Vap Poya heralds colourful Katina Pinkama

• Vap Poya signifies a colourful ritual in the Buddhist calendar with Katina Pinkam in the form of processions
• Devotees clad in white, bearing sesath, Buddhist flags and various forms of traditional symbols
• Monks who gave up lay life, spread the Teachings of the Gautama Buddha 
• In the days of the Buddha, the Katina robe was a piece of cloth stitched in a day and presented to a monk

Poya usually falls only once a month. This year however, the month of October had two Poyas. The first fell on October 1 and the second falls today (October 30). This rare occurrence takes place due to the movements of the lunar calendar. The additional Poya therefore, which fell at the beginning of the month was called “Adhi,” meaning extra.  

Vap Poya signifies a colourful ritual in the Buddhist calendar when Katina Pinkam in the form of processions, are held which provide the opportunity for devotees to attend to the needs of temples and its monks at the end of the rainy season. Organised by devotees, these wind their way to the temples even along lanes and by lanes in the early hours of the morning. Heralded by cracking of whips, the processions proceed with the display of traditional drumming and dancing complete with dancers resorting even to varied forms of acrobatic movements such as somersaulting. A caparisoned baby elephant is a highlight of the procession.   

Devotees in contrast, clad in white, walk calmly bearing sesath, Buddhist flags and various forms of traditional symbols. The focus of the Katina pinkama, however, is the saffron-coloured Katina robe or the cheevaraya, carried with utmost devotion in the procession on the head of a devotee. It is carried under a decorative canopy.   
These pinkamas however, end with the arrival of the Ill Poya. Although today, it has transformed into a ritual of colour and action, it 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 Gautama 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 the monasteries were too few to accommodate all.   

When monks related these weather hazards to the Gautama 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 – bhikkus, bhikkunis, 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. Evaluation was done among the senior monks as well, a system which established 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, Gautama 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 sojourneying in Jetawanaramaya in Sravasthipura. 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 more wet than the others, Buddha advised him to accept the extra robe. With it commenced the custom to offer the Katina to the most deserving.  

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 a number of monks who had observed vas at the same venue, only the most deserving monk, received the robe. However, a single devotee was able to offer Katina robes to several monks who live in different temples. Literature also reveal 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,” the pinkama is 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 as the most deserving, receives the robe after which he delivers a sermon to the devotees who participated in the pinkama..