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Kathina
Kathina – The Splendid Robe Offering Ceremony Wednesday,
25 November 2015 at Wat Phra Dhammakaya, Thailand
Supreme merits that take place only once a year
Kathina Robe Offering is a wonderful Buddhist tradition that has been preserved for over 2500 years since the Lord Buddha’s time. It is a custom established by the Buddha permitting the lay community to make a respectful offering of robes to monks who have spent three months during Buddhist Lent purifying their mind and body. The objective as envisioned by the Buddha was to foster harmony in the monastic community and to allow virtuous monks with worn out robes to receive new sets. The fruit from this great deed is tremendous—as expounded in one of the Buddha’s teachings that sanghadana, the offering of generosity, yields positive consequences for the donor.
Kathina is a special event to accumulate tremendous merits that Buddhists eagerly look forward to each year. It is one of the more difficult merits to perform as compared to other merits due to the following reasons.
1) Restriction of time – Kathina has to be conducted within one month after the final day of Buddhist Lent;
2) Restriction in the type of offering – the offering is made to the entire monastic community, not to any one particular monk like other offerings;
3) Restriction of frequency – it can be conducted only once a year;
4) Restriction of recipient – in order to conduct Kathina, there has to be a minimum of five monks who had resideded at a specific temple or location during the entire three months of Buddhist Lent;
5) Restriction of time to contemplate the robe – the venerable monk designated to receive the Kathina Robe must complete the ritual to contemplate the robe the same day that it was offered;
6) Restriction of cloth – the Kathina Robe has to be one of the monk’s set of three robes. Sanghati, or the most external robe, is traditionally chosen to be the Kathina Robe.
The merits from offering Kathina Robe
Be prosperous in all endeavors.
Gain admiration, respect and support from everyone.
Be replete with great material wealth.
Have purity in all our actions, speech and thoughts.
Easily attain the Dhammakaya within.
Be reborn only in the heavenly realm.
“Lord Buddha once said whoever invites others to join in making merit when cultivating great merits will be reborn in a fortunate realm replete with abundant wealth and retinues.”
schedule
Morning Session:
6:30 Alms Offering to the Monastic Community
8.30 Morning Chanting
09:30 Meditation
11:00 - Ceremony to Offer Gold to Cast the Gold Image of the Great Master
- Food Offering to the Monastic Community
Afternoon Session:
13.30 – Kathina Precession
– Meditation
15.20 Kathina Robe Offering Ceremony
16.00 - Offerings Ceremony
– Dhamma Sermon from the Presiding Monk
Evening Session:
18.00 * Ceremony to Cast the 8th Gold Image of the Great Master Phramongkolthepmuni (Sodh Candasaro)
20:00 Contemplation of the Kathina Robe
*The Ceremony of Casting the 8th Gold Image of Phramongkolthepmuni (Sodh Candasaro)
Phramongkolthepmuni (Sodh Candasaro), the discoverer of Vijja Dhammakaya, or Luang Pu Wat Paknam, was immeasurably virtuous. Therefore, people from around the world who have faith in him are united in casting his image from pure gold. This 8th gold image of Luang Pu Wat Paknam will be enshrined at the last Memorial Hall on the Mara conqueror’s path, where Luang Pu Wat Paknam was determined to commit the lifelong ordination when he was 19 years old. Thus, this casting of his gold image is a great source of superior merit as we will significantly prolong the existence of Buddhism.
(In order to preserve the sacred atmosphere and the wonderful Buddhist culture, please kindly come dressed in all white attire when attending the ceremony.)
For more information, please contact: 02-831-1000
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