Vas season and changing traditions from the time of the Buddha
Monks at a temple in Colombo receive the katina cheevaraya. Pic by Indika Handuwala
The dawn of the Il full moon Poya concluded the three months’ vassana or the rainy season in ancient India when monks who took shelter indoors for the rains, went forth to propagate the Dhamma.
During the time of the Buddha, monks, being mendicant recluses who had renounced the world as disciples of the Buddha, had no permanent abode. With temples and monasteries being scarce, bhikkhus sought shelter in caves or sat under the cover of trees and indulged in religious contemplation and meditation. They survived on fruits, nuts and edible leaves or went on pindapatha from house to house with the begging bowl for food.
Once, 30 forest monks from the ancient Paweyya state who had spent the vas or vassana season in Saketha Nuwara, travelled to meet the Buddha when they were caught in a storm. They arrived soaked, their robes splashed with mud at Sravasthi, Jethavanaraamaya where the Buddha was spending the vas season. They had no change of clothes but only the trivasa (robe of three parts) which they were wearing when the Buddha granted permission for monks to accept a new robe. This act was called Katinaskaranaya which gave way for the laity to make robes for monks on completing the vas retreat and the paavarana ceremony – a ceremony which was the first ritual where monks evaluated their own and each others’ conduct to establish purity of their vinaya or the code of discipline.
Gautama Buddha spent His first vas retreat since His Enlightenment at Isipathanaramaya in Varanasi, the grove where he met his first five disciples to whom He preached the Dhammachakra. During the early years of Buddhism, monks were permitted to accept the invitation of laymen to take shelter in their households during the vassana season. This was called “vas vaseema” when the monks while in residence, taught the dhamma to the inmates and those who attended on them.
The vas season therefore, was an occasion for the laymen to accumulate merit and enrich themselves spiritually as they learnt the dhamma from the monks who remained stationed in their households. During the “vas vaseema,” the monks did not go on pindapatha until the vas season was over which was after the Il Full Moon Poya and the ordinary folks rejoiced in the opportunity to take care of the mendicants in their households and enhance themselves spiritually. The three-months’ vassana retreat extended from Esala Full Moon Poya to Il Full Moon Poya. Towards the end of the vassana retreat, during the time of Vap Full Moon Poya, the laity got down to stitch the robe which they offered to the monk before Il Poya, with utmost devotion.
The act over the years, progressed into a pinkama when devotees offered the Katina and whatever they could afford towards the monks. The most significant component of the pinkama was the offering of the Katina or the robe to the Sangha. The Buddha who Himself observed vas declared that the offer of the Katina was the noblest religious act which afforded Buddhist devotees to accumulate limitless merit. It was considered as one of the eight great meritorious acts of Theravada Buddhism.
The stitching of the robe and the labour that went into it were considered acts of high esteem. The Katina was prepared by sewing together many pieces of cloth. This followed the earliest practice of making the robe with scraps of discarded cloth. The robe once stitched, was dyed with saffron. Some mendicants, Buddhist literature reveals, stitched the robe that had been taken from the cloth in which bodies were wrapped.
The preparation of the robe could not be done as one pleased; there were rules that had to be observed. The Katinaya had to be cut and sewn while stationed in one single place and had to be completed within the day. Unlike the Katinaya, the Katina Cheevaraya was a robe made of thick cloth to be worn during the cold season in India that followed the Il Poya.
Monks who lived indoors during the vas season, on completing the retreat successfully, were entitled to receive the katinaya and the katina cheevaraya. If a number of monks observed vas at the same place, only one monk out of them was entitled to receive the katinaya and the katina cheevaraya. A single devotee however, was able to offer any number of robes but to monks who live at different places.
With robes being freely available today, some of these practices have largely disappeared. However, although in a different context, we find many Buddhist temples and viharas holding Katina pinkamas in October, keeping alive a tradition that has come down from the days of the Buddha. We see many participating in these pinkamas, organized by the dayakas of the temples. These pinkamas with dancers dancing to the beat of drums which include even one or two caparisoned elephants, walk along roads and by lanes in the early hours of the morning while sesath, flags and other decorative items are carried bythe participants. The folded Katina cheevaraya or the Katina robe which should be hand stitched by devotees and dyed in saffron colour is carried by a devotee on his head who walks under a canopy or an ornamental umbrella with great respect being paid to it by white clad devotees.
Considered as one of the eight great meritorious deeds of the Theravada Buddhism, the Katina procession is arranged on a date between the full moon days of October and November. The procession winds its way to the temple when the devotees offer the Katinaya to a respected person in the temple. On the completion of the rituals, the monks decide on the recipient of the robe. Unlike in the olden days, the needy are given priority by the senior monks after which the recipient delivers a sermon with merit bestowed on the contributors and participants. This concludes the Katina pinkama.