Kathina festival – A unique traditional Buddhist ceremony of ‘Civara Daana’

Kushinara M D

Bengaluru: Kathina is a Buddhist festival, which originated 2,500 years ago and celebrates the largest alms-giving ceremony of the Buddhist year.

Normally, nomadic Buddhist monks would have remained in one place for three months rainy season retreat and the Kathina celebration marks the time for them to move on. It comes in the end of ‘Vaasa’; three-month rainy season retreat. During this season, a monastery may hold Kathina; a one month long festival, beginning after the full moon of the eleventh month in the Lunar calendar ,usually October. At this time of the festival

Buddhist devotees express gratitude to bhikkhus (Buddhist monks) by giving donations to temples and new robes for the monks, also Atthaparikara; the Eight Requisites, is a part of the offerings. Kathina is a Pali word referring to the wooden frame used to measure the length and width by which the robes of Buddhist monks are cut.

As the legend goes, thirty bhikkhus were on a journey with the intention of spending Vassa with Gautama Buddha.However, the rains began before they reached their destination and according to Buddha’s guidelines for Vassa, mendicant monks shouldn’t travel during the rainy season as they may unintentionally harm crops and insects during their journey. As such, the monks had to stop at Saketa. The bhikkhus passed their time together without conflict and practising Dhamma so afterwards, the Buddha rewarded the monks by demonstrating a way to practice sharing and generosity. A lay disciple had previously donated pieces of cloth to the Buddha, so the Buddha gave the pieces to the group of monks and told them to make it into a robe and then offer it as a gift to one of them. A frame, called ‘Kathina’, was used to hold the pieces while they were being made into a robe.

This year in Bengaluru, Maha Bodhi Society is organising a Kathina Civara Dana on 24th October, Sunday. A tradition with deep rooted morals, never fails to impress us.