Katina Pinkam becoming spectacles of grandeur

All temples have by now completed their katina pinkamas concluding the three months vas observed by their monks from July through September or August through October, depending on poya dates. This year unfortunately, like all other occasions in our lives, this ceremony too was curtailed. In fact the temple I take a monthly dane to and observe sil in, had its Katina pinkama in a branch temple away from Colombo. Otherwise it’s a full night’s pirit preceding the processional carrying of the civara (robe) to the temple at dawn with a dane to follow, inclusive of all lay persons present.

What directed my thoughts this week to this custom or ritual come down to us from Buddha’s lifetime is a niece turning incommunicado. She telephones me every other day to enquire after my well-being. Three weeks ago she told me she would curtail her calls as it was impossible to carry on a telephone conversation “with all the racket going on here.” Her neighbour, in a transport business, was reconstructing or modifying his large house in preparation for being the focal point of the Katina ceremony of a temple in the locality. This went on continuously for two and a half weeks with their lane blocked by his parked lorries and trucks. My niece’s husband could not take his car out; windows had to be kept shut all day to prevent dust from the next house entering in. But of course it did, with the noise, causing irritation in throat and ears. For five days previous and the night of the event, lights blazed along the drive.

Thus the disturbing thought that the Katina pinkama of reverence, piety, continuing a solemn tradition, was being marred and adulterated with too much spending, show and glitz. I am not wrong in saying its mostly new money lavishly spent by the nouveau riche. Temples and their monks can be no choosers of their devotees and cannot censor the manner of ceremonies associated with the temple being conducted. They are advisors only. The vas observance and its culminating gifting of a newly sewn and dyed robe by those devotees who cared more diligently for the monks, is a beautiful tradition and one connecting the Sangha and the third and fourth ‘supports’ – lay men and woman. It is also a tangible and to be preserved link between the time of Gautama Buddha’s life to present times and our lives.

Vas three months

The Esala Poya brings in the three month vas period for Buddhist monks, when they stay in their aranyas and temples and while renewing their vinaya vows, devote more time to self purification and meditation. It is a time when the symbiosis between the ordained and laity is heightened. The monks, who depend on their dayakas and dayakis for their sustenance and physical wellbeing, during the vas three months depend more heavily. Lay persons too who serve a temple gravitate more to it to see to the welfare of the monks. In return for this and as a gesture of appreciation, there are more programmes planned for the welfare of the people: weekly if not daily bodhi poojas and bana preachings. This fulfills somewhat the monks’ aim at making their supporters get to know better the Path that needs to be followed.

Origin

Soon after the Buddha formed his Sangha around the five meditators to whom he preached his first sermon setting in motion the Wheel of Dhamma in Sarnath, the saffron clad monks went about preaching the new teaching. The Jains, followers of the teaching of Nataputta Mahvira (599-527 BC) abhorred most the killing of creatures and it being the monsoon season in July to October in India, they would reduce their going about to not trample worms and other creatures that emerged from the rain sodden earth. When they saw the new band of Buddhist monks walking about during the rainy season they objected and fault-found. And so it is said the Buddha forbade monks from going outdoors during the three monsoonal months. But his ruling was the result of a more significant reason than the Jains’ censor. Noticing how drenched monks were, returning to their abodes of residence, even after the daily pinna patha (alms receiving) round, the Buddha imposed restriction on their journeying forth, to prevent ill health. This resulted in stronger and closer ties between devotees and monks, as food and other necessities had to be brought to the monks. The Buddha advocated his newly formed Sangha to renew vows and generally refresh their minds and bodies in meditation, while remaining indoors.

Comment

Wondering whether my condemnation of extravagant katina pinkamas was unjustified, I asked a learned monk for his opinion. He replied: “Your concern is that the kathina has deteriorated and become a sort of scandal. I may agree with you up to a point. However, there are not well endowed temples that wait for kathina robe ceremony to get a dire need of the temple accomplished. It is because during the vas period the laity are prone to be more generous than usual and are keen to do something tangible for the sasana. It is a sort of win-win situation.

“At the end of the rainy season both parties are extremely happy and the Katina is the grand finale. The cloth or robe offered is to the community of monks who spend the Vas season there and the Sangha meet and decide as to who should get it. It is a great privilege to get the Katina civara because it’s a decision of the community.”

This learned and pragmatic monk gave me another thought that had not entered my mind. He said that in Thailand for instance, devotees too make a promise or vow to desist from indulging in one or more acts that may contribute to their not being fully sila or blameless, equating basically to one or more of the five precepts. Hence men vow to stop imbibing intoxicants while women may vow a simpler way of living or reducing vanity and such like. Thus there is constraint, more meditation, a kind of sacrifice and the resultant purification to both the Sangha and laity consequent to the three months of retreat.

So it is again a more inward looking attitude that we Buddhists should observe. While outwardly concerned about the monks in the temple we go to, and seeing more closely to their welfare by being active devotees, we should also consider our behavior and take note of where improvement is needed to be more Buddhistic. The Buddha preached much about minding one’s behaviour, becoming an island to oneself. Hence the three months should be used by us laity to better ourselves. The Christians observe Lent, the Muslims a month of fasting and Hindus frequently observe self purification fasting and poojas. Here is an addition to the process of moral self improvement by observing sil on poya days and fasting on that one night each month. We could make a resolution for a three month period come the Vas session.

I myself will try not to get irritated when I hear of extravagant Katina pinkamas commencing in rich homes. I regret now having got all het up when I saw a woman dayaki carrying a huge arrangement of roses to place at the Buddha statue before the pirit ceremony in the temple I go. I thought of what she could have done for a poor family with the Rs 3,000 (at least) she had spent on flowers and thus also making a show of it. Live and let live is the policy to follow; looking inward and reflection thereof is to be promoted. Also being thankful to the dedicated monks who live in all parts of Sri Lanka keeping alive the true Dhamma of the Buddha.