The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.
17 April 2023
Question: Offering Kaṭhina robe is considered to be a meritorious deed, so devotees gather in thousands and spend lavishly to conduct Kaṭhina puja in SriLanka.
However, unlike in the time of the Buddha, robes materials are no longer in scarcity nowadays, does Kaṭhina puja still hold the same significance as it did in the past?
Than Ajahn: Well, I think there is a misunderstanding as far as the word ‘meritorious deed’ is concerned.
During the time of the Buddha, the monks had problems, due to the lack of materials to make robes. So, the laypeople gave cloth materials, so that the monks could make them into robes and the Buddha said that it was a very meritorious deed, as far as the monks were concerned, because the monks needed the materials to make the robes with. But as far as the merit that the giver gets is concerned, it’s the same.
Whether the giver offers food or other requisites of living, the merit the giver gets is the same.
So, this is a misunderstanding when the givers think that they will get more merit when they give Kaṭhina robes—this is not the case. It was meritorious for the monks because during the Buddha’s time, the monks had no materials to make the robes with, so it’s meritorious on the receivers, not meritorious on the givers.
The givers will still get merits but the merit they get depends on the amount they give. It doesn’t depend on whether they give Kaṭhina robes, ordinary robes or food. The merit that the givers get depends on the amount they give. The more the person gives, then the more merit the giver will get.
Nowadays, the monastery has lots of robes, so for the monks, it doesn’t make much difference if you give them Kaṭhina robes or not, because there are other ways of getting robes.
So, as far as monks are concerned, giving them robes are not great merits for them anymore.
“Dhamma in English, May 30, 2021.”
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Question: The merit of giving robe during Kaṭhina belongs to the monks.
I am confused about the explanation.
Than Ajahn: Merit means benefit. The giver gets benefit from giving. The receiver also gets the benefit.
They are different types of benefits. The receiver gets the benefit of receiving the materials to make robes.
The giver gets the benefit from giving, the giver has good feelings.
To get good feeling from giving, it doesn’t matter what you give or who you give it to—it’s the same.
The benefit the receivers get can be different depending on what you give them. If you give them something the receivers don’t need, then it has no benefit for the receivers. If you give something the receivers need, that’s the benefit for the receivers.
The reason why during the Buddha time people gave materials to monks was because there was scarcity of materials to make robes.
Monks had difficulties to get materials to make robes. If people gave cloth materials to the monks, then this would give great benefit to the monks.
But people misunderstand it by thinking that if they give robes during Kaṭhina, the givers will get the benefit for themselves—this is a misunderstanding. Nowadays, monks have more robes that they can wear for the rest of their lives, so if you give the monks another robes, it doesn’t make any difference. So, you should offer something else. Maybe you can give them food or vaccine (in current situation). You give them something they are lacking. Someone offers vaccine for monks to take tomorrow.
This is something what the monks need right now because sometimes monks are overlooked. This is to give you the example of what merit is.
Merit means benefit. When you give, you get the benefit from giving, you feel good. The people who receive the offering, they also feel good. But sometimes, when you give something to people during Christmas and the thing you gave them is something they don’t need, they’d return it to the shop after Christmas. With monks, they can’t return the things after you’ve given them.
Right now, when people give offering during Kaṭhina, the robe is just part of the offering.
The main gift is the money where the monastery can use it to pay for repairs, refurbishment or other expenses. This is the real Kaṭhina offering nowadays: the financial support given to the monastery. People use Kaṭhina as the occasion to support the monastery. If you just give them robes, it’s useless because the monastery has too many robes. But they don’t have the money.
Nowadays, the monastery needs money to run it. They have to pay for the electricity, water, repairs, maintenance, etc. So people give money to support the monastery.
Layperson: So, if there is extra, you would give them to the school.
Than Ajahn: Yes. Money can be given to the individual monk or to the temple. If you give it to the monk, then the monk can decide what to do with that money. If you give it to the monastery, then the fund has to be used for the monastery's needs.
“Dhamma in English, Jun 1, 2021.”
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
YouTube: Dhamma in English.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g
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