Many of our Buddhist friends and devotees today knew existence of a flag for our Buddhist community worldwide. But few knew the meaning of the colours on the flag. It is important that every one of us in the Buddhist community know what does the Buddhist flag really mean to all of us. The five colours of the flag represents the six colours of the aura that emanated from the body of the Buddha at the time of his Enlightenment. Blue (Neela) represents Loving Kindness, Tranquility and Universal Compassion; Yellow (Pitha) means the Middle Path - abstaining from extremes of luxury and suffering; Red (Lohitha) stands for achievement, wisdom, virtue, fortune and dignity; White (Odatha) for purity and emancipation and Orange (Manjestha) represents the Essence of Buddhism with wisdom, strength and dignity. The vertical stripe, compound of the other five colours (Prabhaswara - "essence of light") which symbolizes Truth.
In Pali, Kathina literally means unshakable or immovable. The merits accrued in offering this kind of rob is unshakable by the other small demerits. Whenever the donors of Kathina Robe enjoy the results of these meritorious deeds in Samsara, the other small demerits - except the Five Weighty Karmas cannot interrupt or cannot shake its effect just like the great Earth or Mount Meru cannot be shaken by the wind. Therefore, it is called "Kathina". In Buddhist countries such as Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia, the annual offering of Kathina Robes has assumed a great auspicious significance and this religious function receives even the Royal Patronage and favour. As such, devotees for this important annual occasion with great enthusiasm to take part in the celebration. Kathina Robe cannot be accepted by all monks. Only monks who had received Higher Ordination and observe the Vassa or Rains Retreat for three months can accept the Kathina Robe. Those who are novices,...
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