Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary (SBS) Taiping Kathina

8 NOVEMBER 2015

That was my third times attended Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary (SBS) Taiping Kathina.(护法苑咖提那) .

Kathina is a Buddhist festival which comes at the end of Vassa, the three-month rainy season retreat for Theravada Buddhists. The season during which a monastery may hold Kathina is one month long, beginning after the full moon of the eleventh month in the Lunar calendar (usually October).

It is a time of giving, for the laity to express gratitude to bhikkhus (Buddhist monks). Lay Buddhists bring donations to temples, especially new robes for the monks.

SBS is located on a hill. After we have parked our cars at the designated area at the foothill, the volunteers and RELA members will guide all participants to destiny. We reach there around  8am. 

There are 2 ways to get to the SBS kathina.

1. the 4WD 

A convoy of 4WD car will send the elderly and the unfit/disabled to SBS and back down again after the ceremony. There will be waiting stations for the 4WD both at the foothill and in SBS.

      2. Walk 

The young and the fit are encouraged to walk up and down SBS using the short-cut route. First, you will be sent by shuttle service from a waiting station at the car park area to the beginning of the short-cut route. Then, you just need to take an approximately 8-minute walk from the beginning of the user-friendly short-cut route to reach the kathina site.

Highlights of the day

7:10 a.m.- Offering of kathina cloth

8:30 a.m.- Performance

9:30 a.m.- Offering almsfood and requisites to the Sangha

11:00 a.m. – Dhamma Talks in English by Bhante Aggacitta, in Hokkien by Bhante Kumara & in Burmese by Sayadaw Kevala

Breakfast & Lunch  provided for all devotees

For us, there was a little tired to climb up. Therefore we choose to take 4WD. Haha.

There was huge crowd of people and many stalls.

Aroung 10am, ceremony offering almsfood and requisites to the Sangha

There are about 12 Sangha.

11:00 a.m. – Dhamma Talks in English by Bhante Aggacitta, in Hokkien by Bhante Kumara & in Burmese by Sayadaw Kevala

Around 12pm, the events was finished. We walking down the hills. Nice View ♥ ♥ ♥ 

Walking along this nature trail promises to be refreshing and beneficial healthwise. Moreover, besides being kind to the environment, we will also be able to gain first-hand experience of walking the route that SBS monks walk barefoot daily to collect alms food. Furthermore, using the short-cut route will be a reward to the volunteers, mainly Burmese, who have spent many months of their Sundays manually paving it with concrete slabs specially for kathina devotees to walk on.

Although it very hot, but it was a meaningful and significant memory. 

The End~

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