Gabor lends a hand

The 2010 Vesakha Puja (Wesak) was held last Sunday here at Harnham. The turn out was inspiring with well over a hundred gathered to join in the day despite some rather unpleasant showers of rain. The day followed the traditional formulae with the Sangha receiving rice during the pindapat and then a shared meal for all, followed by the requesting of the 5 precepts, paritta chanting and a Dhamma talk, which was given this year by Ajahn Munindo. Shortly after a huge clean-up took place, diligently lead by Mame and Daeng. Later in the week Harnham staged another huge cleanup as the contents of the attic were all removed, organised, and then placed back into a more coherent order. The job involved the whole community and took most of Thursday, and now we have a spacious and well organised attic. Ajahn Munindo and Richard were not part of the cleanup as they have gone on a trip to the south to visit our sister monasteries, and are expected back later in the month. Ajahn Anando from Amaravati who has been with us since last Wednesday returns on Friday. Meanwhile professional work also continues as the specialists keep going with the conservatory with the sedum roof expected this coming Tuesday. Micky has begun working on the Byre (monks’ residence) flooring, meaning that all the residents there have had to vacate to various locations within the monastery.

At the Botanical Garden

Today (Thursday) is the eve of Vesakha Puja (Wesak), the full moon of May which commemerates the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and death. The gathering will take place on Sunday to mark the event and, of course, all are welcome to come. The day will begin around 10 o'clock with the traditional alms round and a Dhamma talk given by Ajahn Munindo after the meal. Ralph, the Kusala House manager, has gone to visit his family in Jersey for a fortnight so Richard has been taking care of the retreat house until his return. We have also been visited by Ajahn Anando, who arrived on Wednesday from Amaravati to stay for ten days. Earlier in the week several members of the community took up an invitation to stay at Myint-Su and Clive's guest house in Edinburgh. The party of monks came to visit for a house dana and perform a blessing for Myint-Su's 70th birthday. As part of the visit the monks were taken on tour round the Scottish Parliament, where all the architectural curiosities were explained in lucid detail. Later a few others visited the Royal Botanical Garden while Ajahn Abhinando and Ajahn Punnyo visited the poetry library. They all returned to England on Tuesday afternoon.

Ajahn Sucitto

At Harnham this week Ajahn Sucitto, abbot of Chithurst monastery, has been leading a mixed retreat attended by about 25 people. Ajahn Sucitto was the first abbot of Harnham, so it is perhaps fitting that he is leading the first retreat in our newly decorated Dhamma Hall as well as being the first monk to spend some time in the now completed visiting Ajahns’ room. The retreat will end on Friday at the mealtime, but hopefully the accompanying sunshine won’t end as well. Other than this very little has happened here on the hill, as the community has been slowing down in their work to take part in the meditation and the workers on the conservatory have put the project on hold to give the guests some quietude. What will be happening very soon - Sunday 30th May - is our observance of Vesak and we hope you will join us.

Chinch's next photography project

The weather here at Harnham has recently taken a somewhat unpredictable quality. The north-easterly winds have provided quite a contrast to the May sun, and we’ve had rain, shine, sleet and even a brief flash of snow. This hasn’t deterred the team of workers, who at the time of writing are fitting the glass in the new conservatory while directly above the specialists  begin work on the grass (sedum) roof. Last Sunday was the monastery committee meeting, boosting the numbers for evening puja where Ajahn Punnyo gave a Dhamma talk. The next day Chinch arrived, our friend from Wales, who has been lending us his photography skills. He can often be seen walking by with a tripod in one hand and a camera in the other, taking pictures of various objects around the monastery. On Wednesday Ajahn Sucitto and Ajahn Abhinando arrived from Chithurst after finishing their Spanish tudong. Ajahn Sucitto’s retreat will commence Friday evening and last until the following Friday, with about 20 people expected to attend. We are glad to have received almost full confirmation that Ajahn Tiradhammo from Bodhinyanarama Monastery In Wellington NZ and Ajahn Candasiri from Amaravati will be conducting retreats here in 2011. On Thursday Abramina left  after her few weeks here to return home to the Netherlands, though she may be returning for a visit later in the year.

Geoff Jackson

Last weekend Professor Peter Harvey returned to Harnham to lead another Sutta study day at Kusala House. Numerous people, some regular and some new, attended to hear the discussion on Non-self. On Monday Ajahn Munindo, Tan Nandiyo and Samanera Ariyo headed down to Amaravati with Richard driving. From there Tan Nandiyo flew back to Dhammapala monastery in Switzerland while Samanera Ariyo has been learning Ajahn Vimalo’s skills at Buddha-Rupa creating. Ajahn Munindo and Richard will be returning on Thursday while Samanera Ariyo will remain at Amaravati to take part in Luang Por Sumedho’s retreat. Meanwhile at Harnham things have been very quiet within the community as we have numbered six for this week. Kusala House has also been peaceful with Abramina being the only long term guest. However the monastery itself has become a very busy site of numerous projects. Geoff Jackson’s team have begun to fit the frame work of the new conservatory while carpeters will be arriving on Friday to finish off the VAs’ Room and Dhamma Hall accommodation. Next week Ajahn Abhinando and Ajahn Sucitto will be flying over from Spain after a tudong trip in Minorca. Once here Ajahn Sucitto will be staying the the then completed VAs’ Room and will be leading a week long mixed retreat.

Myint-Su and Mame

The first retreat of 2010, hosted a Kusala house and led my Ajahn Thiradhammo, was held this weekend. Ralph not only managed the retreat house but also cooked for all the guests. Shortly after Ajahn Thiradhammo departed, to visit family in Canada, Abramina finally arrived from the Netherlands after her flight had been disrupted numerous times by the infamous Icelandic volcano. Staying on after Ajahn Thiradhammo's retreat were also Mame and Pip, who then used the near-empty retreat house to sew some new curtains with the help of Myint-Su (who had come down from Scotland especially to assist the sewing). The curtains were then offered to the monastery after completion and fitted in the Dhamma Hall. In the spirit of recycling Mame has been turning the old curtains into shrine cloths. Meanwhile outside the Dhamma Hall Geoff Jackson's team has set to dismantling the old conservatory, a rather delicate job when involving the many panes of glass. The ongoing project will hopefully finish some time in the summer with (a more useful) thoroughly insulated conservatory (including grass roof). On the coming Monday Tan Nandiyo will be traveling down to Amaravati to catch a flight back to Dhammapala monastery in Switzerland after staying with us for several months. This Sunday evening puja shall be his last at Harnham, perhaps a good opportunity for visitors to say goodbye.

Ajahn Thiradhammo

The Ajahns have now returned to Harnham after their fortnight away down south. Apparently Spring is a month ahead there, as here the trees are only just beginning to bloom. That said the days do continue to grow noticeably warmer and longer, giving the community here some much needed vitamin D. The Elders' Council and Theras' Meeting went well, where Ajahn Abhinando acted as chairman for the Theras' Meeting for the second time. Ajahn Amaro, co-abbot of Abhayagiri in America, attended the council and formally accepted the invitation from Luang Por Sumedho and the community to become abbot of Amaravati when Luang Por retires to Thailand. As the Ajahns returned our small number of guests began to leave, though there was hopefully no correlation. Now that the Anagarikas have moved to the rooms above the Dhamma Hall, Kusala House is empty except for manager Ralph. All this will change on Thursday evening as Ajahn Thiradhammo has kindly come to Harnham to lead the first retreat of the year at Kusala, in which about 15 people are expected to attend. Next week Ajahn Abhinando will be flying to Spain for a tudong trip with Ajahn Sucitto and on Sunday Peter Harvey will be coming to Harnham to give a Sutta Study Day. Things will become gradually busier here at Harnham as we host Ajahn Sucitto's retreat (after his Spanish tudong) from the 14th to the 21st of May, and then we welcome Vesakha Puja (Wesak) on the 30th.

Tan Nandiyo and Tan Bodhinando at Holy Island

On Friday Kath and Mame organised a day trip to Lindisfarne, the tidal island that was once the home of a medieval monastery and is still an important sight for Christian pilgrims. Accompanying them was Tan Nandiyo, who had not yet seen the island during his residency at Harnham, Tan Bodhinando and all of the guests. Fortunately no one was sunburned or stranded by oncoming tides, and the outing went by pleasantly. Monday saw the return of Anagarika Gabor after his week long visit to Amaravati, where he lent his knowledge of IT. He has now got stuck back in to his many jobs here, including the ongoing Ajahn Chah project (which is now gaining momentum) and creating a central data base of Dhamma talks for Harnham’s residents. The office feels complete now that his familiar presence has returned. The work projects are also continuing, and this week Micky the builder has fitted a new floor in Ajahn Munindo’s conservatory and the visiting Ajahn's accommodation is now nearly completed. The reed-bed system has received some attention this week as a team (led by Tan Bodhinando) set to clearing dead reeds while others planted new ones. We also welcomed the Thai New Year, Songkran, on Tuesday. Many visitors came to offer dana and take part in the traditional pouring of water. This Saturday will see the return of our three Ajahns as well as the arrival of Abramina from Holland.

a weasel in a tree

April has arrived and is in full swing. Brian's fields continue to be populated by an ever increasing mass of lambs (still in their saffron raincoats), April showers are still infrequently watering all the daffodils which have sprung up in abundance. Easter weekend saw the first Sunday evening puja in our now redecorated Dhamma Hall, in which Ajahn Munindo gave a Dhamma Talk on the month's Dhammapada verse. If you would like to hear the talk then please click here. The Easter period also saw visits from the families of Tan Nyanavisuddhi and Anagarika Tomas, who took advantage of the time off work to visit the monastery. On Monday the three Ajahns of Harnham went to Amaravati to take part in the Theras' Meeting and Elders' Council, leaving just six of us here at Harnham for this week and the next. The monastery certainly has a different feel with such a reduced Sangha, but fortunatly we have many guests to help with the work load. Meanwhile work continues on the visiting Ajahns' room, where Micky the builder has installed some new cabinets for storage and the carpet fitters are expected to fit the new carpets sometime next week. Next week will see the return of Anagarika Gabor after his week long visit to Amaravati (the Ajahns will continue their travels further south) ready to see the Thai New Year on the coming Tuesday.

Little Saffron Raincoats

This week the trustees heard that their bid to purchase the lake at the bottom of Harnham Hill was successful.  After signing of contracts, four acres of water and five-point-six acres of adjoining land, will be added to Aruna Ratanagiri Buddhist Monastery, providing ample space for walking and sitting meditation and scope for endless fantasies. The surrounding fields are presently populated with lots of little lambs dressed in plastic saffron raincoats to protect them from the torrent of April rain (though at the time of writing there is clear blue skies). Meanwhile the redecoration of the Dhamma Hall is completed and already in use for evening puja. Puja this Sunday will be held there; Ajahn Munindo will be giving a Dhamma talk before setting off the next day with Ajahn Abhinando and Ajahn Punnyo to Amaravati Buddhist Monastery to take part in the annual Theras' meeting and Elders’ Council. Anagarika Gabor will accompany them, contributing his considerable computing skills to the project for reformatting all Ajahn Chah's talks in English and setting up  a centralized database for Forest Sangha audio files. As Easter approaches Kusala House begins to fill up with guests and  Manager Ralph continues to empty out all concerns of how it will be after three months of only a few harmonious and cooperative residents.  In the Ajahns’ absence Tan Nandiyo will be acting as stand-in senior incumbent before going back in May to Dhammapala monastery in Switzerland to join Ajahn Khemasiri.