2024 Kathina Celebration
This early fall, the Dhammadharini community gathered once again for the cherished Kathina celebration. Friends and supporters arrived with offerings of food to share and contribute, while Kathina robes and other essential requisites were presented to the Sangha, filling the day with heartfelt joy and gratitude.
We are so grateful to everyone in the community who participated—led up by Susie Kliks as the lead Kathina sponsor, with so many friends joining to help in offering the meal, joining in the sewing, and countless other details which made the day possible.
This year’s celebration held special significance with the generous donation of a truck, which will be of great assistance in supporting the hermitage’s ongoing needs—replacing the community’s long-serving old truck, which finally reached the end of its life. Our incredibly generous friend Kai led up this fundraising effort, bringing together many donors from near and far to make this offering possible.
The Origin of the Kathina Ceremony
The Kathina Ceremony traces back to an account in the Vinaya Pitaka. Thirty monks, delayed by the seasonal rains (vassa), could not reach the Buddha in Savatthi, and completed their vassa retreat at a nearby location.
Once the rains subsided, they resumed their journey, arriving weary and in soaked robes. Observing their hardship, the Buddha allowed them to “spread kathina”—an act of robe offering that has since evolved into a tradition where lay followers support monastics by offering new robes and essentials. This practice symbolizes community support and bestows five special privileges upon the participating monastics, reinforcing unity within the monastic community.
Kathina Ceremony Order of Events
The Kathina Ceremony unfolded through a series of steps, each rich in meaning and tradition:
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Sponsoring the Kathina Cloth – Kathina donor Susie Kliks led the community in offering the Kathina cloth to the Sangha.
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Appointing a Bhikkhuni – The Bhikkhuni Sangha selected Ayya Sobhana to formally receive the cloth.
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Converting to Personal Property – The cloth was given to Ayya Sobhana as her personal property.
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Creating the Kathina Robe – The cloth was carefully crafted into a robe. This was truly a community effort, with Khun O lending her considerable sewing expertise, and everyone who wanted to participate getting to contribute to the sewing, at least a little, as the day progressed. Venerable Vandana was the hero of finishing up the robe after Khun O needed to leave!
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Spreading the Kathina – The robe was “spread,” symbolizing shared privileges within the Sangha. In this ceremony, “spreading the kathina” represents sharing special benefits among monastics, extending five privileges that foster unity and stability.
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Rejoicing Together – The entire community celebrated the fulfillment of the Kathina ceremony.
Highlight of the Day:
Completing Dhammadharini’s 20th Vassa, and remembering the early days
A memorable highlight of the celebration was Ayya Tathaloka’s heartfelt account of Dhammadharini’s establishment and the early days of the Sangha. Here is a small excerpt; you may read the full speech here.
“First I would like to express my hearty and heart-felt "Anumodana!" It is nothing short of a kind of miracle that we are gathered to be celebrating this International Bhikkhuni Sangha Kathina just having completed Dhammadharini's 20th Vassa.
…[In 2005] Dhammadharini was born, the first dedicated place for Theravāda Bhikkhunīs in the western United States…
Slowly, word spread, and more and more people began to offer support, day by day. I want to deeply, deeply appreciate all our early supporters. Together with those 20 and slowly increasing numbers of supportive friends. And the founding president and founding board members of the then-new Dhammadharini Support Foundation, the first non-profit "Church" in the United States specifically for stewarding the presence and teaching-in-residence of Bhikkhunis, and for supporting those who aspired to train and ordain in this way. I would like to thank all those who contributed during that first Vassa, back in 2005.
Bhikkhuni Sangha Calendar Dhamma Dana
Also on the Kathina day, the community was delighted to be able to offer a printing of the Bhikkhuni Sangha Lunar Calendar as Dhamma Dana, made possible through a grant from the Lenz Foundation. We have a few more printed copies of this calendar remaining, please contact us if you would like one! We also warmly welcome anyone who would like to support further printing and sharing of the calendar, now and in future years.
Opportunity for Kathina offerings
The spirit of generosity continues! Kathina season extends until the next full moon, November 15th. If you wish to join in making Kathina offerings, please visit our Kathina donation page.
Looking forward
We are also very happy to announce that our friends Dinesha Kuruppuarachchi and Buddhinie Jayathilake & families and committed to supporting the 2025 Vassa and Kathina.