- Tathālokā Bhikkhunī
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
Tathālokā Therī
🌕✨ Dear venerables and friends, "A Time of Moving in the Ancient Buddhist World and Now" - this Kattika Puṇņamī (Kartika Purnima) marks the end of the Vassa - the "Catumāsa" four months of the South Asian monsoon season, and final day of the Kathina giving season. With it, the ancient Buddhist world moved, and still moves.
I share five special meanings of this full moon day, now, and in the past and in the present, in Buddhist history and herstory ~
🏵📖💐 1. "Give to the Sangha Gotamī: Saṅghe, Gotamī, dehi"
On this Kattika full moon, then stream-enterer Upāsikā Queen Mahāpajāpatī went to the Blessed One bearing two golden cloths she had woven with her own hands during the rains, and made known her heart's wish to give them to her son, the Buddha.
"The Blessed One addressed Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī saying: 'Give to the Sangha, Gotamī; if you give to the Sangha then both I and the Sangha both will be honored.'"
"Bhagavā Mahāpajāpatiṁ Gotamiṁ etad avoca: 'Saṁghe, Gotamī, dehi; saṁghe te dinne ahañ c'eva pūjito bhavissāmi saṁgho cāti'."
The Dakkhina Vibhanga Sutta places special emphasis on giving to the Dual Sangha of both bhikkhus and bhikkhunis, which the Buddha states in the sutta is a higher merit than giving to the Bhikkhu Sangha or Bhikkhuni Sangha alone.
Comparative studies show that this robe offering may have been made in conjunction with her first request to the Buddha to ordain.
🏵📖💐 2. "Carathā bhikkhave!...Go forth, O ye Bhikkhus!"
The image here is symbolic of the heart spirit of that great movement launched millennia ago under this Kattika full moon: the Buddha's saying to his early awakened disciples: "go forth, bhikkhus! - for the welfare and happiness of the many!".
🏵📖💐 3. "Sanghamittā & the Bodhi (Carathā bhikkhunīs!...)"
This image, in the same spirit, is of the bhikkhunis--female bhikkhus--great going forth, led by awakened daughter of king Asoka, the great arahantī Therī Sanghamittā, with the arahant bhikkhunī sangha and sapling of the Buddha's own awakening tree -- setting off the day after this full moon from Asoka's capital Pātaliputta to the great Tamralipti port, to set sail to Sri Lanka. On this Kattika full moon day, the emperor Asoka offered a great farewell Bodhi festival in the presence of all the departing Bhikkhunis and familiies - it would be Sanghamittā's last time to see Pātaliputta.
🏵📯💐 4. "Carathā Bhikkhunīs 2!: 'I Walk With the Bhikkhunīs' Dec 2025"
This image is of the groundbreaking movement this year "Walking in the Footsteps of the Bhikkhuni Arahants" - for our Dhammadharini and associated international Theravāda bhikkhunī sangha to join in the "Footsteps of Mahāpajāpatī: Honoring Women in Dhamma" Pilgrimage/Carika this December 18th to 25th Kapilavastu to Vesālī. Thanks to Dhammadharini Support Foundation and Light of Buddhadharma Foundation International and all supportive friends, it may be possible.
🏵📖💐 5. "Honoring Sāriputta Thero on His Parinibbāna Day"
These two images are of Nālandā, the birthplace of leading disciple of the Buddha, the great arahant Sāriputta Thero, and his three arahantī therī bhikkhunī sisters: Cālā, Upacālā and Sīsupacālā.
This full moon is remembered as Sāriputta Thero's Parinibbāna Day; as we don't know the Parinibbāna Day of his sister arahant therīs, we remember them all together with these images of the stupas at Nālanda.
✍️ Tathālokā Therī, at Dhammadharini, writing on behalf of Dhammadharini's #HerStoryOurStory #BuddhistHeritage #womeninbuddhism Initiative on the #kattikapunnami/ #KartikPurnima / #IlPoya #fullmoon with thoughts of the vast, broad heart and vision, and lived lives, of the great disciples of the Buddha, and that wish to contribute and give with such broad hearts of great and profound dedication, loving kindness and compassion.🙏🙏🙏
