Shibuie is the ancient Japanese concept of Accidental Beauty in which the artist is just one ingredient in a number of dynamic interacting natural processes, the outcome of which is delightfully unpredictable, but strangely beautiful - not ego-driven or deliberate. Louis will teach the classical Japanese brush painting techniques (Sumie) as these are applied to traditional subjects, such as landscape, bamboo and flower studies, while Ingrid will introduce contemporary subjects. We will use the genuine, traditional materials: solid pine-soot ink, a hollowed-out slate to liquefy it, a deer-hair bamboo-stemmed brush and absorbent mulberry paper. Tools will be provided, but sets can be purchased (R800) from the BRC. Each retreatant will receive a bisque-fired tea bowl to sumie-decorate and glaze. Fay will then fire up the kiln after which we will watch the magic as the pots emerge from their ordeal of having been subjected to 1000ºC heat, smothered in sawdust and immersed in cold water. We will admire the pots as they emerge triumphantly from the scorching heat, after which they will be used in a traditional Chinese Tea Ceremony on the final evening.

Be here now. Rest in the moment. Catch the ungraspable moment. How do we do that, when life keeps tumbling us along like a sand grain in a river? When all is in dizzying motion, where is 'the moment’, where is ‘here’? Take time out at the BRC over Christmas to slow down into the moment. You can find your true home right here-now. With sitting and walking meditation, we will stalk the elusive moment. We will discover how to recognise our ‘home’, and we will see that we are in fact at home always. The retreat will be held in Noble Silence, with time for journaling, reflection, and fireside talks.

Life consists of things coming and going, births and deaths, decay and renewal, stops and starts. We try to juggle these as well as we can, liking some of it, avoiding the ones we don’t. But there is a deeper wisdom behind all this - one that asks us not to be so choosy and opinionated about what should and should not be happening to us. This requires us to live on the edge of the only thing that is truly real: the ever-fleeting, ungraspable moment. In this retreat we will discover how we forget to live in the here and now when we focus too much on what is past and fret about what may or may not happen in the future. This is a good time of the year to take stock and contemplate our moment to moment, here-now reality in all its fullness; bid farewell to 2018 and welcome the New Year with a renewed willingness to take life on the chin and make whatever comes along workable.  We will welcome the New Year with a lantern-lit perambulation around the Buddha and chanting, and usher the old year out with an ancient Chinese temple gong, as well as periods of meditative Noble Silence.

It is difficult to make decisions about important issues in your life when you are immersed in them. You need some distance from them, physically and psychologically - to see them clearly for what they are. Only then, can you gain a fresh perspective on them. So, if you feel like you need a gentle, uncluttered space to tune into what lies ahead in 2019, this largely unstructured weekend will prove useful. Experience sunrise chi kung or yoga, followed by meditation, after which the centre is yours to enjoy, walking or birdwatching in three hundred acres of rolling hills and indigenous forests. Circumambulate the labyrinth, meditate in the Zen garden or Buddha Boma, and spend solitary time in the deer park and at the dam stalking the light or listening to the windchimes and gazing at clouds. The BRC provides an ideal opportunity to be in a sympathetic space to reflect on the things that crowd one’s life: to just be. Deborah Don, a qualified Self-esteem Coach, and massage therapist, has been involved in the “Health Retreats” offered at the BRC over the last three years. She will be offering sound therapy and energy balance treatments, aromatherapy, back, neck and foot massages. If you would like to include a treatment on your retreat, please arrange with the office on booking.

Yoga is the settling of the mind into silence because only when the mind is silent can we realize our true nature, which is unbounded consciousness. The practice of Vinyāsa yoga unites our mind and body and through conscious movement aligned to the breath constituting a dynamic flow. It stills the mind and allows us to become more internally focused and mindful in everything we do. It supports a healthy lifestyle and results in long-term health and well-being for mind and body. This practice reminds us that everything is impermanent and in flux. Yoga is accessible to everyone and it is not about how flexible or strong you are or about mastering a “difficult” pose - though even that will follow with regular practice. It is rather about how mindful and present you are - on and off the mat. It is a practical discipline; a way of looking at the world from a new perspective, allowing one to release old and limiting beliefs and habits in order to experience the truth of who we really are. Some previous yoga practice is recommended; however, beginners are welcome. Please bring your own yoga mat.

Lucy has been running New Year Intentions retreats for many years, in which participants take the opportunity to reflect on the year gone by and set intentions for the future. Intention-setting does not need to be difficult. We can simply connect with what brings us joy and makes us feel energetic and alive, and commit to focusing on these activities over the year. The retreat is inspired by the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu’s book The Book of Joy. We will explore what it means to lead a life of joy, where anything is possible, and contemplate the Buddhist ‘Four Thoughts’ of the preciousness of human birth, impermanence, karma and samsara, and find out how to create a meaningful life within whatever shifting circumstances we find ourselves. We will integrate our body, heart and mind in a gentle, unfolding process of yoga and mindfulness, providing the opportunity to reflect on what inspires and energises us. By trusting our ability to tap into our own talents, we can lead our lives in a way that also brings benefit to others. Yoga and mindfulness practices will tune us into both our supportive and sabotaging patterns, while compassion practices will provide us with skilful ways to accept ourselves just as we are, in order to create the conditions for transformation to take place. Please bring a yoga mat, a journal and pen or pencil, as well as stretchy, comfortable clothes for both yin and yang yoga practices.

Thoughts are about what is not happening - Paul Hedderman

Vipassana (Insight) meditation is based on Mindfulness, which is always available, everywhere, without limits or cost. The challenge is how to realise it. The answer was provided by the Buddha more than 2500 years ago. He taught the method of Vipassana meditation as a way to cultivate Mindfulness. This retreat is an invitation for beginner and experienced meditators to practise Vipassana using the traditional Buddhist method of Mahasi Sayadaw and Achan Tong. For beginners it is a good technique to start with and for experienced meditators, it is a way to deepen their Insight. In this retreat, Mindfulness is developed by regular walking and sitting, and by maintaining awareness during normal activities, such as eating, showering, dressing etc, and by daily interviews with a teacher. The weekend will be held in an atmosphere of Noble Silence.

Sustain awareness at every moment in every posture, whether standing, walking, sitting or lying down. This is the way to establish mindfulness in the heart. - Ajahn Chah

"You may find that the cell is an ideal place to learn to know yourself, to search realistically and regularly the processes of your own mind and feelings ... it gives you the opportunity to look daily into your entire conduct to overcome the bad and develop whatever is good in you. Never forget that a saint is a sinner who keeps on trying.”

- Nelson Mandela - Mandela The Authorised Biography by Anthony Sampson

Vipassana (insight) meditation uses mindfulness to search for the mental and emotional patterns that cause all humans to suffer. The aim is to learn how to overcome suffering and to be fully alive. This four-day retreat is an opportunity to deepen meditation practice using the traditional Buddhist method of Mahasi Sayadaw and Achan Tong. Meditators are encouraged to stay for the entire course but you may also stay for a shorter time and beginners are welcome to learn how to start Vipassana meditation. Mindfulness is developed by regular walking and sitting practice (both in the meditation hall and outside in the forest), by maintaining awareness during normal activities such as eating, showering, dressing etc. and supported by daily interviews with the teachers. The retreat will be held in an atmosphere of Noble silence.

 Sustain awareness at every moment in every posture, whether standing, walking, sitting or lying down. This is the way to establish mindfulness in the heart- Ajahn Chah

Join Chris and Steve for an enjoyable weekend of identifying some of the BRC’s 160 species of birds (including the summer residents, the rare Blue Swallow, Knysna Turaco and Emerald Cuckoo) and getting to know the indigenous trees and many of the wild flowers that grow there. You will also have a chance to be part of the indigenous forest by planting your own tree. The weekend includes learning how to identify the most common trees in KwaZulu Natal, how to dig and plant a tree, how to maintain it, and what butterflies and birds are attracted to these trees for nectar or fruit. Walk the verdant hills and meadows among the wild flowers, close to where the Blue Swallows nest, and enjoy the rare orchids, tree ferns and yellowwoods, pink watsonias in their summer flurry and the orange Christmas Bells. Included will be talks, chi kung, meditation and some quiet time communing with nature. Bring your binoculars and a sunhat.