Upāsaka Hem Bahadur Shakya and Upāsikā Mohan Laxmi Shakya from Kathmandu sponsored this year’s Kaṭhina ceremony at Paṇḍitārāma Lumbini International Vipassanā Meditation Center (PLIVMC), as well as the breakfast and lunch.
Hem Bahadur was largely responsible for securing the plot in Lumbini for PLIVMC in the 1990s, and he has been a great supporter of the center ever since. He and his wife, Mohan Laxmi, have sat many retreats here, some of them up to three months long.
We were delighted to welcome about 35 monastics from the many Buddhist temples in Lumbini, both Mahāyāna and Theravāda.
The ceremony included homage to the Blessed One, the taking of the precepts, and the chanting of protective suttas, followed by a talk by Ven. U Vivekānanda on the history and meaning of Kaṭhina from a Vinaya perspective.
Apart from the donation of the Kaṭhina civāra (robes) many other offerings were offered to the monastic guests.
As rain had been forecasted, lunch did not take place outdoors, but was taken in different rooms in the main compound.
Very yum yum!
Hem Bahadur with wife Mohan Laxmi and family.
Sādhu! Sādhu! Sādhu!
Photography on this page by Manfred Wierich