Published On:Friday 10 October 2014
Posted by Celebrate Life Style information Blog
The Significance of the Kaṭhina Robe Offering Ceremony
-Venerable BD Dipananda
: Editor’s note: this article is the third in a series of three that explains more about the practice of rains-retreat (vassāvāsa), which is then followed by the Kathina ceremony.
 |
| Maha Kathina Ceremony at Dhammakaya Temple in Pathum Thani province. From DMC.tv. |
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. -Read Full Story: http://newlotus.buddhistdoor.com/en/news/d/36560
