Kathina at Tisarana: November 8, 2015
Each year since the time of the Buddha, at the end of the three-month Rains Retreat, lay people who support Buddhist monasteries have gathered to celebrate the completion of the retreat and offer the monastic community gifts of robe cloth and requisites that will be useful for the coming year. The cloth is cut, sewn and dyed by the monks that same day to make a robe to offer to a member of the monastic Sangha.
This 2,500-year-old tradition is still carried on here in the West, initiated by a lay supporter or group of supporters who request to organize the preparation and formal offerings. Kathina is a significant and joyful occasion that’s emblematic of the rich relationship between lay people and monastics, a connection characterized by deep bonds of friendship and commitment to mutual support. The core values that are celebrated by the Kathina tradition are those that make living together in harmony possible; qualities like generosity, patience, joy, kindness and empathy.
2015 is the third year that a Kathina is being held for the Sangha at Tisarana Buddhist Monastery. This year’s Kathina will have eight bhikkhus in attendance and is being sponsored by the lay members of the Tisarana Board of directors.… Read the rest