The DRBU Alms Club recently attended the Kathina Robe Offering Ceremony at Abhayagiri Monastery. This ceremony is an annual celebration after the monastics’ three-month retreat. Read reflections from the club.

On November 3, 2024, twenty DRBU students, staff, faculty, and volunteers attended the annual Kathina Robe Offering Ceremony at Abhayagiri Monastery. Over two hundred attendees from all over the world gathered to make offerings to the Sangha, celebrating the spirit of generosity and the special bond shared between the monastic and lay communities.

In Ajahn Viradhammo’s words, “Generosity is an inner treasure, a huge source of joy.” True to these teachings, we found ourselves surrounded by an atmosphere of warmth and gratitude that united us across all cultures and backgrounds.

After the ceremony concluded, the monks of Abhagaygiri took on the task of hand sewing and hand dyeing the offered cloth to make new robes. Their current fastest record of the robe-making process, from dyeing to drying, is six and a half hours! The abbot said they would like to break that record this year.

We would like to express our deepest gratitude to all those who made this trip possible, who gave donations, and who helped prepare the offerings of cloth. May the virtue of giving inspire us all on our path of cultivation.

Anumodana (Delighting in your goodness!),

DRBU Alms Club