Aruna Ratanagiri Buddhist Monastery (Harnham Buddhist Monastery) is a

Theravada ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dharma (Buddhi ...

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

monastery of the Thai Forest Tradition in

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The community consists of monks, novices and postulants from a wide range of nationalities, usually numbering around eight

Sangha Sangha or saṃgha () is a term meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community". In a political context, it was historically used to denote a governing assembly in a republic or a kingdom, and for a long time, it has been used b ...

members. The monastery includes an adjacent lay retreat facility known as ''Kusala House''.

History

The monastery was founded in response to increasing interest, particularly in northeast England, in the Thai Forest Tradition, as it was being established by Ajahn Sumedho and other disciples of Ajahn Chah in England in the late 1970s. When, in 1980, a group of local yoga students tried to find a suitable cottage which they could offer as a retreat facility to the

, farmer John Wake of Harnham Hall, Harnham, near Belsay responded, and they agreed to rent one of his farm cottages. In 1981 Ajahn Sucitto (the abbot of Cittaviveka/ Chithurst Buddhist Monastery 1992–2014) became the first

bhikkhu A ''bhikkhu'' (, ) is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male, and female monastics (''bhikkhunī''), are members of the Sangha (Buddhist community). The lives of all Buddhist monastics are governed by a set of rules called the pratimok� ...

to take up residence, and began initial renovations; on 21 June 1981 the monastery was officially opened by Ajahn Sumedho and in that same year the ''Magga Bhavaka Trust'' was established as a charitable trust in order to steward financial support for the new monastery (the monastery now has a new trust: ''Harnham Buddhist Monastery Trust'').

Vision

The primary focus for Aruna Ratanagiri monastery is to provide and maintain a sanctuary suitable for the training and ongoing practice of Theravada bhikkhus, in keeping with the

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

Vinaya and forest tradition of Northeast Thailand. Today, through freely distributed books and Dhamma talks, regular discussion groups and Sunday evening talks, and also in the context of more than five times yearly meditation retreats, Harnham offers spiritual support for practitioners far and wide. Monks from Harnham regularly visit affiliated Buddhist meditation groups in the north east of England and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. In addition, a lot of non-Buddhist groups and individual visitors, including school and university groups, come to the monastery to learn about Buddhism.

Abbots

* Ajahn Sucitto (1981–1981) * Ajahn Viradhammo (1981–1983) * Ajahn Anando (1983–1984) * Ajahn Thiradhammo (1984–1987) * Ajahn Pabhakaro (1987–1990) * Ajahn MunindoAjahn Munindo
/ref> (1991 – present)

References

External links

Aruna Ratanagiri Buddhist MonasteryBooks by Ajahn Munindo (PDF, HTML)Talks by Ajahn Munindo (MP3)Portal page for the branch monasteries of Ajahn ChahForest Sangha WebsiteDhamma Talk Audio FilesDistribution of Dhamma Talk CDsForest Sangha NewsletterAmaravati Buddhist MonasteryChithurst Buddhist MonasteryHartridge Buddhist MonasteryThe Forest Hermitage
{{Modern Buddhist writers 1981 establishments in England Buddhist monasteries in England Monasteries in Northumberland Buddhist temples and monasteries of the Thai Forest Tradition Thai diaspora in Europe

History

Vision

Abbots

See also

References

External links