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.

Worldly Winds

Harnham View

Last week's blizzard did indeed portend the arrival of further Wintry weather as this week the views from the monastery's windows have been largely scenes of heavy frost and much snow. However the monastic community didn't take this as a sign to go into hibernation. Work must go on, so monks and guests have been wrapping up well as they both mindfully and cheerfully brave the elements.

This week though it has perhaps been political forces rather than natural forces that have had the greatest effect on the community's proceedings. The dramatic closure of Thailand's international airport has meant that Ajahn Munindo and Venerable Nyanamoli have had to postpone their flight there and instead keep our numbers up here for the time being. Conversely Ajahn Punnyo has been unable to fly back to Britain and has been stranded in Bangkok temporarily. Thankfully Ajahn Punnyo hadn't actually checked in at the airport and wasn't caught in a bureaucratic 'no-man's land' so he's been able to receive appropriate support in the Thai capital. Perhaps it is another example of how actions can have all manner of unforeseen consequences, the ripples of which are felt thousands of miles away around the world. Back on our chilly hill top community we contemplate the interconnectedness of things and consider how we're also exposed to the worldy winds of political storms, and not just the biting Northumberland gales. Brrrr...

Natural Forces

Andrew on the ladder

Although there are scores (nay hundereds!) of rabbits to be seen in the nearby fields generally they are rather shy neighbours and shun our benevolent contact. However this week one brave rabbit was to be seen almost everyday loitering around our car park hedge, fearlessly observing the peaceful comings and goings of the community. Had it been irresistably drawn to the wholesomeness of Kusala House? Perhaps, but probably not; a closer inspection revealed that our furry friend had in fact discovered some delicious new grass growing amongst a low stone 'wall' one of our regular guests from the Carlisle group had built to help support the hedge. Hmm, Nature's flora and fauna are always waiting to usurp and take advantage of our man-made achievements. At least our other human guests this week had been attracted by the wholesome opportunities afforded by the retreat house and have been making good use of its facilities (whilst refraining from eating grass in the afternoon). The monastic community also have been back at work after the Silent Week, naturally.

Also this week we have felt the first touch of Winter's ragged hand. This morning's brief snowfall was whipped around by a bitter wind such that one could have been forgiven for thinking it was a proper blizzard, a taste of things to come no doubt. (Let's hope that when Ajahn Punnyo rejoins us on Friday from the heat of Thailand he'll quickly readjust to the cold and dark of good ol' Blighty).

Silent Week at Harnham

Full moon at Harnham

This week at Harnham we have a Silent Week; no one is talking, not much is happening (externally). Occasionally a monk, a novice, a Kusala House Manager or a visitor can be seen walking from one place to another, but mostly residents have retreated to the milder indoor-climate of their rooms; on Monday and Thursday some good friends came to silently offer the meal; on Tuesday Rolf appeared silently to help cooking and to silently work on our workshop.

What else? The sheep sit or stand or walk silently on the paddock, sometimes munching grass, sometimes not; the jackdaws look down at us from their chimney-nest, breaking the silence occasionally with cryptic comments; at the bottom of the hill, on the A696, cars keep passing, we hear the distant noise; clouds come, hover for varying lengths of time, or pass quickly, to make room for more clouds, shedding or not shedding some rain on their way; (one morning the sky was blue, for a little while); the temperatures seem adequate for the time of the year (true!); the moon has been waxing until it was full, now it is waning again…

No news is good news in a Silent Week!

days getting colder

days getting colder
and me still fishing for clouds
in the ancient pond

After Men’s Retreat, Kathina and Elder’s Council Meeting which all brought many visitors and much activity to the monastery, this week at Harnham has been relatively quiet. We still have a steady flow of overnight guests though, giving us friendly company, and joining us for pujas, discussions and work, which this week seems to focus on preparing the place for winter. Conservatories have been frost-protected, benches brought inside, boilers serviced and every day there is a new load of leaves to be swept up and cleaned out of the gutters. On Sunday we were pleased to welcome a large number of visitors again, both for the discussion at tea time as well as for the evening puja and Dhamma talk.

On Thursday Ajahn Munindo returned from his kathina-visit to Amaravati Monastery in Hertfordshire, just an hour before Ajahn Abhinando took the next train north, visiting the meditation groups in Edinburgh and Glasgow. By Saturday evening our community should be complete again, except for Samanera Visuddhi, who is helping with the forest work at Chithurst Monastery in Sussex. And thus reunited, we are looking forward to have a Silent Week together, starting after Sunday evening puja. Ajahn Abhinando will still visit the Carlisle group on Tuesday – and he promises he won’t give a ‘Silent Talk’ on that occasion.

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