The Sangha Picnic

Picnic at the Sneep Farm

Our annual Sangha picnic was held on Saturday at The Sneep, the home of Micky and Trudy Macgregor, which is about an hours drive from Harnham. The day started with a shared meal out in the garden where fortunately the sun shone persistently all day (hats and sun-cream were wisely worn). After the meal Ajahn Abhinando and Micky led the Sangha and many friends on a trek around the neighbouring countryside, up hills, through woods and over streams and after three and a half hours (seven and a half miles) we returned to the garden for a cup of tea. The following day Harnham Monastery was paid a visit from Peter Harvey, the Buddhist scholar and Professor at Sunderland University. He led a day of study on the suttas, focusing on the Mahasatipatthana Sutta of the Digha Nikaya. In this crucial discourse The Buddha expounded the four foundations of mindfulness as a means to liberation. We would like to express our gratitude and appreciation to Professor Harvey for his time and effort and we eagerly await his next study day. Ajahn Munindo reached the age of 58 this Wednesday. Abramina offered a full Dana to commemorate the day, and also her last day at the Monastery as she leaves for The Netherlands on Thursday. We wish her a safe journey and hope she returns soon.

On Friday Ajahn Punnyo’s weekend retreat begins in which 20 or so meditators are expected to join in a few days of mindfulness and reflection, and at the same time Ajahn Abhinando is visiting Edinburgh to also lead a retreat for the weekend. This union of meditation joining the two countries is an inspiring thing to witness and we hope to see many people attending.