Vap Poya: Signifying the start to the Katina Pinkama
From the earliest years of the Gautama Buddha, the Sangha traversed the face of the earth, through terrains others had not trod before, meeting people and preaching them the Buddha’s teachings. With the Buddha having said “Go forth O monks for the good of many....,” the Sangha, who had renounced the world as disciples of the Buddha had, in accordance with the Teacher’s appeal, been on the move, carrying the message of Dhamma for the welfare of the people.
It did not take long for the numbers of these itinerant monks to increase and while on the move, they took refuge in places such as caves, under the cover of trees and even in the most unimaginable of places to spend the nights. The rainy season however, made it harsh for the propagation of the Dhamma and monasteries in the early years fell short in numbers to accommodate them all. This resulted in the Buddha ruling out travel and outdoor Dhamma activity during the three-months’ rainy season or the “vassana kaalaya” and established the practice of “vas retreat sojourns” starting from Esala Full Moon Poya in July/August to Vap Full Moon Poya in October. The Sangha were asked to remain indoors.
While remaining indoors, the Buddha called on the “Savanak Piris” – His four groups of Buddhist disciples comprising bhikkhus, bhikkhunis, upasakas and upasikas to engage themselves in Buddhist practices. The Buddha thus transformed the rainy season to a period of intensive practice of the Dhamma enabling them to purify themselves spiritual- ly. And He made it an occasion for the monks to jointly engage in the practices with the laity.
To overcome the problem of accommodation during the rainy season, prominent disciples were permitted to invite monks or bhikkhunis to observe the “vas retreat” in their abodes with the house owner assuming the responsibility to provide all their needs. These duties were conducted with utmost piety and were considered as a great meritorious deed.
During the time of the Buddha, Visakha, the foremost woman disciple, desiring to offer special gifts of cloth to the Buddha and the monks, invited them for “vas observation” to a monastery she had donated. The “vas aaradhana,” was accepted by the Buddha which commenced the practice of inviting travelling monks to go into “vas retreat” in a monastery or a dwelling place by a lay person.
The hosting of the Sangha in dwelling houses immensely benefited the laity. They learnt the Dhamma direct from learned monks, engaged in religious discussions, cleared doubts, participated in meditation, followed sermons, pirith chanting and immersed themselves entirely in spiritual practices. Thus the two-way monastic tradition gave an extraordinary opportunity to the laity to acquire merit while strengthening ties with the monks. The monks gained merit through the rigorous practices of moral conduct and once the retreat was over, they returned to the road to purify others.
Not however before following the “pavarana,” a ceremony performed before the “vas retreat” drew to a close. It required monks to divulge the faults and lapses they discovered of one another during the retreat which was intended to help the monks to correct themselves. The rule was carried out irrespective of seniority when it allowed even the junior-most monk to point out the errors and misconduct of senior monks. This ceremony, commenced by the Buddha, is looked upon as a wonderful reflection of democratic norms in human relations.
In the case of bhikkhunis however, “pavarana” had to be performed not only before bhikkhunis but bhikkhus as well and held in regard to three aspects: what has been seen, what has been heard and what has been suspected.
The “vas-retreat” over the years has progressed into a Katina pinkama – an event which takes place during the period between Vap Full Moon Poya and Ill Full Moon Poya day. Its history, according to the Mahavagga Pali, the third book of the Vinaya Pitaka, goes back to the time of the Buddha when 30 monks from Paweyya sate, having concluded the “vas retreat,” set off from Saketha Nuwara to Jethavanaramaya to inform the Buddha of their success. With heavy rain pelting them on their way, they arrived in Sravasthi soaked and their robes wet and mud splashed. They had no change of clothes except for the trivasa – the robe of three parts which they wore. On seeing them, the Buddha permitted them for “Katinaskarnaya” which entitled them to have another Katina or a robe.
In these early years, the Katina, the robe and the Katina cheevaraya, used against the cold weather, may have been hard to come by. These were sewn by the monks themselves who had to start from the point of collecting the cotton. Some mendicants according to Buddhist literature, stitched the robes that had wrapped even dead bodies. Monks however, who had completed the strenuous spiritual practices during the “vas retreat” were considered as the most deserving to receive a Katina robe and a Katina cheevaraya. The Buddha said that the offer of the Katina was the noblest religious activity and was considered as one of the eight great meritorious acts of Theravada Buddhism. The Katina thus came to be identified as the symbol of the successful culmination of the “vas retreat.”
When the 30 monks returned from the “vas retreat,” one of them was found to be more wet than the others. Buddha seeing this monk advised him to accept the extra robe or the cheevaraya. With it commenced the custom to offer the Katina cheevaraya to the monk who most needed it.
Even in the making, where many pieces of discarded cloth had to be sewn together, there were rules to follow. Maybe to ensure it was austere it had to be sewn and completed within the day and night while stationed in one place. Therefore, monks proficient in sewing were assigned to the task who had to stitch and thereafter dye it in saffron. Unlike the Katina robe, the Katina cheevaraya was stitched to be used during the cold season. With the cold season approaching after October in India, the offering of a Katina cheevaraya may have indeed been a meritorious deed. Devotees in the meantime, were allowed to offer any number of robes. But only one was allowed to be offered to a monk in each monastery.
Today, the Katina pinkama, deviating from the past, has proved too colourful an occasion. It however is welcoming as it enables devotees the opportunity to practise generosity and provide the needs to maintain the temple and its inhabiting monks. A needy monk even today is given priority by the senior monks of the temple to receive the Katina after which the recipient delivers a sermon with merit bestowed on the contributors which concludes the Katina pinkama.