New Moon Update: March 2021
Today, Saturday 13th, is the New Moon day for the month of March 2021. The next Uposatha Day will be the Full Moon which falls on Sunday 28th March.
These monthly updates are usually prepared by Luang Por Munindo, however since this is the thirtieth anniversary of his arriving here at Harnham, this blog is being overseen by Ajahn Punnyo.
Last Tuesday on 2nd March, the midday meal at the monastery was sponsored and offered on behalf of the Harnham Buddhist Monastery Trustees, friends and supporters, to mark the thirtieth anniversary of Luang Por’s abbotship. It was shortly after the end of the annual Winter Retreat, thirty years ago, that a good friend of the sangha, Tulanjit Wijisuriya, drove Luang Por Munindo and Tan Vipassi up from Amaravati to Harnham, where Ajahn Vajiro was waiting to hand over the keys. Ever since then, for three full decades, Luang Por Munindo has been guiding the community.
Before long, on our forest sangha website there will be a memoir available which has recently been written by Luang Por, ‘In Any Given Moment’. It offers insights into his journey over these years and takes us behind the scenes to the New Zealand of the 1950s and 1960s, and then brings us forward via 1970s Australia, and on through SE Asia to Bangkok. This was a time when many other intrepid travellers were doing the same thing, some of them also on their own journeys to Buddhist Monasteries. Eventually arriving in Northumberland, the story is interwoven with many pertinent Dhamma reflections.
Having myself first come to live at Harnham in June 1991, I have observed as Luang Por has resolutely kept the ship afloat for that whole time, through many different seasons. Naturally I feel appreciation and gratitude for all that he has given so generously to the community. Thank you very much Luang Por.
Also, forty years ago around this date (it is thought to be 10th March), Ajahn Sucitto and Anagarika Philip (later to become Ajahn Chandapalo) first arrived at Harnham. Thank you also to them and everyone else who has been part of building and maintaining this spiritual sanctuary.
On the latest Full Moon, Friday 26th February, Luang Por shared a contemplation on the Ovada Patimokkha in a talk called, ‘Clear and Simple Teachings ’. Shortly after the next Full Moon, on Sunday 28th March, the annual Winter Retreat at the monastery will end.
Having been away for a year supporting my mother in Yorkshire I hope to be able to return to Harnham in a few months. The situation with guests visiting, either for the day of for longer, is still unclear. We ask that anyone interested in visiting please check our announcements page for the latest update.
