Spreading and Offering the Kathina, and Its Five Benefits
Spreading the kathina is the monks' act; offering it lets laypeople share its merit by laying cloth before the Saṅgha. It gives monks five benefits.
Key points
- Kathina was originally the monks' affair, from cutting, sewing and dyeing the cloth to spreading the kathina and rejoicing in it.
- Laypeople who saw monks struggling for cloth wished to take part, so there is spreading the kathina, the monks' act, and offering it, open to laypeople.
- Offering (thot) means laying the cloth down for no particular monk, as a gift to the Saṅgha, so the monks can take it to spread the kathina.
- A monk who has spread the kathina gains five benefits, such as traveling without taking leave and keeping extra robes as needed.
- The five benefits last through the five-month kathina period, from the first waning day of the 11th lunar month to the full moon of the 4th.
This is an English translation of the Thai original. Where they differ, the Thai text is authoritative: อ่านต้นฉบับภาษาไทย
Is the kathina the monks’ affair, with nothing to do with laypeople?
The kathina was originally the monks’ affair, from cutting, sewing and dyeing the cloth to spreading the kathina and rejoicing in it, so that the monks of that monastery would receive the five benefits of spreading the kathina.
As the ages went by, laypeople who saw the monks struggling for cloth wanted to take part in this activity, because laypeople can find cloth more easily than monks. And above all, kathina merit is great merit, because it can be made only once a year, which makes it kāladāna, timely giving, and it is an activity that needs the harmony of the whole community.
So there are the terms kran kathin, spreading the kathina, and thot kathin, offering the kathina.
Spreading the kathina (kathinatthāra) is the monks’ affair, while offering the kathina opens the way for laypeople to share in this kathina merit.
A great elder monk once explained that the word thot in thot kathin means laying the cloth down without singling out any particular monk. To thot there means to hand over the task, so that the monks take that cloth to spread the kathina.
That is, laypeople who saw that monks had difficulty finding cloth wanted to make it easier for them to seek it, which would help them keep the Dhamma and Discipline regarding the kathina, and also help carry the Buddha’s teaching forward into the future. So laypeople came to play a part in the kathina festival: from seeking cloth that is correct according to the Dhamma and Discipline, and cutting, sewing and dyeing it, to bringing that cloth and offering it to the Saṅgha without singling out any individual, that is, offering it as saṅghadāna, a gift to the Saṅgha, by laying it down. That is why it is called thot kathin.
Spreading the kathina and its benefits
When the Saṅgha meets, it gives that cloth to one of the monks to be the holder of the kathina robe. He must relinquish his old robe, make the kappabindu (the small mark that makes a robe allowable), and formally determine (adhiṭṭhāna) the new cloth the Saṅgha has given him. Then he spreads the kathina with that cloth, comes before the Saṅgha in its meeting and informs it that he has spread the kathina rightfully, so that the Saṅgha can rejoice in the kathina he has successfully spread. With that, the ceremony is complete.
The monks of that monastery then receive the kathina benefits the Buddha allowed, namely:
- Traveling without taking leave. Whether invited or not, they may travel without taking leave of the monks who live there, so as not to burden a monk who is about to travel, and for ease and speed.
- Traveling without taking the full set of robes. A monk may leave one of his robes behind and take just one or two as appropriate, because normally a monk must keep all three robes within arm’s reach (hatthapāsa) before dawn breaks, to keep the robes properly.
- Eating group meals (gaṇabhojana). Normally, if a lay person invites four or more monks naming the food, for example, “Venerable sirs, the four of you, please have chicken rice for the midday meal today,” and the monks accept that invitation, it is an offense (āpatti). So one should use allowable wording: “Venerable sirs, please have your midday meal,” which is not an offense because it does not name the food. But once the monks have spread the kathina, they can accept an invitation that names the food without offense.
- Keeping extra robes (atirekacīvara) as needed. Monks can keep robes that laypeople offer until the kathina benefit period ends (the middle of the fourth lunar month). Normally, when laypeople offer a robe, a monk can keep it for no more than ten nights; he must formally determine it or place it under shared ownership (vikappana), or else he must give the cloth up.
- A monk who has spread the kathina has a right to the robes that arise there. A monk who has spread the kathina has a right to the robes that arise within the boundary (sīmā) where the kathina was spread, whether inherited robes (the robes of those who have died), robes that donors bring to offer, or robes offered to the Saṅgha. (Vin. A. 3/306/192)
These five benefits belong to the monks who have spread the kathina as long as they remain within the five-month kathina period, from the first day of the waning moon of the eleventh lunar month to the full moon of the fourth lunar month of the following year.
Source: กฐินสู่ธรรม ดำเนินตามอริยชน (Kathina Toward the Dhamma: Following the Noble Ones) by The Dhammasomthob team, E-book, November 2023, pp. 10–13.