Katina Pooja: An austere act that rewarded the deserving

Today we witness a deviation from the old rituals with one or several taking over the responsibility of the Katina Pooja which is held on a grand scale

• What takes the centre-stage in the Katina pinkama procession however is the saffron-coloured Katina Robe
• Katina robe in the olden days was sewn by monks themselves...many pieces of discarded cloth had to be sewn together 
• In the days of the Buddha, the Katina robe was a piece of cloth stitched in a day and presented to a monk...

With the dawn of the Vap Full Moon Poya on October 13, we witness Katina Pinkam processions, winding their way to the temples in the early hours of the morning. These will continue until the arrival of Ill Poya next month.
Heralded by cracking of whips and followed by numerous forms of traditional dancing and drumming, the pinkam processions at times even include a few caparisoned elephants, while devotees, in contrast, clad in white, walk calmly bearing sesath, white flags and various other
traditional symbols.
What takes the centre-stage in the Katina pinkama procession however is the saffron-coloured Katina Robe, carried under a decorative silk canopy with utmost devotion.

"And, while monks spent time indulging in religious activities, He asked them to take advantage of the occasion to interact with the laity. Merit He said can be thus accumulated as monks could teach the Doctrine to the householders while it afforded householders to make queries, clear doubts and receive explanations on the deeper aspects of the Dhamma"

Although Katina Pinkama has emerged as a colourful ritual in the Buddhist calendar and it affords devotees to practise generosity and provide the opportunity to attend to the needs of temples and its monks, it has evolved, as professed by the Gautama Buddha, as an austere, simple act, devoid of grandeur.
The practice which according to the Mahavagga Pali, the Third Book of Vinayapitaka, was an outcome of the “Vassa,” the three-months’ rainy season and was evolved as a form of reward for those who successfully completed the “vas retreat sojourn.”
The rainy season in India was from July to October which resulted at times in floods and storms. Monks who had given up lay life were on the move spreading the Teachings of the Buddha. They went from village to village carrying with them the begging bowl.
But with rain, they could not roam the world. And in these early days of Buddhism, either there were no monasteries or there were too few to accommodate all.
When monks related these weather hazards to the Buddha, He ruled out outdoor missionary work for them during the three-months’ “vassana period.” And He established the practice of “vas retreat sojourns” – a period when they had to confine themselves to indoors. Explaining its benefits He said that the three-months’ period could provide immense spiritual enrichment for the “Savanak Piris” viz the four groups of the Buddhist community – bhikkhus, bhikkhunis, upasaka and upasika. They, instead of spreading the teachings of the Dhamma, could contemplate and digest the Teachings. He permitted lay disciples to invite monks to their abodes, provide meals and attend to their needs so they could observe
“vas retreat sojourns” indoors.

And, while monks spent time indulging in religious activities, He asked them to take advantage of the occasion to interact with the laity. Merit He said can be thus accumulated as monks could teach the Doctrine to the householders while it afforded householders to make queries, clear doubts and receive explanations on the deeper aspects of the Dhamma. 
The final ritual of the rain-retreat sojourn for monks was the “Pavarana Ceremony” when young monks were given to evaluate their own conduct and that of the seniors towards them. The evaluation was done among the senior monks as well, a system which established the purity of the Vinaya. On completion of the rainy-retreat which by no means was an easy task, they were deemed qualified to receive a Katina robe as a mark of successful completion of the ritual.
The monks in the meantime owned only a ‘trivasa’ ( a robe of three parts.) As such, they had no change of cloth. Therefore, the Katina Pooja or offering of robes to the Maha Sangha, Buddha said, was one of the eight noblest religious acts. 

In the days of the Buddha, the Katina robe was a piece of cloth stitched in a day and presented to a monk the same day, an act which resembled extreme simplicity. A monk was entitled to receive only one robe and the Buddha granted permission for “Katinaskaranaya” or the second robe only on one occasion when 30 monks visited Buddha when he was sojourning in Jetawanaramaya in Savasthipura. They arrived from Paweyya state and had spent the “vas season sojourn” in households in Saketha Nuwara.
After completing the three-months’ retreat, in order to inform the Buddha of its success, they set off to Jethavanaramaya. But with rain not having ceased, they arrived in Jethavanaramaya in wet robes when Buddha granted permission for a “Katinaskaraya,” an entitlement to receive another robe. When He found one monk to be wetter than the others, Buddha advised him to accept the extra robe. With it commenced the custom to offer the Katina to the most deserving.

"With the dawn of the Vap Full Moon Poya on October 13, we witness Katina Pinkam processions, winding their way to the temples in the early hours of the morning. These will continue until the arrival of Ill Poya next month"

The Katina robe in the olden days was sewn by monks themselves. Sometimes, many pieces of discarded cloth had to be sewn together. And it had to be stitched the same day through the night while stationed in one place and dyed in saffron to ensure austerity. In the event of there being several monks who had observed vas at the same venue, only the most deserving monks, received the robe. However, a single devotee was able to offer Katina robes to several monks who lived in different temples. Literature also reveals that some mendicants in ancient India stitched robes obtained from cloth that wrapped dead bodies.
Katina cheevaraya however, was stitched to be worn against the cold weather, unlike the Katina robe which was the more commonly worn robe
of the monks. 

Today, however, we witness a deviation from the old rituals with one or several taking over the responsibility of the Katina Pooja which is held on a grand scale. 
Participated by the “dayakas,” and not confined to robes only, the procession however carrying a Katina robe winds its way to the chosen temple and a young monk selected by the senior monks receives the robe after which he delivers a sermon.