It is possible to make a donation to sponsor breakfast at the monastery. If you wish you may sponsor a specific day or week that is important to you and make a dedication (please fill out the dedication section accordingly, for example Dedicated to Mrs. Smith on 01/01/2023 or Dedicated to Mrs. Smith for the week starting Sunday 01/01/2023 ).
The sangha will aim to read out dedications on Saturday or Sunday commencing the week that you are sponsoring or that includes your sponsored day. To make sure that your dedication will be read out in time, please make sure to let us know about your dedication well in advance. Several donors may sponsor any particular week as any extra donations will be used to cover breakfast costs over the year.
You may make your donation in the following ways:
For sponsoring a breakfast via online donations please click here. Make sure to choose Sponsored Breakfast under I wish to make a donation towards and fill out the dedication box accordingly (see above).
Please email secretary@ratanagiri.org.uk for details regarding setting up a recurring donation.
Please contact secretary@ratanagiri.org.uk for the bank account details.
(made out to Harnham Buddhist Monastery Trust).
Please include your full name and address, your dedication and the date or dates that you wish to sponsor, in a covering letter and also whether it is eligible for Gift Aid (see below)
(Post to: 2 Harnham Hall Cottages, Harnham, Belsay, Northumberland NE20 0HF )
Donations may be made by cash or cheque. Please include your details as mentioned above.
If your donation is eligible for Gift Aid, the Gift Aid amount that we can reclaim on your donation will also be used for breakfast or for general kitchen expenses. If you wish your donation to be Gift Aided then please tick the Gift Aid box on the online donation page, or if you are sending a cheque, then please include a "Gift Aid declaration" in your envelope.
Wording for Gift Aid declaration
Gift Aid Declaration
I wish my donation to Harnham Buddhist Monastery Trust (HBMT) to be treated as Gift Aid.
I am a UK tax payer
I confirm that I pay Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax equal to or more than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all my donations to charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs in this tax year. If not then it is my responsibility to repay any difference.
Please notify HBMT if you wish to cancel this declaration, if donations no longer qualify or if you change your name or address.
Any part of your donation that is not spent in the week for which you wished to sponsor breakfast, will either be used for breakfast at a later date, or for general kitchen expenses.
The understanding in our monastery is that all monks, nuns, samaneras, anagarikas and lay supporters who are in the monastery partake in the breakfast offering. (N.B. There are variations in what food is offered and who receives what.)
Further clarification
For further clarification of any of the above, feel free to call us on 01661 881 612 or email us at secretary@ratanagiri.org.uk
Any personal information that you give to the Harnham Buddhist Monastery Trust, such as name, address or other personal details will only be used by the Trust, and for the purpose for which you have given it. For full details of Harnham Buddhist Monastery Trust's Privacy Policy, please download the PDF here .
Whilst it is the practice and the tradition that monks recite an anumodana when they receive offerings, it is important that this not be construed as a requirement for puñña (merit) to be accrued. The puñña that is accrued as a result of wholesome intentional efforts made by way of body and mind, does not depend on the recitation of the anumodana. And the dedication made by the donor is a matter of how the donor views their offering i.e. it is not necessary for the monks to make an announcement of the dedication. Having said that we do intend to continue reading out the dedication and reciting the anumodana.
Partly this matter concerns how we understand the Buddha’s teachings. It is also a matter of how the HMRC defines something as a ‘service’. It should not be understood that the sangha is providing a service in response to what has been given. The offerings should be seen not as any sort of payment, but as free-will gifts. The recitation of the anumodana is the sangha announcing that it bears witness to the wholesomeness that has been generated.
Ajahn Munindo
(Abbot Aruna Ratanagiri Buddhist Monastery)