Kathina Day – Sunday, October 20
/This year’s Kathina will take place on Sunday, October 20. As always, everyone is welcome to attend and join in the occasion. The Kathina is a ceremony established by the Buddha and observed in Theravada Buddhist countries to the present day. The hallmark of this ceremony is an unsolicited offering of cloth with which the Sangha will sew a finished robe before the next dawn; that finished robe is then bestowed upon a senior monk chosen by the sangha to be a worthy recipient. Organized by members of the lay community who wish to offer requisites and support to the monastery*, this traditional ceremony also serves as an annual coming together for the lay and monastic communities and anyone who wishes to attend, whether or not you’ve been here before.
Please feel welcome to join us for any part of the day: an alms-round and shared meal, the Kathina Offering, a Dhamma Talk offered by Ajahn Jayanto, and a chance to meet with the Sangha. Hope to see you there.
*The offering ceremony will be what’s called in Thai a “Kathina Samagee”, which implies “everyone in harmony offering together”. Therefore anyone who wishes to offer a traditional Kathina cloth to the Sangha can do so formally, one-by-one during the official ceremony: please let us know beforehand if you wish do so. Anyone wishing to offer requisites can find a list of current needs on the Contribute page. This year, the greatest need is in fact financial support to allow us to finish the Lodgings Building which is now about halfway done, and construction has been paused until there are funds to continue. This is the first major undertaking in moving ahead with the monastery’s master plan.