Lzh Mu Bu Pm Np 1The Robe-Making Season
Pāli / Sanskrit:Kathina
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THE KATHINA SUTTA: THE SEASON FOR MAKING THE SECOND ROBE
Background
Kathina (कथिन, a cloth for cutting) is a traditional ceremony in the Vinaya of Theravāda Buddhism, recorded in detail in the Pātimokkha texts, the basic code of the monastic orders. According to Buddhist history, after the three-month rains retreat (Vassa), when the bhikkhus had completed a period of intensive practice during the rains and floods, Śākyamuni Buddha restricted the monks from receiving cloth from laypeople throughout this season.
However, when the rains retreat came to an end, the Buddha allowed a precious exception: if a monastic community worked together to cut and sew cloth into robes for its members, faithful donors could offer cloth without violating the principle of renunciation. This is the origin of Kathina, the “cloth-cutting season” or “season for making the second robe.”
Main Content
Kathina is not an independent discourse of doctrine, but a Vinaya regulation established by the Buddha to govern the offering of cloth for making the long robes of monks. According to the record in the Pātimokkha, the Kathina ceremony proceeds as follows:
At the proper time, after the three-month rains retreat (from the seventh to the tenth lunar month) has ended, bhikkhus may receive a piece of cloth (kathina) from devoted lay followers. This cloth must be acknowledged and handled collectively by the whole Sangha. The purpose is to cut, dye, and sew it into a complete robe within one day and night.
When the Kathina is “established” (patthapanā), that is, when the Sangha agrees to accept the cloth, a series of rules concerning the receiving and making of cloth are temporarily relaxed. A bhikkhu may receive cloth directly from laypeople (not through an intermediary), may have surplus cloth after the sewing is finished, and may even leave cloth for those who were not present at the ceremony, provided that the cutting of the cloth is completed within one day and night.
This Kathina observance lasts until the end of the season, usually thirty days, during which bhikkhus enjoy certain privileges concerning cloth. After the period ends, the basic rules are restored.
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