Kathina Celebration in Sumedharama
Sunday, October 24, 2021
Everyone is invited to attend the event, celebrating the presence of the monastic community in Sumedhārāma:
Programme:
9h30 – arrival to the monastery (bring a dish to share for the meal)
10h00 – Requesting the Five Precepts, followed by chanting
10h30 – Offering of rice (Pindapat)
11h00 – Meal offering to the monks; A meal for the lay community
12h30 – The community offers the traditional monastic cloth
13h00 – A talk by Ajahn Vajiro
Starting 14h00 – informal conversation with the monks
In the rains season (Vassa) in Asia (a period which correlates to summer in Europe), the monks undertake the determination to remain in one place for three months.
According to the scriptures, at the end of this period, The Buddha allowed the monks to ask for cloth with which they could amend their cloths or even make new clothes.
The cloth the monks collected consisted of rags that had been discarded. As time went by, people, realizing this need, began hanging fabric from trees, so that the monks could ‘find’ them.
The custom then developed in such a way that not only pieces of fabric were left on the trees, but also ready made clothes.
People spotted the opportunity to make offers of other requisites to the monks, as a gesture of support and appreciation for their practice.
Hence a ceremony called ‘Kathina’ was created, ‘Katina’ being the name of the loom that the monks use to sew their clothes using the cloth offered. During this ceremony, the monks offer Dhamma talks and there is also a time for people to meet and talk with the monks in a more informal way. In this event, the connection between the lay community and the monastic community becomes evident, as well as their benefit from this dynamic.
