news ISSUE • NOVEMBER 2018 BMVBMV For Non-Muslims only Kathina Ceremony 4th November 2018 CONTENT PHOTO NEWS - Yoga for Beginners • The History and Significance of Kathina ................................................. 2 - 3 by Venerable Prof Dr K. Dhammasami • A Look at the Kalama Sutta ..................................................................................... 4 - 5 by Bhikkhu Bodhi • Buddhist Arguments for Vegetarianism .................................................. 6 - 7 by Venerable S. Dhammika • BMV New and Activities ............................................................................................. 8 - 9 • History of the K Sri Dhammananda Institute ............................ 10 - 11 by Bro K Don Premasiri • Pen Portraits – Vangisa Maha era .................................................................. 12 • BISDS ..................................................................................................................................................... 13 • FOV ............................................................................................................................................................ 14 • Projects – Lend a Hand ...................................................................................................... 15 • Daily / Weekly Activities and Projects ............................................................. 16 Sabbadānam Dhammadānam Jināti ~ The Gift of Dhamma excels all other Gifts 2 | FEATURE KATHINA ROBE-OFFERING CEREMONY: HISTORICAL AND SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE by Venerable Prof Dr K Dhammasami era he word ‘Kathina’ is Pali in origin. It means a frame used in With the introduction of this Vassana practice, Buddhist monastic life sewing robes those days in India. However, before we talk came to balance its way of life. Brahmanism had secular lay life as its about Kathina, let us look at some other monastic practices core while Jain monastic life encouraged no shelter whatsoever such as related to it so that we can understand Kathina ceremony in a place for three months retreat. Buddhist Vassana practice could be Ta broader perspective. viewed as middle way in this context. A monk can choose his own time to start the Rains Retreat. ere are PRACTICE OF RETREAT two commencing dates dierent from one another exactly a month. But he is entitled to receive Kathina-civara (Kathina-robe) only if he Kathina ceremony is a monastic one, supported by the generous starts his retreat with an earlier date -- not the later one. is is quite an devotees. It is essentially connected to the three-month retreat that important condition required of a monk to be entitled to Kathina-robe. ends in October. Within the three months retreat he must not break the rule of retreat by spending nights somewhere else without a valid reason consented e Buddhist monastic retreat came into existence as a result of a in the Vinaya (Buddhist Monastic Disciplinary Rules). If there is an complaint made by the people during the Buddha’s time. Jain monastic emergency reason to travel, he can do so even during the retreat. order were already practising this Vassana Retreat practice before the Buddha made His follower Bhikkhus do the same. e people expected monks, both Buddhist and non-Buddhist, to stay in one place at least INVITATION CEREMONY for a certain period. ey complained that the Buddhist monks were e second important procedure that must be done before Kathina moving from place to place all the time without a permanent dwelling. ceremony is Invitation Ceremony (Pavarana). is is again purely e monks during their movement, damaged the plants and crops. monastic practice. ere were no highways during the Buddha’s time. One had to cross the farm lands to travel. erefore, due to agricultural reasons, this Invitation means at the end of retreat the monks must get together prompted the Buddha to lay down a rule that Buddhist monks should and invite one another to point out one’s fault if they have seen it observe the Retreat and stay in one place for three months. People themselves or have heard from some one or are just in doubt. is wanted them to do that during rainy season and it became known as would help them in purifying themselves. A Bhikkhu has to be open to the Rains Retreat (Vassana). any criticism from his colleagues regarding his behaviour. Before this rule, the monks including the Buddha Himself travelled Being open was a way of life the Buddha led. e monks have to be around during the year and they still did so, for nine months aer the sensitive to a complaint made by the people in order to win their rule was laid down. Travelling and meeting people at dierent places is respect and in order to encourage them to learn the Dhamma. ey have a kind of missionary life that the Buddha envisaged. It helps the monks to be sensitive towards the remarks made by their fellow monks. is, not to be attached to dwelling places and people. It enabled them to according to the Buddha, render their service to as many as possible. It freed them from a huge could maintain both unity burden of constructing, maintaining and developing a big temple or and purity in the Buddhist Monastic Order. It could monastery. It helped the teachings to spread everywhere as they travel. also help keep the Monastic Travelling made them encounter with dierent cultures. It gave them Rules and Regulations an understanding of the real nature of life. Roaming around empowers (Vinaya) alive. It is a them to endure hard life. When you have to move from one place to kind of check-and-balance another almost all the time, system between individual you do not gather things. Bhikkhus as well as between You start gathering things the seniors and the juniors. only when you have the is is exactly the core of Bhikkhunis during the Forgiveness idea to settle. Since they Monastic Discipline as Ceremony on Pavarana Day. wandered most of the time, much as of the Teachings. their way of thinking, their attitude towards life and Every fortnight there must be a meeting between the higher ordained their spiritual practices are ones, known as Bhikkhu (monks) or Bhikkhuni (nuns) in the case of very pragmatic, realistic ordained female. In that kind of assembly, a learned monk recites the and based on facts. 220 rules to the monks. Before he recites there has to be a procedure Monks usually meditate or study of confession, which means every individual has to inform the With this Rainy Retreat during the Retreat. Sangha of the oense he has committed. is kind of confession (Vassana) practice coming can clear him from 203 kinds of oenses out of 220. Confession can along, the monks became comfortable and settled down. e devotees psychologically relieve someone who has committed a grave evil like who approached them enjoyed the opportunity of learning the patricide. e story of King Ajatasattu who killed his father is an Dhamma. ey had the opportunity of performing acts of generosity. example. He could not sleep until he confessed his sin to the Buddha. erefore, the benet of the three months retreat became mutual. Confession did not put his sin away but practically relieved him from (Samyutta Nikaya) psychological burden. FEATURE | 3 In being open to others the Buddha Himself was the best example. is Kathina ceremony is mainly for the welfare of the Sangha (the At every fortnight meeting the Lord Buddha would start inviting Community of monks). Gautama Buddha did take into consideration anyone present there to point out His fault, if any. He encouraged how the Order He founded could survive. Aer the Mahaparinibbana people to be open making Himself the subject of openness. (the Great Passing Away) of the Buddha Himself, the whole responsibility of both perpetuation and propagation of His Teachings e Buddha wanted His disciples, at least those who have been would certainly fall on the Sangha. erefore, the continuity of the ordained, to be as close as possible in their spiritual quest helping one Sangha means the continuity of the Dhamma itself. Moreover, aer His another along the way. e only way of doing it and maintaining it is to Mahaparinibbana, we could practice to become increasingly open to each other that we no longer see the Buddha Himself have anything to hide. Public morality can be maintained in this way. when we see, understand erefore, we can say that monastic life is where one has least privacy. and realise the Dhamma. is was the case even is Invitation Ceremony is so important ceremonially as well as when the Buddha was alive spiritually. Without this there cannot be a proper Kathina robe-oering for He declared that one -- it may become only ordinary robe-oering with no advantage on really sees Him only when the part of the monks themselves. one sees the Dhamma. Now e two ceremonies -- the Ceremony of Invitation and that of Oering we can see the logic behind Robe -- mark the termination of the Retreat. the recommendation of this Kathina ceremony -- how it Oering of robes during the Kathina is important for the cause ceremony. KATHINA CEREMONY of Buddhism itself. We may well imagine a situation during 6th BC where there were no e Buddha did not start preaching to every one before He had the advanced textile technology known to the people. e monks had Monastic Order well established. Aer His Enlightenment, He made no choice but to sew the robe and giving it a dye themselves. e a long journey to Benares -- a journey that took Him more than a Buddha asked them to help one another using the best technique then week -- just to convert a group of ve ascetics and made them a monk. available. Some made a frame while some went out in search of needle He knew very well that all the ve had a very high possibility of and thread. Some sewed pieces of cloth to make a robe while others becoming a monk and forming the Order. prepared for another process of making re and getting a suitable colour ready. Dying a robe was extremely dicult because they had to He continued focusing on establishing the Order until He became boil the bark of the tree to get the colour they wanted.