Katina Ceremony - Nov 25th - Georgia Meditation Center

Georgia Meditation Center  Katina Ceremony - Nov 25th, 2012

You are invited to a very special day for us at the Georgia Meditation Center! November 25^th, 2012 marks the Katina Ceremony which is a robe offering ceremony presented to monks who have completed their 3 months rains retreat period.

For 2600 years families have gathered to take part in the largest alms-giving ceremony of the Buddhist year, the Katina. Friends, old and new, parents and children join together in a celebration on the theme of harmony. Katina occurs at the end of Buddhist Lent. For an ordained monk, the period of Lent is a time for serious devotion to the ways of the Buddha, when he must strenuously observe his commitments to the 227 Buddhist precepts, meditate, and study dharma (teachings of the Buddha).

From that time until now, lay supporters have made a point of offering cloth at the end Buddhist Lent. The Sangha is not allowed to request the offering, so it is important that the initiation of the offering and its organization be done entirely by the lay people. Actually, the ceremony is held in such high esteem that it is rare that the Katina doesn't take place. The cloth, according to the Buddha's advice, must be offered to the whole Sangha, not to any particular individual, so that the bhikkhus have to formally agree as to which of them should receive the cloth

We would like to invite our meditation members to come and witness this wonderful ceremony with us filled with an abundance of merit gaining experiences. The schedule of the ceremony is below feel free to come at any time that is convenient for you, but I would recommend to come before the alms offering portion of the day, which is where lay people offer food to the monks and there is always plenty of food prepared by many to offer to the Venerables, so please join us!

9:30am - Meditation
10:30am – Observe 5 precepts, Food Offering Ceremony, Blessing from Monks
10:45am - Alms Offering
11:30am - Lunch
12:30pm – Robe Parade
1pm - Robe offering

For Buddhists and non-Buddhist alike, it is a great opportunity to observe the 2,600-year-old noble tradition of the saffron robe parade and presentation.

Gain Merit with Us

If you would like to accumulate merit from the offering of the Katina robe to the Sangha with the lay community please send your donation of any amount by clicking on our paypal button at http://www.meditationcircle.org/HTML/gainmerit.html  No amount is ever too small to make a difference, and it is the intention that counts more than the amount! Rejoice in your merits! 

Special Merit for a Special Occasion

The wonderful tradition of Katina-Robe Offering has been performed consistently since the time of the Buddha. The merit gained from Kathina is considered exceptional since it does not occur easily given that there are many requirements. For instance, there is a time limit – it has to be completed within a month after the end of Buddhist Lent. Thus, Kathina-Robe Offering cannot be performed whenever one wishes. This year’s Kathina is especially distinguished than any other year because it perfectly commemorates the 2600^th anniversary of the Lord Buddha’s Enlightenment. If this opportunity is missed, one would have to wait another 100 years before the next centennial arises.