Kathina

Kathina is a ceremony in Theravada Buddhism in which lay people offer cloth to a community of monks or nuns at the end of the rains residence. It takes place in the month after the rains end, usually between October and November. For many monasteries it is the largest gathering of the year, and it is among the most joyful occasions in the lay Buddhist calendar.

The rains residence

Each year, from the full moon of Āsāḷha, monks and nuns stay in one monastery for three lunar months instead of travelling. This period is called the vassa. It ends with a ceremony called Pavāraṇā, in which monastics invite one another to point out any faults they may have seen.

The origin

The Vinaya, the monastic code, tells of a group of monks who had hoped to spend the rains with the Buddha. They were caught by the rains on the way and had to stop. When the season ended, they travelled on to meet him with their robes soaked and muddy. In response, the Buddha allowed communities that had completed the rains together to receive cloth and make a new robe.

The word kathina is usually linked to the wooden frame once used to stretch cloth while sewing a robe. It can also suggest something firm or durable.

How it works

A Kathina can only be offered to a community that has completed the rains residence together, and only within the set period after it. Lay supporters offer the cloth to the community as a whole, not to an individual. The monastics then formally agree among themselves which member will receive it, often someone whose robes are most worn. In the past the community would cut, sew and dye the robe together, within a single day.

Alongside the robe cloth, lay people often offer other requisites the monastery needs, such as food, medicine and household items. Completing the Kathina also brings certain allowances under the monastic rules for some months afterwards.

Its meaning

For lay Buddhists, the Kathina offering is valued as a special opportunity for generosity, or dāna. It is offered to the whole Sangha at a fitting time and in a fitting way, which tradition regards as especially meritorious. It also strengthens the bond between a monastery and the families who support it. Customs, processions and food vary widely between Thai, Sri Lankan, Burmese, Lao, Cambodian and other communities.