New Moon Update: February 2021
Today, Thursday 11th, is the New Moon day for the month of February 2021. The next Uposatha day will be the Full Moon which falls on Friday 26th February.
Shortly after that next full moon day will be the thirtieth anniversary of my arriving at Harnham. In the first week of March 1991 Tan Vipassi and I arrived here, having spent the winter retreat at Amaravati. As with all new ventures, we had no idea what might lie ahead, but we had faith in the benefits of spiritual community and a strong sense of gratitude for being invited to be part of the project of building this monastery.
Anyone who has been involved in activities here over the years would be aware that the challenges we have faced have been testing. However, the lessons learned and the benefits accrued far outweigh any difficulties. Even now, when much of the world is in chaos, the goodness and generosity of our friends and supporters means our annual winter retreat proceeds relatively uninterrupted. There is so much for which we can feel grateful.
Over recent months I have been reflecting a lot on gratitude. Not so much as a spiritual strategy that I thought I was obliged to engage with, but more out of a sense of it feeling appropriate. And as I did engage with the exercise of consciously dwelling on gratitude, I kept finding more to be grateful for. One of the results of these contemplations is a book called, In Any Given Moment. Presently, with the help of Tan Gambhiro, my reflections on gratitude and sustaining a spiritual life are being typeset and should be ready for distribution as an e-pub on the forest sangha website next month.
Although this is winter retreat, and the restrictions resulting from the pandemic mean we are not able to see each other, rest assured you are not forgotten. Our Evening Puja is still live streamed every Saturday at 7pm BST, and you are warmly invited to join us. At the meal time we recite the anumodana, and each full moon a verse from the Dhammapada is sent out with a short contemplation that I hope serves to nourish your own practice of wise reflection.
If you are unsure about restrictions that are in place, please read the announcements page for current conditions. If you have any questions or concerns, either email us at dana@ratanagiri.org.uk or sangha@ratanagiri.org.uk or telephone us on 07958 394 796.
With sincere well-wishing,
Luang Por Munindo
