The name of this procedure comes from the frame (kathina) used in the time of the Buddha for sewing a robe, much like the frame used in an American quilting bee. However, there is no requirement that the bhikkhus making the robe in one day must use such a frame. Rather, the term kathina is used figuratively for the time period during which the privileges that come from making the robe are in force. Similarly, the terminology used in connection with this time period is taken from that used in connection with the physical frame. As noted in Chapter 7, the frame could be rolled up. Thus, when put into use, it was unrolled and spread out. When no longer needed, it was dismantled. Similarly, the establishment of the privileges is called the spreading of the kathina; the ending of the privileges, the kathina's dismantling.
The Canon does not explicitly state why the Buddha formulated this transaction. In the relevant origin story, he gives his allowance for the transaction when a group of bhikkhus coming to pay their respects to him -- after the Rains retreat is over but while actual rains are still pouring -- arrive with their robes soaking wet. The Commentary maintains that the Buddha's purpose in allowing the kathina was (1) so that bhikkhus traveling during this time period could be given the privilege of not having to carry their complete set of robes with them, and (2) so as to follow the custom of previous Buddhas. However, the first purpose could have been served simply by making this privilege contingent on completing the Rains-residence. So the question arises as to what further purpose the transaction might fulfil so that Buddhas would want to maintain it as a custom. The Commentary offers no explanation, but a few moments' reflection will show that the transaction promotes cooperation and a sense of community among the bhikkhus: it encourages them to maintain the Rains without break and to work together on the project of making a robe. At the very least, it affords an opportunity for senior bhikkhus to pass on their sewing skills to their juniors. At the same time, because the privileges attendant on the spreading of the kathina are in force as long as one has a sense of commitment to one's monastery, they reward a bhikkhu who wants to maintain a relationship with a particular residence. This, in turn, encourages on-going relationships between bhikkhus and their lay supporters.
The discussion of the kathina in Mv.VII is remarkably terse in some areas and obsessively detailed in others. Thus in this chapter we will draw heavily on the Parivara and commentaries to fill in the gaps in the Canon's discussion, while at the same time reducing the more elaborate parts of that discussion to their essential points. Because this chapter draws so heavily on the Parivara, this is the one instance in which the Rules section at the end of the chapter includes passages from that book.
Unfortunately, the Commentary's explanation of the kathina differs from that of the Khandhakas and Parivara on several key issues, so we will have to deal with conflicting interpretations. The primary issues center on the relationship between the transaction by which the kathina cloth is bestowed on an individual bhikkhu and the transaction whereby the kathina is spread. The Commentary's discussion conflates the two, saying that the minimum quorum for the first -- a complete Community -- also applies to the second; and implying that the qualifications for participating fully in the second also apply to anyone completing the quorum for the first. However, the Mahavagga (VII.1.6) states that the spreading of the kathina is effective if "one standing in the territory" approves of it. The Parivara follows the implications of this statement in maintaining that the spreading of the kathina does not require a full Community. It may be accomplished when one bhikkhu spreads the kathina and then gets the approval of either a full Community, a group of two or three, or a single bhikkhu. Thus the Parivara treats the two transactions as separate: the bestowal of the cloth is a Community transaction, the spreading of the kathina is not. Furthermore, nowhere does it say that a bhikkhu completing the quorum for the first must meet the qualifications for participating fully in the second.
The Vinaya Mukha notes the discrepancy here between the Commentary and the Parivara, and -- siding with the Commentary -- advances the thesis that the authors of the Parivara were simply careless when they mentioned that a kathina could be spread not only by a Community but also by a group. However, the Parivara's explanations, when taken as a whole, are thoroughly consistent, whereas the Commentary's are not. Although the Commentary treats the spreading of the kathina as if it were a Community transaction, the actual procedure differs from the normal pattern for such a transaction: it may be held in any part of the residence, and the bhikkhu spreading the kathina may contact his fellows to get their approval individually, instead of having to assemble them all in the same place. Because of these inconsistencies in the Commentary, the Parivara's interpretation seems more solid.
The Commentary also assumes -- following the Maha Paccari ancient commentary -- that the bhikkhus expressing their approval for the kathina must all have spent the Rains in that monastery or territory if their approval is to qualify them for the kathina privileges. Bhikkhus who have spent the Rains elsewhere -- alone, in a group, or in a Community -- may not earn privileges from this Community's kathina. The Commentary does not say where in the Canon it finds evidence for this explanation, but it may come from Mv.VIII.25.3, which prohibits a bhikkhu who has entered the Rains in one place from consenting to a portion of robe-cloth from another place. However, that prohibition would seem to apply only to cases where bhikkhus are dividing up shares of Community robe-cloth for general distribution, for there is a passage in the Mahavagga (VIII.24.2) allowing a bhikkhu who is spending the Rains alone to keep robe-cloth until the dismantling of the kathina. This implies that even he would be allowed to participate in the spreading of a kathina and to enjoy the resulting privileges, which would be possible only if he could join in the kathina at another monastery or residence where enough bhikkhus had gathered to conduct the transaction of bestowing the cloth. For this reason, the Commentary's position on this question seems at odds with the Canon. An interpretation closer to the Canon would be that a bhikkhu does not have to spend the Rains at a particular monastery in order to participate in that monastery's kathina or to receive the resulting privileges.
Thus wherever the Canon and Commentary disagree, the interpretation given here will follow the Canon. However, because the Commentary's explanation is widely followed in many Communities, we will discuss it in some detail.
Time period. Mv.VII.1.3 says simply that the kathina may be spread when the bhikkhus have completed the Rains. Pv.XIV.4 adds that it must be spread within the fourth month of the rainy season, i.e., the first month after the end of the first Rains-residence. There is a widespread oral tradition that the bhikkhus in a given residence may receive only one kathina donation during this time period. The Commentary contains a statement that, in an oblique way, may have been the source of this tradition, and another that suggests that this tradition may already have been an unspoken assumption in its time (see below), but none of the texts state this principle explicitly. In the time of the Canon, there would have been little need to make this limitation, as the kathina donation consisted simply of cloth with, perhaps, only a few accessory gifts; once the bhikkhus had spread the kathina with that cloth, they would have earned their kathina privileges, so there would be little or no reason for them to desire another kathina donation. At present, however, the kathina cloth is usually only a small part of the kathina donation, which can often amount to the largest single donation a monastery will receive in the course of the year. The Thai oral tradition thus serves the purpose of ensuring that these large kathina donations will fan out to the largest number of monasteries, and not get concentrated in only a few of the more popular ones.
The donor. The Commentary states that anyone, human or deva, ordained or not, may give the kathina cloth to the Community. However, as the Canon forbids the bhikkhus who are receiving the cloth from doing anything to obtain it, the Commentary's statement must be amended to read that the donor of the cloth may be anyone -- lay or ordained, human or not -- who is not a part of the Community receiving it.
The cloth. Pv.XIV.3.5 states that the cloth must be any one of the six allowable types of robe material. The Canon stipulates that it must be either undamaged (or unsoiled) or "made undamaged," which the Commentary interprets as meaning washed once or twice. It may be a rag, cast-off, or obtained at a store. The Commentary interprets this last phrase as referring to old cloths (cut-offs?) taken from a store. However, if this were the case, there would be no passage in the Canon to allow cloth bought at a store, so the phrase "obtained at a store" might also cover cloth that the donor has purchased.
According to the Canon, the cloth may not be borrowed, kept overnight, or be cloth that is to be forfeited. Pv.XIV.1 distinguishes two ways in which cloth may be kept overnight: kept overnight in the doing (i.e., not finished in time for dawn, says the Commentary), and kept overnight in the accumulation, which the Commentary explains as cloth given to a Community one day, while the Community gives it to an individual on a later day for him to spread kathina. The same passage in the Parivara interprets "to be forfeited" as meaning cloth that is not made into a robe by dawn, but this is redundant with the above category. The Vinaya Mukha prefers to interpret "to be forfeited" as referring to cloth that a bhikkhu must forfeit under any of the NP rules. This interpretation seems more reasonable. The cloth, in short, must be a gift free and clear.
The Canon places stipulations on what the bhikkhus may and may not do to obtain a gift of kathina cloth. Any cloth that the bhikkhus have received through insinuation or roundabout talking, it says, is unallowable. The Pv.XIV.1 defines insinuation and roundabout talk as anything a member of the Community might say with the purpose of getting cloth to spread for a kathina. The Commentary's example of insinuation is, "This is good cloth. One could spread a kathina with this cloth." Its example of roundabout talking is, "It's proper to donate kathina cloth. The donor of a kathina acquires lots of merit." It adds that one cannot ask for a kathina cloth even from one's own mother. The cloth should be "as if it floated down from the sky."
However, the Commentary does go on to say that if a person who has decided to donate a kathina cloth -- but doesn't know the proper procedure for doing so -- comes and asks, "How should the kathina be donated?" one may say, "One should donate, while the sun is in the sky, enough cloth to make one of the three robes, saying 'We are donating the cloth for the kathina.' For the purpose of making the kathina robe, one should donate so many needles, so much thread, so much dye, conjey and food for so many bhikkhus who will be doing the robe-making." Speaking in this way does not invalidate the cloth.
Transaction. The transaction bestowing the kathina cloth is accomplished by means of a motion and a proclamation, which are included in Appendix I.
Quorum. The Canon states that this transaction requires a quorum of four bhikkhus. This would mean that at least five must participate in the transaction: four to bestow the cloth, and one to receive it.
The Commentary's treatment of the issue of quorum does not distinguish between the quorum for the transaction of bestowing the cloth and the quorum for the spreading of the kathina. This creates some confusion. It maintains that at least five bhikkhus are needed to spread the kathina, and they must have stayed the Rains without break. The implication in the Commentary's discussion is that this principle applies both to the act of spreading the kathina and to the Community transaction of bestowing the cloth. The Canon supports neither assertion. On the one hand, although the Canon would require a minimum total of five bhikkhus for the transaction bestowing the cloth, it does not require that they all must have spent the Rains without break. And although Mv.VII.1.3 mentions that the bhikkhu spreading the kathina must have spent the Rains without break, the Canon nowhere says that the spreading requires a quorum of five. This may seem like splitting hairs, but the difference would be especially important in a case like the following: five bhikkhus have spent the Rains together, but three of them broke the Rains for various reasons. If we followed the Commentary's interpretation, the remaining two would be deprived of their rightful privilege to spread the kathina through no fault of their own. The Canon, however, would seem to allow for the five, as a Community, to receive a kathina cloth and to bestow it on one of the two who had completed the Rains. After making a robe from the cloth, he and the other bhikkhu who had completed the Rains could participate in the formal procedure for spreading the kathina (see below) and enjoy the resulting privileges.
The Commentary also maintains that the bhikkhus participating in the spreading of the kathina cloth must have already participated in the Invitation. Taken literally, this would mean that bhikkhus who delay their Invitation for a month would be ineligible for a kathina. Again, nothing in the Canon supports the Commentary on this point. However, the Sub-commentary -- perhaps sensing this problem -- states that the Commentary's assertion here simply means that the bhikkhus have completed the first Rains-residence, and the first Invitation day has passed.
The Commentary adds that no bhikkhus from other monasteries (in different territories, says the Sub-commentary) may count toward the quorum, although they may join in the meeting. Again, there is nothing in the Canon to support the Commentary in excluding outside bhikkhus from counting toward the quorum. As we noted above, Mv.VIII.24.2 implies that a bhikkhu spending the Rains alone would be allowed to enjoy the privileges resulting from spreading a kathina, which would be possible only if he could join in the kathina at another residence. If he would be allowed to enjoy the privileges, there seems no reason not to count him toward the quorum when bestowing the cloth. However, the Commentary's position on this point is widely accepted, and so it is worth knowing in full:
If none of the resident bhikkhus are competent to conduct the formalities of bestowing and spreading, they may invite a knowledgeable bhikkhu from elsewhere to recite the transaction statement, direct the spreading of the kathina, receive alms, and then go. He does not count toward the quorum and is not eligible for the kathina privileges earned at this residence. Bhikkhus staying the latter Rains in the same residence may count toward the quorum, but they don't get the benefits of spreading the kathina. Thus a kathina may be held only in a residence where the number of bhikkhus residing for the first and second Rains totals at least five. For some reason, the Commentary says that if a novice stays for the first Rains in the same monastery and ordains in the second Rains, he may be counted toward the quorum and gets the benefits of spreading the kathina.
The Commentary further states -- and here there is nothing in the Canon to contradict it -- that if within one territory there are many monasteries, the bhikkhus in those monasteries should all meet to spread a kathina in one place, and not spread separate kathinas. This statement may be the source of the tradition that there may be one kathina per territory in a given year, but the Commentary does not explicitly make this point.
The recipient. Because the recipient is the person primarily responsible for spreading the kathina, the Mahavagga requires that he has spent the Rains without break. Pv.XIV.3.7 adds he must be knowledgeable about eight things:
the preliminary activities to be done before spreading,
how to remove the determination of his old robe,
how to determine his new robe,
how to announce the spreading of the kathina,
the eight headings (matika) covering the ways in which the kathina is "dismantled,"
the two impediments to the dismantling of the kathina,
the transaction through which the Community may withdraw the kathina privileges, and
the privileges themselves.
All of these matters will be discussed below.
The Commentary, however, states simply that the recipient should be a bhikkhu with an old robe. Among bhikkhus with old robes, the Community should choose one with seniority; and, among the senior bhikkhus, the one who is a "great person" capable of spreading the kathina within that day. If the senior bhikkhus are unable to do this, while a more junior bhikkhu is able, the Community may give it to him. However, as the Community should all assist in making the robe, the preferable course is to tell a senior bhikkhu, "Please accept the cloth. We'll see that it gets done."
Accessory gifts. The Commentary goes on to say that if kathina-accessories -- i.e., other gifts -- come along with the cloth, their status depends on what the donors say. If they say, "These accessories are for that bhikkhu," the Community has no right over them. They belong to the bhikkhu receiving the cloth. If the donors don't say that, the accessories belong to the Community. If the bhikkhu spreading the kathina has other robes that are wearing out, then -- following a simple announcement to the Community -- enough accessory cloths should be given to him for the purpose of replacing those robes. Remaining cloths should be distributed to the Community, beginning where the distribution of rains-bathing cloths left off (see Chapter 18). If there were no rains-bathing cloths, distribute the accessory cloths beginning with the senior bhikkhu. The same procedure holds for other goods that are light or inexpensive (lahubhanda). Any heavy or expensive goods (garubhanda -- see Chapter 7) should not be distributed.
Making the robe. The Mahavagga states that the robe to be made from the cloth must be either an under robe, an upper robe, or an outer cloak. In all cases it must be comprised of at least five panels (khanda -- see Chapter 2). The Commentary advises making a robe to replace whichever robe in the recipient's basic set of three is most worn out. Given the time constraints, however, the common practice is to use the cloth to make an under robe, as this takes the least time.
The Mahavagga's instructions on how to sew the robe are somewhat unclear. Mv.VII.1.5 contains a series of sentences of the form, "Not simply by x is the kathina spread (§)," in which x is replaced by marking [C: measuring], washing, calculating the cloth [C: planning the number of panels to be made], cutting, tacking, basting, making a seam, doubling the seam [Kurundi: doubling the thickness], making the long hem-piece, making the short hem-piece, patching [Alt: applying the hem pieces; patching another robe with cloth from the kathina cloth], dyeing. This obviously means that the kathina has to be spread with a completed robe, but nowhere does the Canon say whether all of these activities have to be done by the bhikkhus, or if any of them may be skipped. The Parivara, in its section on the preliminaries to the spreading of the kathina, says simply that these preliminaries begin with washing, calculating the cloth, cutting, tacking, sewing, and dyeing. Again, it doesn't state that all these activities have to be done by the bhikkhus themselves.
The Commentary states that if the cloth for the kathina is presented to the bhikkhus as a finished robe, well and good, but this point is controversial. As the Vinaya Mukha points out, if one of the purposes of the kathina procedure is to teach the bhikkhus to work together, the Commentary's position would defeat that purpose.
If the cloth hasn't been made into a finished robe, the Commentary states that the procedure is as follows: Wash the cloth so that it's thoroughly clean. Prepare the robe-making accessories, such as needles. Gather all the bhikkhus to sew the robe, dye the sewn robe, make it allowable, and spread it that very day. No one may get out of this obligation on the grounds that he is senior, learned, or whatever. To qualify as properly dyed, the robe must be dyed enough times to give it the proper color. If, while the first cloth is being prepared, another person comes along with another cloth together with many accessory gifts, the bhikkhus may make the robe from the cloth donated with the more accessory gifts, having instructed the donors of the other cloth so that he/she/they are agreeable.
This last judgment is a little dubious, for it is hard to imagine that the donor of the first cloth wouldn't despise the bhikkhus for passing over his/her cloth in favor of a cloth coming later with more material rewards. However, there are cases where many donors join the initial donor in giving accessory gifts of their own, which may include pieces of cloth of a higher quality than those given by the initial donor. In cases like this, after checking with the initial donor to see if he/she is amenable, it is permissible to pile the accessory cloths together with his/her gift of cloth and to include the whole pile in the transaction statement. In this way, the bhikkhus are free to choose which of the cloths they want to use when making the robe.
Regardless of the validity of the Commentary's judgment on this point, it seems to suggest that the principle of only one kathina per monastery in a given year was an unspoken assumption when the Commentary was composed. If the Commentary had assumed that more than one kathina were allowed, it could have easily advised the bhikkhus in this situation to hold two separate kathina transactions, one using the cloth provided by the first donor, and the other using the cloth provided by the second. Nevertheless, as noted above, the principle of no more than one kathina per year per residence is nowhere explicitly stated in the texts.
Spreading. Once the robe is finished and has been made allowable (with the allowable mark; see Pc 58), the kathina may be spread. Mv.VII.1.5 states that the kathina must be spread by an individual, not by a group or a Community. According to the Commentary, that individual should be the bhikkhu to whom the Community gave the cloth in the first place.
Pv.XIV.3.4 concludes its list of the preliminaries to the spreading (after the sewing and dyeing of the robe) with the act of making the robe allowable, removing the determination of one's old robe (for example, if the new robe is an under robe, one removes the determination of one's current under robe), and determining the new robe for use. Once determined, the new robe may be used to spread the kathina as long as it is the proper type of cloth, made into a robe on the day it was donated to the Community, and completed before the following dawn. Although the robe must be completed before dawn, only the Commentary insists that the kathina must be spread before dawn in order to be valid. Neither the Mahavagga nor the Parivara contains this requirement.
The Mahavagga gives no details for the procedure of spreading the kathina, other than that anyone who expresses his approval of the spreading of the kathina must be standing within the territory. If anyone expresses approval while standing outside the territory, the spreading is not effective. This statement raises two questions:
(1) If a bhikkhu standing outside the territory expresses his approval, does that make the spreading ineffective for the bhikkhus expressing their approval, or just for him? The texts don't mention this directly, but they seem to assume that the spreading is ineffective just for that bhikkhu. In other words, he does not earn the privileges, but bhikkhus who express their approval while standing inside the territory do.
(2) What does "standing outside the territory" mean? That the approval must be expressed in the "precinct" territory (upacara-sima -- see Chapter 18) of the monastery, says the Commentary. In other words, the "territory" here is not necessarily a formally authorized territory; it is simply the area of the monastery grounds. The person expressing his approval must still be in the monastery where the kathina was spread for his approval to count. The Vinaya Mukha maintains that "standing outside the territory" means that one has spent the Rains in another monastery, but we have already noted above that the Canon does not support this point.
The Mahavagga does not say that the person giving his approval must be a bhikkhu, or that he must have spent the Rains without break. However, the Parivara states explicitly that he must be a bhikkhu. It also states that the kathina is spread by two people -- the bhikkhu who spreads it, and the person who gives his approval -- and because the Mahavagga allows the spreading of the kathina only for those who have spent the Rains, this would imply that the bhikkhu giving his approval must have spent the Rains without break for his approval to count.
According to the Parivara, the general requirements for spreading and giving approval are that:
to spread the kathina, one must break into speech (i.e., declare the spreading of the kathina out loud -- a simple thought or gesture is not enough);to give approval, a bhikkhu must break into speech -- while standing in the territory -- informing another person (usually the bhikkhu spreading the kathina) of his approval.
The precise pattern it recommends is as follows:
If a bhikkhu wants to spread the kathina with an under robe, he removes the determination of his old under robe, determines the new under robe, and then says out loud:
Iminaa antaravaasakena ka.thina.m attharaami.
This means, "With this under robe I spread the kathina (§). " If spreading the kathina with an upper robe, he follows a similar procedure, replacing Iminaa antaravaasakena with Iminaa uttaraasa"ngena; if with an outer cloak, he replaces Iminaa antaravaasakena with Imaaya sa"nghaa.tiyaa.
Having approached the Community, with his robe arranged over one shoulder and his hands in añjali, he says,
Atthata.m bhante [aavuso] sa"nghassa ka.thina.m. Dhammiko ka.thinatthaaro. Anumodatha.
This means, "Venerable sirs [friends], the Community's kathina has been spread. The spreading of the kathina is in accordance with the Dhamma. Approve of it." The bhikkhus -- each of whom has his robes also arranged over one shoulder and his hands raised in añjali -- respond by saying,
Atthata.m bhante [aavuso] sa"nghassa ka.thina.m. Dhammiko ka.thinatthaaro. Anumodaama.
"Venerable sir [friend], the Community's kathina has been spread. The spreading of the kathina is in accordance with the Dhamma. We approve of it."
Pv.XIV.4 adds the alternative that instead of approaching the Community, the bhikkhu spreading the kathina may go to bhikkhus individually or in smaller groups and follow the same procedure, with only one difference: if he is approaching an individual, he replaces the plural, Anumodatha, with the singular, Anumodasi; while the individual replaces anumodaama ("We approve) with anumodaami ("I approve").
The allowance for getting the bhikkhus' approval individually or in small groups reflects the fact that the spreading of the kathina is not a Community transaction; the validity of the spreading does not require the entire Community's presence or approval. This is an important point. If after finishing the robe, one cannot convene the entire Community, then simply contacting at least one other member of the Community and gaining his approval of the spreading is enough for the kathina to be properly spread. In light of this fact, the phrase sa"nghassa ka.thina.m -- the Community's kathina -- seems to denote the Community's original authorization of the kathina through the bestowal of the cloth, and does not necessarily mean that the entire Community is participating in the kathina's spreading. For example, there is the case where, following the transaction at which the kathina cloth is bestowed on one of the bhikkhus, so many of the other bhikkhus leave the monastery that less than a full Community remains. (The bhikkhus who leave may have joined in the transaction statement to please the donors, but have no interest in making the robe or taking advantage of the kathina privileges.) In this case, the remaining group may still make the new robe and spread the kathina with it.
There is also the case, mentioned above, where not all of the bhikkhus in the Community successfully completed the Rains. In this case, all the bhikkhus could participate in the transaction bestowing the cloth, but only those who had actually completed the Rains would be allowed to earn the privileges that come from spreading the kathina.
If we follow the Commentary in maintaining that the kathina must be spread before dawn of the following day, then there is yet another case where this point would prove relevant: when the robe is finished near dawn, the bhikkhus for the most part have gone off to sleep, and the bhikkhu spreading the kathina cannot track them all down before dawn arrives. In this case, he would be duty-bound to inform only those he can track down in time.
Privileges. The Canon contains a discrepancy in its lists of the privileges earned by those who participate in the spreading of a kathina. Mv.VII.1.3 maintains that the kathina privileges are five:
(1) They may go off without having asked permission (Pc 46).
(2) They may go off without taking all three robes (NP 2).
(3) They may participate in a group meal (Pc 32).
(4) They may keep as much robe-cloth as they need or want without having to determine it or place it under dual ownership (NP 1, NP 3).
(5) Whatever robe-cloth arises there will be theirs. This means that they have sole rights to any cloth accruing to the Community in the residence where they spent the Rains -- see Mv.VIII.24.2; Mv.VIII.24.5-6. (The Commentary to Mv.VIII.32 adds, rightly so, that this privilege also applies to gifts of cloth dedicated to the Community that has spent the Rains in that residence. See Chapter 18.) If a bhikkhu who spent the Rains alone has joined in the kathina at another residence, the word "there" in the allowance means the residence where he spent the Rains, not the residence where the kathina was held. According to the Commentary, "accruing to the Community" covers not only gifts of cloth dedicated to the Community, but also the robes of a dead bhikkhu that have accrued to the Community, robe-cloth bought with proceeds from Community land, or robe-cloth coming any other legitimate way into the Community's possession.
Note that privileges (1), (3), (4,) and (5) are simply extensions of the automatic privileges for the civara-kala, or robe-season (see Chapter 11). Privilege (2), however, is exclusively a kathina privilege that does not come automatically with the robe-season.
For some reason, the list at Mv.VII.1.3 does not include an extension of the one remaining automatic robe-season privilege: the rescinding of the rule against out-of-turn meals (Pc 33). This is where the discrepancy lies, for the Vibhanga to Pc 33 states that the rule is rescinded not only during the fourth month of the rainy season, but also throughout the period when the kathina privileges are in effect. None of the texts mention this discrepancy, so there is no precedent for deciding whether the list at Mv.VII.1.3 is incomplete, or the Vibhanga to Pc 33 is wrong. Because the allowance for rescinding Pc 33 during the occasion for giving cloth (civara-dana-samaya) is written into the training rule, and because this period, in all other contexts, is said to be extended throughout the kathina privileges, we can assume that the list at Mv.VII.1.3 is incomplete, and that there is actually a sixth privilege for those who have participated in the spreading of a kathina:
(6) They may participate in an out-of-turn meal (Pc 33).
According to Pv.XIV.1, these privileges apply both for the bhikkhu who has spread the kathina and for any bhikkhu who has approved the spreading of the kathina. As long as certain conditions are in place, these privileges extend until the end of the cold season, five months after the end of the first Rains-residence.
Dismantling the kathina. There are two ways in which a bhikkhu's kathina privileges may be ended -- this is called the dismantling of the kathina -- before the end of the cold season:
(1) He participates in a Community transaction whereby all the bhikkhus in the monastery voluntarily withdraw their kathina privileges. The statement for this transaction is given in Appendix I.
(2) He comes to the end both of his commitment to the monastery (avasa-palibodha) and of his commitment to making a robe (civara-palibodha).
The Vinaya Mukha questions the purpose of the transaction mentioned in point (1), but there are a number of possible reasons for withdrawing the privileges. Some Communities do so on the grounds that there is value in not relaxing one's observance of the rules, even when allowed. This attitude acts as a deterrent to any lazy bhikkhu who might want to join a Community simply to take advantage of its kathina privileges. Another reason to withdraw the privileges would be as a favor to new bhikkhus joining the Community after the kathina has been spread. Once the privileges are withdrawn, the new bhikkhus would have a share in all gifts of cloth given to the Community in that monastery.
As for point (2), one's monastery commitment ends when one leaves the monastery without intending to return. The Mahavagga does not mention this specifically, but the Parivara's analysis of the Mahavagga's scenarios for ways in which the kathina is dismantled indicate that one's monastery commitment is also ended when one hears that the bhikkhus in one's monastery have held the Community transaction to withdraw the kathina privileges.
One's robe-commitment ends when one's new robe is finished, lost, destroyed, or burned, or when one's expectation for cloth has been disappointed.
Mv.VII.1.7 lists eight headings that cover the various ways these conditions for the dismantling of the kathina can combine in practice. One's kathina may be dismantled:
(1) through going away;
(2) through (the robe's) being settled;
(3) through a resolve (not to make a robe or to come back);
(4) through (the cloth's) being lost;
(5) through hearing (of the agreement to end the privileges);
(6) through a disappointment of an expectation (for robe-cloth);
(7) through crossing over the territory;
(8) through coinciding.
Headings (1) and (5) cover cases where the robe-commitment has already ended, so the kathina is dismantled when the monastery-commitment is ended in one of two ways: one leaves the monastery with the thought of not returning, or one leaves with the thought of returning but then hears that the Community there has agreed to withdraw the privileges. Headings (2), (4), and (6) cover cases where the monastery-commitment has already ended, so the kathina is dismantled when the robe-commitment is ended in one of three ways: one finishes one's robe, one loses the cloth needed to make a robe, or one's expectation of cloth is disappointed. Heading (3) covers the case where the commitments are ended simultaneously, when -- after leaving the monastery -- one resolves simultaneously not to return and not to make a robe. Heading (8) covers the case where one's privileges end simultaneously with those of the other bhikkhus in the Community -- the Canon does not say so specifically, but this seems to refer to the situation in which one participates in the meeting at which the kathina privileges are formally withdrawn.
Heading (7) is problematic. The Commentary and Parivara interpret "crossing over the territory" as referring to a physical territory, but this does not fit the examples given in the Mahavagga. The Sub-commentary prefers to interpret "territory" as meaning the time-territory for the privileges. Thus, "crossing over the territory" would mean passing the end of the cold season, an interpretation that fits with the Mahavagga and makes much more sense. Otherwise, none of the eight headings would cover this possibility.
Mv.VII.2-12 works out a total of ninety possible scenarios covered by these headings, a few examples of which are given in the rules section at the end of this chapter. And, with a little imagination, one could work out many more possible scenarios as well. Fortunately, there is no need to know all the scenarios. Simply keeping in mind the two ways in which one's kathina can be dismantled before the end of the cold season, as mentioned above -- participating in the Community transaction to withdraw the privileges, or ending both one's robe- and one's monastery-commitments -- is enough to ensure that one will recognize when one's privileges are still in effect and when they no longer are.
"I allow that the kathina be spread (§) by bhikkhus when they have come out of the Rains-residence." -- Mv.VII.1.3
The month for making the kathina cloth: the last month of the rains -- Pv.XIV.4
Transaction statement for bestowing the kathina-cloth -- Mv.VII.1.4
Six materials (six allowable types of cloth) -- Pv.XIV.3.5
Improper ways of receiving cloth:
nimittakatena -- through insinuation,
parikathakatena -- through roundabout talking.
Insinuation: One makes an insinuation (nimitta), "I will spread the kathina with this cloth." Roundabout talking: One makes roundabout talk, "By means of this roundabout talk I will cause a kathina-cloth to occur." -- Pv.XIV.1
Improper types of cloth:
kukkukatena -- borrowed (§)
sannidhikatena -- kept overnight (§)
nissaggiyena -- to be forfeited (§) -- Mv.VII.1.5
Kept overnight (§): Kept overnight in the doing (karana-sannidhi), kept overnight in the accumulation (nicaya-sannidhi),
To be forfeited: If dawn comes while it is being made. -- Pv.XIV.1
Proper types of cloth:
ahatena -- undamaged,
ahata-kappena -- made undamaged,
pilotikaya -- a rag,
pansukulena -- cast off
apanikena -- from a tradesman/shopkeeper, picked up at the door to a store.
Proper ways of receiving cloth: not through insinuation, not through roundabout talking.
Proper types of cloth: not borrowed (§), not kept overnight (§), not to be forfeited (§). -- Mv.VII.1.6
A person endowed with eight qualities is capable of spreading the kathina: he knows the preliminary activities, removal, determination, spreading, matika, commitments, withdrawal, and rewards. -- Pv.XIV.3.7
Not simply by -- - is the kathina spread (§).
ullikhita -- marking
dhovana -- washing
civara-vicarana -- calculating the cloth
chedana -- cutting
bandhana -- tacking
ovattika-karana -- basting (§)
kandUsa-karana -- making a seam (§)
dalhikamma-karana -- doubling the seam (§)
anuvata-karana -- making the long hem-piece (§)
paribhanda-karana -- making the short hem-piece (§)
ovaddheyya-karana -- patching (or: adding a hem-piece to the robe)
kambala-maddana -- dyeing -- Mv.VII.1.5
Improper garments: anything but an outer cloak, upper robe, or under robe, each of five panels or more, cut and sewn on that very day. -- Mv.VII.1.5
Proper garments: an outer cloak, upper robe, or under robe, each of five panels or more, cut and sewn on that very day. -- Mv.VII.1.6
Preliminary activities: washing, calculating the cloth, cutting, tacking, sewing, dyeing. -- Pv.XIV.3.4
Improper spreading of the kathina: with a robe that is not made allowable. -- Mv.VII.1.5
Improper procedure: if not spread by an individual; if, although otherwise correctly done, one standing outside the territory (§) expresses approval (§). -- Mv.VII.1.5
Proper spreading of the kathina: with a robe made allowable. -- Mv.VII.1.6
Proper procedure: if spread by an individual; if, otherwise correctly done, one standing within the territory (§) expresses approval (§). -- Mv.VII.1.6
Preliminary activities: making allowable, determination (of the new robe). -- Pv.XIV.3.4
Spreading: breaking into speech. -- Pv.XIV.3.4
Kathina-spreading is effective only if: one is standing in the territory while giving approval, one breaks into speech while giving approval, one informs another while breaking into speech. -- Pv.XIV.3.8
Three ways in which kathina spreading is not effective: a defect in the object, a defect in the time, a defect in the making. -- Pv.XIV.3.9
The Community is to give (the cloth) to the kathina-spreading bhikkhu with a motion and announcement transaction. Having washed, smoothed (this is added only in this list), calculated, cut sewn, dyed, and made it allowable, he is to spread the kathina with it. If he wants to spread the kathina with an outer cloak, he is to remove the determination of his old outer cloak, he is to determine the new outer cloak, he is to break into speech, saying "With this outer cloak I spread the kathina." (§) (Similarly with other two types of robes.) Having approached the Community, having arranged his robe over one shoulder, having placed his hands palm-to-palm in front of his heart, he is to say this: "Venerable sirs, the Community's kathina has been spread. The spreading of the kathina is in accordance with the Dhamma. Approve of it." He should be addressed by the bhikkhus: "The Community's kathina has been spread. The spreading of the kathina is in accordance with the Dhamma. We approve of it." (Alternatively, he may go to the bhikkhus individually or in smaller groups, and follow the same procedure.) -- Pv.XIV.4
Whose kathina is spread (§)? The kathina of two individuals is spread (§): the one who does the spreading and the one who approves of it. -- Pv.XIV.1
"When you have spread the kathina (§), five things will be proper: going away without have asked permission (see Pc 46), going away without taking (all three robes) (see NP 2), a group meal (see Pc 32), as much robe-cloth as is needed/wanted (see NP 1 & NP 3), and whatever robe-cloth arises there will be theirs (see Mv.VIII.24.2, Mv.VIII.24.5-6, & Mv.VIII.32)." -- Mv.VII.1.3
"There is the case where a bhikkhu is spending the Rains-residence alone. There, people (saying,) 'We are giving to the Community,' give robe-cloths. I allow that those robe-cloths be his alone until the dismantling of the kathina." -- Mv.VIII.24.2
Now at that time two elder brothers, Ven. Isidasa and Ven. Isibhatta, having spent the Rains-residence in Savatthi, went to a certain village monastery. People, (saying,) "At long last the elders have come," gave food together with robe-cloths. The resident bhikkhus asked the elders, "Venerable sirs, these Community robe-cloths have arisen because of your coming. Will you consent to a portion?" The elders said, "As we understand the Dhamma taught by the Blessed One, these robe-cloths are yours alone until the dismantling of the kathina." -- Mv.VIII.24.5
Now at that time three bhikkhus were spending the Rains-residence in Rajagaha. There, people (saying,) "We are giving to the Community," gave robe-cloths. The thought occurred to the bhikkhus, "It has been laid down by the Blessed One that a Community is at least a group of four, but we are three people. Yet these people (saying,) 'We are giving to the Community,' have given robe-cloths. So how are these to be treated by us?" Now at that time a number of elders -- Ven. Nilvasi, Ven. Sanavasi, Ven. Gopaka, Ven. Bhagu, and Ven. Phalidasandana were staying in Pataliputta at the Rooster Park. So the bhikkhus, having gone to Pataliputta, asked the elders. The elders said, "As we understand the Dhamma taught by the Blessed One, these robe-cloths are yours alone until the dismantling of the kathina." -- Mv.VIII.24.6
"There are these two commitments to the kathina. Which two? The residence commitment and the robe commitment.
"And how is there the residence commitment? There is the case where a bhikkhu, either dwelling in a residence or intent on that residence goes away (thinking,) 'I will return.' This is how there is the residence commitment.
"And how is there the robe commitment? There is the case where a bhikkhu's robe is unfinished or half-finished or his expectation for cloth has not yet been disappointed. This is how there is the robe commitment.
"These are the two commitments to the kathina." -- Mv.VII.13.1
"There are these two non-commitments to the kathina. Which two? The residence non-commitment and the robe non-commitment.
"And how is there the residence non-commitment? There is the case where a bhikkhu goes away from that residence with a sense of abandoning, a sense of disgorging, a sense of being freed, a sense of indifference, (thinking,) 'I won't return.' This is how there is the residence non-commitment.
"And how is there the robe non-commitment? There is the case where a bhikkhu's robe is finished or lost or destroyed or burned or his expectation for cloth has been disappointed. This is how there is the robe non-commitment.
"These are the two non-commitments to the kathina." -- Mv.VII.13.2
"And how is the kathina dismantled? These eight are the headings for the dismantling of the kathina: through going away; through (the robe's) being settled; through a resolve (not to make a robe or to return); through (the cloth's) being lost; through hearing (of the agreement to end the privileges); through a disappointment of an expectation (for robe-cloth), through crossing over the territory, through coinciding." -- Mv.VII.1.7
Some examples:
(1) "A bhikkhu, when the kathina has been spread, taking a robe that has been finished, goes away (thinking,) 'I won't return.' That bhikkhu's kathina is dismantled through going away.
(2) "A bhikkhu, when the kathina has been spread, goes away, taking cloth (that has not been made into a robe). Having gone outside the territory, the thought occurs to him, 'I will make this robe right here. I won't return.' He makes the robe. That bhikkhu's kathina is dismantled through (the robe's) being settled.
(3) "A bhikkhu, when the kathina has been spread, goes away, taking cloth (that has not been made into a robe.) Having gone outside the territory, the thought occurs to him, 'I won't make this robe. I won't return.' That bhikkhu's kathina is dismantled through a resolve.
(4) "A bhikkhu, when the kathina has been spread, goes away, taking cloth (that has not been made into a robe). Having gone outside the territory, the thought occurs to him, 'I will make this robe right here. I won't return.' He makes a robe. While he is making the robe, it gets lost. That bhikkhu's kathina is dismantled through (the cloth's) being lost.
(5) "A bhikkhu, when the kathina has been spread, goes away, taking cloth (that has not been made into a robe), thinking, 'I will return.' Having gone outside the territory, he makes a robe. When he has finished the robe, he hears that 'The bhikkhus in that monastery, they say, have dismantled the kathina (privileges).' That bhikkhu's kathina is dismantled through hearing." -- Mv.VII.2
(6) "A bhikkhu, when the kathina has been spread, goes away with the expectation of (receiving) cloth. Having gone outside the territory the thought occurs to him, 'I will attend to that expectation of cloth right here. I won't return.' His expectation of cloth is disappointed. That bhikkhu's kathina is dismantled through the disappointment of an expectation." -- Mv.VII.8.2
(7) "A bhikkhu, when the kathina has been spread, goes away, taking cloth (that has not been made into a robe), thinking, 'I will return.' Having gone outside the territory, he makes a robe. Having finished the robe, thinking, 'I will return. I will return,' he spends time outside (the monastery) until the dismantling of the kathina. That bhikkhu's kathina is dismantled through crossing over the (time) territory.
(8) "A bhikkhu, when the kathina has been spread, goes away, taking cloth (that has not been made into a robe), thinking, 'I will return.' Having gone outside the territory, he makes a robe. Having finished the robe, thinking, 'I will return. I will return,' his return coincides with the dismantling of the kathina. That bhikkhu's kathina is dismantled together with (that of the other) bhikkhus." -- Mv.VII.2
Transaction statement for dismantling the kathina -- Bhikkhuni Pc 30.