Lzh Sarv Bi Pm Dh Pc 136Ending the Robe-Making Season
Pāli / Sanskrit:Kathinuddhāra
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The Discourse on Ending the Robe-Making Season (Kathinuddhāra)
Background
Kathinuddhāra is a rule in the Vinaya Piṭaka of the Early Buddhist tradition, recording regulations concerning the ending of the robe-making season, an important aspect of communal monastic life in the Sangha.
According to the Vinaya Piṭaka, each year in Early Buddhism has two special practice seasons: the rains retreat, or Vassa, lasting three months, and the robe-making period, Kathina. Kathina is a special occasion after the rains retreat ends, when the community of devotees gathers to offer cloth for robes to the bhikkhus. This is not only an act of charity but also a sacred ceremony, expressing gratitude to the Sangha for its practice throughout the three months of rain.
The Kathinuddhāra rule prescribes the proper way to formally end this robe-making season, a legal act of the Sangha (saṅghakamma) that must be carried out correctly, with the presence of a sufficient number of bhikkhus and according to proper procedure. It is part of the Bhikkhunī Pātimokkha and the regulations related to the discipline of the Sangha.
Main Content
Kathinuddhāra identifies the conditions and procedures necessary to formally end the robe-making season. According to this rule, the Kathina season is regarded as a special privileged period, during which bhikkhus are permitted some relaxation of rules concerning the accumulation of cloth and the making of robes. However, this period cannot be extended indefinitely.
The formal ending (uddhāra) of the Kathina season is carried out when the Sangha decides by a legal act that the robe-making season is complete. This usually takes place at a fixed time in the year, after devotees have had the opportunity to offer cloth and the bhikkhus have completed the making of robes. From that moment onward, the ordinary rules come back into effect.
The Vinaya states clearly that this declaration of conclusion must be made publicly before the whole Sangha, with unanimity or at least without formal objection.
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