Gathering

Ajahn Abhinando and Tan Subhaddo at Hartridge

Each year, early in April, all the senior members of our Sangha try to gather at Amaravati. It’s a time for reaffirming shared aspirations and, when needed, discussing whatever issues there might be around. Accordingly on Sunday 5th Ajahns Munindo and Punnyo travelled south where they met up with Ajahn Abhinando who has spent the last two months at Hartridge monastery (see picture).

Meanwhile on Harnham Hill spring-time activities increase. Mame and Maureen have been reviving our gardens, Abramina is here, Jeff Jackson has installed a new breakfast table in Kusala House and various guests are coming to make use if it.

It is not long now until we celebrate Wesak (10th May) and this year we want to also mark the completion of Kusala House with an open day for viewing. We hope you will all join us. If things go to plan you will soon receive our Hilltop Newsletter plus a nice invitation card for the event.

Spring on the Hill

Spring has arrived on the hill. The daffodils and crocuses are blooming and Brian's flock will soon start lambing. The Sangha is emerging from its Winter Retreat and two new anagarikas have taken the 8 precepts: Skipper from America and Tomas from Leeds.

Ajahn Abhinando has been away on retreat in Devon and is due back in at the end of April. Ajahn Munindo and Ajahn Punnyo will be heading down to Amaravati at the beginning of April to take part in the Elders' and Theras' meetings there. Then on Monday 20th April Ajahn Thiradhammo will be coming to stay for 5 days until Saturday 25th, and then on Friday 24th April we will be hosting 3 senior forest ajahns over from Thailand.

The Sangha would like to express its appreciation for all the generous support it was kindly offered during the time of its Winter Retreat and would like to dedicate any goodness accrued towards the benefit of all beings.

The Winter Retreat

The Community has gone into Winter Retreat, having starting on Monday 5th January. This Blog is now slowing down into hibernation mode, but will quicken again with the Spring flowers at the start of April. The Sunday Night Puja will continue throughout the winter and all are welcome to attend.

If you need to contact the monastery it is still possible to phone and leave a message on the answer service, which is being checked every day.

The New Year

Evening puja

The New Year's Eve Forgiveness and Aspiration Ceremony was very well attended with about fifty people staying until midnight to see out the old year and see in the new. Many stayed over until New Years Day. The Dhammapala Leeds Group were represented by Daniella, Joyce, Brenda and Mui Weng. From the Edinburgh group there was Alex, and also Ray came bringing his daughter for a first visit. There was also plenty of space for some locals to be accommodated in Kusala House.

Ajahn Abhinando gave some reflections on the theme of generosity and there was the option of drinking tea and warming drinks in the Reception Room or sitting quietly in the Dhamma Hall in preparation for the Forgiveness and Aspiration Ceremony between 11.30pm and midnight.

New Years Day saw a minibus of Thai students from Newcastle University coming to offer dana along with Namtip, Sompong and Sugert. At 4pm the Sri Lankan community gathered, fifty strong, to take the Five Precepts and listen to Ajahn Abhinando talking about New Year's aspirations and the Lord Buddha's teaching on the precepts. People had traveled from as far a field as North Yorkshire and West Scotland; from the Glasgow Group Rangit had made the long trek across the border.

During the week Mo from Catterick brought her mother-in-law to offer dana, and Cesare and Chandima brought a taste of Italy to the kitchen. Herman has made a significant dent in Ajahn Abhinando's carpentry job list and, as is the tradition, he again tolled the midnight New Year bell; there is a rumour he may well have single-handedly upheld this tradition for much of the past eighteen years.

The Community will be going into Winter Retreat starting on Monday 5th January. This Blog will slow down into hibernation mode, but will quicken again with the Spring flowers at the start of April. The Sunday Night Puja will continue throughout the winter and all are welcome to attend.

N.B. the dana list will still be maintained even when the report/comment becomes thin (or non-existent).

Peace and Goodwill

Sāmanera Visuddhi's blessing

With the 'Quiet Week' over we've returned this week to our regular routine of early morning and evening pujas plus morning work around the monastery before the meal. This stable foundation, upon which we practice, supports our calm hilltop refuge which in turn attracts visitors from afar. So this week Kusala House has begun to fill up with guests looking to share our peaceful haven over the festive season. Not for them the illuminated high streets crowded with seasonal shoppers, just our simple country lane accompanied by the flocks of jackdaws above and the occasional passing bhikkhu.

Also settling back into a routine has been Ajahn Punnyo; home now and back at the heart of things Ajahn Punnyo has been kept active, even going so far as Carlisle to visit the group there. And despite being thousands of miles away in Asia Ajahn Munindo also has been keeping a busy schedule although he finds time to send us all goodwill (and remind us how warm it is in Thailand). With Samanera Visuddhi returning from 'woodworking duty' at Chithurst next Tuesday and even more guests gathering at Kusala House, the community here is preparing for a harmonious and joyful end to December.

Beneath the Surface

Ajahn Munindo and Venerable Nyanamoli in Kuala Lumpur

Although designated a monastic 'Quiet Week' when our community withdraws from work projects and personal interaction to focus on individual practice this week's silent time was accompanied by the sounds of our car park being surfaced. Despite the potentially distracting noises community members and guests paid little heed to the superficial external activity and instead mindfully went about their own deeper work, probing and enquiring beneath surface appearances. Visitors to the monastery are now able to smoothly drive into the Kusala House car park plus it is easier for wheelchair users and walking upon.

As reported last week Ajahn Munindo and Venerable Nyanamoli departed with a 'not for sure' journey ahead of them, however as is clear from the photo, our intrepid spiritual travellers made it happily to Kuala Lumpur. Latest sightings place them in Bangkok, from where Bhikkhu Nyanamoli is headed to a remote forest wat. And finally, after weeks of uncertainty we can confirm that Ajahn Punnyo is back home at Harnham; our good friend Khun Jeab delivered him back to us safe and sound on Wednesday. We're looking forward to hearing about his extended time in Thailand when we're all back on speaking terms again next week.

Leaning Hut of Harnham

The movement of Harnham's monastics finally got under way this week. Ajahn Munindo and Venerable Nyanamoli resolutely set off into the unknown on Tuesday (ahead of the re-opening of Thailand's main airports) with a heavily revised and still very uncertain itinerary. They left just in time as by Thursday the snow was severely restricting travel off our hill. As for Ajahn Punnyo coming back the other way, conditions take time to settle down so we're still not sure exactly when he'll depart Bangkok. However we're hoping to quietly welcome him home early next week during one of our Silent Weeks when many of our greetings may be unvoiced.

Not quite so famous as the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Leaning Hut of Harnham this week went the way of Nature. Users of our car park will be familiar with the erratic shed which acted as a reminder of the instability of the very ground beneath our feet. In a past life the shed had served up at the main house as the monastery's larder but had been reborn over the Summer when it became a store for Kusala House's decorating equipment. But the final stage of the guest house's development required that the shed break-up once more and vacate its position ahead of the upcoming car park surfacing work. Residents and guests happily laboured outside in heavy snow and a blizzard to clear the whole area and were later to be seen at the nearby frozen Bolam Lake sharing scraps of food with a mass of hungry swans, geese and ducks: it may have been cold outside but clearly there's been lots of warm feelings within.