Birken’s first Kathina – October 17th, 2009
A Kathina is a special event that celebrates the end of the annual Rains period (between the full moons in July + October). It can occur in a monastery that has had at least five bhikkhus in residence. The event gets its name from the "kathina" frame used to make monks’ robes - the period following the end of Rains was, and still is, the traditional time for robe-making. The central part of a traditional Kathina, therefore, is the formal offering of either robe cloth or a finished robe.
For those interested in the Kathina and how it can be observed, the website for Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery offers excellent information on this much-loved occasion: http://www.abhayagiri.org/main/article/1831/
The 2009 Rains marks the first time in its history that Birken has been eligible for a Kathina. This year our bhikkhu ranks swelled to six, with Ajahns Sudanto and Karunadhammo, as well as Venerables Pavaro, Subharo, Dhammavaro, and Suvaco on site. Unfortunately, by the time Birken’s Kathina actually takes place, our ajahns from Abhayagiri will have departed. The good news, though, is that Ajahn Sona will be returning the day before from his Rains at Bhavana Society.
On October 17th, Piriya Nowak, Jacqui Balfour, and Leslie Hanrahan will be offering the Kathina robe. Piriya is happy to respond to people interested in participating (Piriyan@shaw.ca).
You can also contact her by post: 205 South Gilmore Ave. Burnaby, B.C. V5C 4P9
(Piriya asks that any cheques being sent to her be payable to Birken Forest Monastery.)
The Birken Office can be contacted for available space, for those interested to attend this event.
Kathina “wish list”: suggested dana items
In our ongoing effort to reduce the use of our diesel generator, we’ve installed two new solar panels this summer. Now as the nights grow longer we are beginning to replace the light bulbs throughout the monastery with LED lighting. This is much more energy-efficient, and long-lasting, but the bulbs are much more expensive. We’ve done some shopping, and found the best prices are at Home Depot (in Kamloops, at least). We’re being very specific in our suggestions here, so that if a number of people want to donate just one or two bulbs, we’ll have a uniform look throughout the monastery. Please note that we will be using “soft white” not “cool white”.
12 or more "Philips - 7W LED A Warm White – 406140”
Model: 406140
Home Depot Store SKU #: 1000547487
40,000 Hour, Average Bulb Life
Uses 7 Watts of Energy=25W A19 Incandescent Bulb
Lasts up to 20 Years
Soft White
Other dana item suggestions:
4 rechargeable battery operated LED desk lamps
12 rechargeable C-cell batteries, NiMH 5000 mAh (not 2500, not NiCad)*
12 rechargeable D-cell batteries, NiMH 10000 mAh (not 2500, not NiCad)*
* these are not cheap, but ccrane.com has them for $9.95 and $14.95, not $20 as quoted elsewhere
Note cards (blank inside)
Chemicals for dyeing monastic robes & clothing:
http://www.gsdye.com/Canada/chemicals.html
G&S is a Canadian company in Toronto.
For dyeing, the Raycafix fixative here would be useful (last item on list):
Also, the TNA soap a few items up would be useful.
Cartridges for our HP Color LaserJet 2605dn printer
Q6000A – black (two)
Computer keyboard, needs to be less than 18” wide.
We suggest Logitech Compact Keyboard K300 or something similar.
For those interested in the Kathina and how it can be observed, the website for Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery offers excellent information on this much-loved occasion: http://www.abhayagiri.org/main/article/1831/
The 2009 Rains marks the first time in its history that Birken has been eligible for a Kathina. This year our bhikkhu ranks swelled to six, with Ajahns Sudanto and Karunadhammo, as well as Venerables Pavaro, Subharo, Dhammavaro, and Suvaco on site. Unfortunately, by the time Birken’s Kathina actually takes place, our ajahns from Abhayagiri will have departed. The good news, though, is that Ajahn Sona will be returning the day before from his Rains at Bhavana Society.
On October 17th, Piriya Nowak, Jacqui Balfour, and Leslie Hanrahan will be offering the Kathina robe. Piriya is happy to respond to people interested in participating (Piriyan@shaw.ca).
You can also contact her by post: 205 South Gilmore Ave. Burnaby, B.C. V5C 4P9
(Piriya asks that any cheques being sent to her be payable to Birken Forest Monastery.)
The Birken Office can be contacted for available space, for those interested to attend this event.
Kathina “wish list”: suggested dana items
In our ongoing effort to reduce the use of our diesel generator, we’ve installed two new solar panels this summer. Now as the nights grow longer we are beginning to replace the light bulbs throughout the monastery with LED lighting. This is much more energy-efficient, and long-lasting, but the bulbs are much more expensive. We’ve done some shopping, and found the best prices are at Home Depot (in Kamloops, at least). We’re being very specific in our suggestions here, so that if a number of people want to donate just one or two bulbs, we’ll have a uniform look throughout the monastery. Please note that we will be using “soft white” not “cool white”.
12 or more "Philips - 7W LED A Warm White – 406140”
Model: 406140
Home Depot Store SKU #: 1000547487
40,000 Hour, Average Bulb Life
Uses 7 Watts of Energy=25W A19 Incandescent Bulb
Lasts up to 20 Years
Soft White
Other dana item suggestions:
4 rechargeable battery operated LED desk lamps
12 rechargeable C-cell batteries, NiMH 5000 mAh (not 2500, not NiCad)*
12 rechargeable D-cell batteries, NiMH 10000 mAh (not 2500, not NiCad)*
* these are not cheap, but ccrane.com has them for $9.95 and $14.95, not $20 as quoted elsewhere
Note cards (blank inside)
Chemicals for dyeing monastic robes & clothing:
http://www.gsdye.com/Canada/chemicals.html
G&S is a Canadian company in Toronto.
For dyeing, the Raycafix fixative here would be useful (last item on list):
Also, the TNA soap a few items up would be useful.
Cartridges for our HP Color LaserJet 2605dn printer
Q6000A – black (two)
Computer keyboard, needs to be less than 18” wide.
We suggest Logitech Compact Keyboard K300 or something similar.
We Rejoice In Your Merit (Anumodana)!