Kathina 2025

Today ias Kathina Day at Nandaka Vihara in Bukit Mertajam, one of the most significant events in the Buddhist calendar. I couldn’t make it early to join the morning activities. By the time I arrived around 10.45am, the lunch dāna was already underway. When the meal was over, everyone moved on to the main meditation hall for the second half of the ceremony comprising the dhamma talk, the offering of robes to the monks and the paritta chanting. 

This year, I kept a very low profile. I found myself more in the background than usual, quietly observing rather than participating as a busybody photographer. Perhaps that’s what I needed — to just watch, listen and let the atmosphere sink in. Still, I was glad to witness how the Burmese community marked the occasion with their decorated money trees adorned with folded notes, flowers and ribbons, all offered to the monks. It added a joyful, almost festive touch to an otherwise contemplative moment in the meditation hall.