Aruna Ratanagiri Buddhist Monastery (Harnham Buddhist Monastery) is a

Theravada ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

monastery of the

Thai Forest Tradition The Kammaṭṭhāna Forest Tradition of Thailand (from pi, kammaṭṭhāna meaning "place of work"), commonly known in the West as the Thai Forest Tradition, is a lineage of Theravada Buddhist monasticism. The Thai Forest Tradition sta ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The community consists of

monks A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

novices A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession with no prior experience. Religion Buddhism ...

and postulants from a wide range of nationalities, usually numbering around eight

Sangha Sangha is a Sanskrit word used in many Indian languages, including Pali meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; Sangha is often used as a surname across these languages. It was historically used in a political context t ...

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

, as it was being established by

Ajahn Sumedho Luang Por Sumedho or Ajahn Sumedho ( th, อาจารย์สุเมโธ) (born Robert Karr Jackman, July 27, 1934) is one of the senior Western representatives of the Thai forest tradition of Theravada Buddhism. He was abbot of Amarava ...

and other disciples of

Ajahn Chah Chah Subhaddo ( th, ชา สุภัทโท, known in English as Ajahn Chah, occasionally with honorific titles '' Luang Por'' and ''Phra'') also known by his honorific name "Phra Bodhiñāṇathera" ( th, พระโพธิญาณเ� ...

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 Belsay is a village and civil parish in Northumberland, England. The village is about 5 miles from Ponteland on the A696, which links the village with Newcastle upon Tyne and Jedburgh. The population of the civil parish was 436 at the 2001 cens ...

responded, and they agreed to rent one of his farm cottages. In 1981

Ajahn Sucitto Ajahn Sucitto (Bhikkhu Sucitto, born 4 November 1949) is a British-born Theravada Buddhist monk ('' Ajahn'' is the Thai rendition of ''ācārya'', the Sanskrit word for 'spiritual teacher'). He was, between 1992 and 2014, the abbot of ''Citta ...

(the abbot of Cittaviveka/ Chithurst Buddhist Monastery 1992–2014) became the first

bhikkhu A ''bhikkhu'' (Pali: भिक्खु, Sanskrit: भिक्षु, ''bhikṣu'') is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male and female monastics ("nun", ''bhikkhunī'', Sanskrit ''bhikṣuṇī'') are members of the Sangha (Buddhist ...

to take up residence, and began initial renovations; on 21 June 1981 the monastery was officially opened by

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 Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...

Vinaya and forest tradition of Northeast Thailand. Today, through freely distributed books and

Dhamma talk A Dharma talk (Sanskrit) or Dhamma talk (Pali) or Dharma sermon (''Japanese'': , ''Chinese'': ) is a public discourse on Buddhism by a Buddhist teacher. In Theravāda Buddhism, the study of Buddhist texts and listening to Dhamma talks by monks o ...

s, 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. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. 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