those who have successfully
completed the rains-retreat can accept the
Kaṭhina robe.
- The period of the offering is only one
month, from the middle of September-October to October-November
(lunar month), and contemporary Assayuja to Kattikā (full moon of
the Buddhist month).
- When the Kaṭhina robe is offered to the Buddhist
Saṅgha by lay followers, a group of monks (not
less than four monks) will officially hand over to a selected monk
by performing some Buddhist ritual activities (Vinaya
rules).
- A monk who has received the
Kaṭhina robe, is not allowed to receive the
Kaṭhina robe a second time in the same month
period.
- Whoever observes rains-retreat from the
later (pacchimikā) time, also not allowed to receive the
Kaṭhina robe. Only those who have entered the
rains-retreat from the earlier (purimikā) time, are
allowed to receive it.
The proper time to give the
Kaṭhina robe is from sunrise to dawn the next
day, and in modern time it is calculated as twenty-four
hours.
The monk who accepts the
Kaṭhina robe enjoys five privileges. From the
date of the ceremony, (i) he is free to go to a meal invitation
without having informed another monk. (ii) Usually monks use a full
set of three robes, but he is allowed to go without taking a full
set robes according to a specific period of time without any fault.
(iii) He can enjoy a group meal (with four or more monks). (iv) He
can use as many as robes as he likes (v). Finally, he can receive
other robes offered to the Buddhist Saṅgha during the period of rainy season and
on the occasion of the Kaṭhina ceremony.
The Buddha himself stated the significance
of the offering of Kaṭhina robes in the Vinaya
Piṭaka.
In the Mahāvagga, it is stated that the
Kaṭhina robe offering is the highest offering
and the most meritorious of skillful deeds. The immeasurable merits
of offering the Kaṭhina robe can be illustrated in many
examples. In a previous life, the Venerable Nāgita Thera
offered the Kaṭhina robe to the
Saṅgha. As a result of accumulated merits, he
enjoyed divine pleasures and reigned as the king of heaven for many
eons. He never suffered in the unpleasant planes and in his last
birth he became an Arahant (a worthy one), during the Buddha's
era.
Today, the Kaṭhina robe offering ceremony is celebrated
as the largest festival among traditional Buddhists in the world.
Throughout the day, Buddhists enjoy the ceremony with cultural
entertainment and performing many meritorious acts. According the
schedule, it begins early in the morning. People gather in the
monastery, undertake the five precepts, and listen to Dhamma talks.
The first session is concluded before noon. Thereafter, the
devotees serve a meal to the Saṅgha and enjoys whatever is left over. The
main theme of Kaṭhina begins at midday, around 13:00, where
many monks give Dhamma talks and talk about the significance of the
Kaṭhina robe offering. A representative of the
laypeople leads the ceremony and announces the offering. After
receiving the robes, monks do other activities and perform some
Vinaya rules. At the ending session, the festival is concluded by
sharing the accumulated merits to relatives and sentient beings. In
the evening, the people perform some cultural programs such as
singing Buddhist songs and traditional dancing. It is important to
mention that, in this present day and age, people offer ready-made
robes to the Saṅgha for the Kaṭhina robe. In contrast to this, some
monasteries' devotees in Bangladesh offer handmade
Kaṭhina robes. Within the
Kaṭhina day, a group of people scratches the
fibers, cut the threads and make the cloth. After sewing the robe,
it is dyed and made a suitable color, and the resulting robe is
offered to the Saṅgha.
The meaning of Kaṭhina cīvara is associated with a
number of Buddhist rules and regulations. For example, monks
observe the rains-retreat for three months. At the end of the
rains-retreat, they perform the
pavāraṇā
(invitation), and after
the rains-retreat the Kaṭhina robe offering ceremony takes place
annually for one month by performing Vinaya activities. That is why
the Kaṭhina ceremony demands more determination,
firmness and stability, and the sponsors, receivers, and makers
accumulate immeasurable merits. The ceremony is far more special
than other offerings. It is the most important and beneficial
skillful deed that cultivates all that is good within us. And from
that, we gain all the blessings toward the highest goal known as
Nibbāna.