Updated BRC Newsflash - October 2022
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The Buddhist Retreat Centre |
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Ixopo, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa |
For people of all religions |
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BRC Newsflash: October 2022 Dear Retreatants, |
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| Buddha rupa | Image: Angela Buckland | |
An Overview Of 2021/22A huge thank you to those friends who joined us on Zoom for our annual AGM where we reviewed the past year. I include some reflections from my Chairman’s report for those who are interested in the future and well-being of the BRC. I hear that many people are asking, “Why is Louis not coming to the BRC anymore?” I have given this considerable thought. My broad vision has always been that I could bring the Centre to a stage where it would function without me and develop its own momentum, independence and character - and that I would live to see this happen. Now, in my 87th year, I am confident that the BRC is standing on its own two feet with Chrisi at the helm, assisted by the BISA Committee, Lien Duvenage, our manager, and her team, and Mdu Zikode and Enkhakeni Mbanjwa and their respective teams. I feel that my purpose at the Centre has been served and I am fortunate that I have been able to step back and see powerful teachers leading a broad array of retreats. When I first came across Buddhism in the 50’s and avidly read ‘what the Buddha taught’, I then found ‘what the Buddha really taught” and I was hooked! I recognised nuggets of gold in the teachings which I could appropriate into my own life. This gave me the inspiration to share the wisdom teachings of the Buddha and to introduce a philosophy and path into what was then - and still is - a very complex country. Stephen Coan’s words sum up beautifully what I was trying to achieve by starting the Centre: “The idea of a path, the path - those walking it now, those behind waving us on, those somewhere up ahead - thoughts illustrated by the lines from Hector, the history teacher in Alan Bennett’s play (and film) The History Boys: ‘Pass the parcel. That’s sometimes all you can do. Take it, feel it and pass it on. Not for me, not for you, but for someone, somewhere, one day.” |
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| A scenic path | Image: Beena Hatcher | |
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I am currently enjoying a life worth breathing - and that is what I intend to keep doing - consciously - and with energetic purpose and ease. Breathing in - breathing out. My understanding of Buddhism and my personal practice are undiminished in their intensity and I can see that there is great meaning in “non-doing” and “un-doing” - where I can take refuge in watching life unfold all around me, with deep gratitude. Delightfully, I appreciate fully why the old Chinese sages practised what they called “cloud-gazing” - where they would gather together - with little or no conversation - throwing their heads back to look at the clouds drifting and merging and separating endlessly and then go on to resume their daily lives. I guess I am doing my own “cloud-gazing” and, in a way, looking back on my life. When I started building the BRC 53 years ago, I could not have imagined that it would become the vital entity it is now, so I feel enormously grateful that the Centre continues to serve the wider community and still plays a part in bringing meaning and purpose into others’ lives. |
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| Cloud gaze at the stupa | Image: Martin Randall | |
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With the Natal unrest last year, surfing the fourth and fifth Covid waves, the cancellation of the 7-day retreat in December, followed by April’s cancellation of all Comair and Kulula flights - which impacted on several of our teachers and our having to buy new tickets for them - and with our attendance down, it has been - and still is - a financial rollercoaster all round. Our shop sales were down considerably, as well as our Dana, and we have had a number of unforeseen expenses. Our 2021 water woes continued into 2022. Our borehole motor and reservoir pump burnt out once again - despite the arrestors and protectors installed by our electrician. This was due to the spikes in electricity during Eskom’s on-off-loadshedding, costing us close to R40,000 in repairs and replacements. With our attendance down, we are being proactive in trying to boost our bookings by regularly emailing out our newsletters and being visible on Facebook and Instagram. We are hoping our bookings will improve as the survival of the Centre depends on this income. Despite our financial difficulties, we have managed to stay afloat with some well-booked retreats. We have also been spoiled with many generous gifts from new beds and bases to linen, towels, seedlings, a generator, a garden bench, framed mirrors and pictures, upholstered chairs, books, aloes, a beautiful couch and office furniture. Thank you for your generosity! |
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| Blue swallow | Image: Richard Flack | |
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We have focussed on the estate and cleared swaths of bramble in the grasslands, wetlands and in the forests. The Blue Swallows had a good summer with their third brood fledging and flying in early March. We will soon have to start preparing their nest sites for their return in October. The gardens have been spruced up, trimmed and pruned, and hundreds of clivia have been planted along the side of the Lodge, in the Zen Garden, the Bamboo Grove. The Circle of Sound in the Bamboo Grove has been the finishing touch to this area that was once regarded as our untidy backyard. We have a bird bath there, circular pine steps, chimes, bamboo benches and clivia - it has become a lovely, quiet space to meditate in. The thatched shrine in the Zen Garden is much more visible now that that whole area has been cleared. It has been there for close on 30 years, and people are only appreciating it now. We have made several improvements to our accommodation. All the Quarters’ rooms have been tiled, and their interior and exterior walls painted and the cornices replaced while all the overhanging branches and shrubs around and in front of the building have been cleared for more light. The Quarters are now rooms with a view! We have done the same at the kutis. We have also managed to paint and refresh the exterior to most of the buildings and have almost completed upgrading the Lodge rooms by installing new beds and bases and new ceilings. The Lodge is sometimes the preferred accommodation for some retreatants as it gives one a sense of a more traditional retreat practice. |
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| Entance to the Quarters | Image:Andrew Brown | |
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The formal proclamation of part of the property as a Private Nature Reserve has been realised and we look forward to visitors enjoying birdwatching and hiking on the property. Richard Pakleppa who is shooting a documentary on the BRC is making steady progress. He says he is thrilled with the rich material he has so far. We have had continuity and stability with our staff over the last year, with Lien at the helm, as proficient and dedicated as ever, doing a marvellous job under sometimes challenging circumstances. Our Covid protocols were in place up until the end of May, despite criticism from some who said that we were obsessive about our rules, but these protocols kept us safe and open for two years, without any fallout. Pauline and Perseverance continue to keep the office running smoothly and professionally, while Shaun is proficient in helping on the estate and with a myriad of other responsibilities. We are looking for someone to help out permanently with meditation mid-week and when teachers are not able to lead meditation over their retreats and would appreciate any recommendations. |
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| Lungi's thrilling cheescake | Image: Wanda Hennig | |
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Mdu Zikode, our Induna, is doing a marvellous job on the estate and in maintenance with his team Cosmos, Mzafane, Mbuli and Nana, while Enkakheni Mbanjwa, our hospitality manager, and her team, Rose, Nomsa, Themba, Zapi and Zibuyile are indispensable. Our cooks, Dudu, Prudence and Lungi continue to prepare the most delicious meals - and when we hear comments from retreatants: “I only come for the food” or “There is too much emphasis on the food”, I couldn’t agree more. The BRC would not be the same without the good food! There have been so many memorable retreats with too many to mention individually, but the evergreen retreats where tai chi, cooking, tree-planting, art and writing are combined with meditation and the Dharma teachings, are very popular. Judy Farah’s 7-day yoga retreat was a winner and there is always a demand for yoga and qigong, while the Mindfulness Retreat “Being Present” with Kerri Marginalia and the longer, intensive meditation retreats have been well supported, to name a few: Tsunma Tsondru’s 7-day silent Christmas and New Year retreats, Jonathan and Anna Preboy’s 9-day Vipassana retreat in January, Sue Cooper’s inspiring 7-day Easter retreat “Open The Heart And Still The Mind”, Jason Ross’ 5-day retreat “Come As You Are” , Albert Buhr’s 3-day retreat “Turning Fear Into Well-Being and Mervyn Croft’s “Clear Sky, Quiet Mountain”. Wesak over the full moon of May is always a highlight and was led by Stephen Coan with such grace and wisdom. On a clear night - not always guaranteed at Ixopo in May - the moon shone full and the star-spangled haze of the Milky Way was a silver scarf thrown across the sky. We experienced such a magical night as we circumambulated the Buddha Rupa - the path lit up with 200 lanterns. For 2023, we have extended an invitation to some international teachers: Ajahn Sukhacitto, Beth Faria, Sister Candasiri, Champtrul Rinpoche and Max Weier who all have accepted. Choden, Ajhan Sucitto may also consider a visit. We are indebted to all our teachers who keep the Dharma wheels turning at the BRC. They return regularly, willingly, graciously and joyfully, in service and in friendship. Our Sangha Friends, Paid-Up-Yogis, Patrons and Retreatants who continue to support us are our lifeline. Our vegan cook book is underway. As they say, happy vegetables make happy hearts and minds. The programme for the first half of 2023 has been published on our website. It offers our usual broad range of retreats - with something for everyone. In these difficult times, there may be the tendency to side line our spiritual well-being, but that is a short-sighted particularly in times of relentless change. The Buddha’s teachings help us to engage and interact creatively and heroically with challenging events around us. The Retreat Centre is a space that gives us an opportunity to find our spiritual core. The success of the Centre can only be measured by the support of our friends and retreatants. Please show that this is indeed so by attending our retreats, as it is only though your commitment and friendship that the BRC will continue to flourish. We hope that our spring and summer retreats will inspire you to seize the days in Ixopo. With Metta, Louis |
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Now And Zen: Reboot, Recharge And RetreatThere is no better place than the BRC to rejuvenate the body and mind with nature, meditation and movement to guide you into presence and stillness. For the month of October we are offering a 10% discount for a mid week sojourn in Ixopo. |
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| Thatched shrine | Image: Chantelle Flores | |
There are still a few spaces left on the following September retreats:
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| Springtime blossoms | Image: Beena Hatcher | |
Conducted Retreats October 2022
Yinsight: The Practice Of Yin And Mindfulness With A TwistDespina Forbes | Weekend | 7-9 October Yoga and meditation can be experienced as a practice of cultivating well-being. The practice of yoga improves overall emotional and spiritual well-being, joint mobility, immunity and organ health - to mention just a few of its benefits. We will be exploring Yin, Hatha and Restorative yoga, breathwork, soundwork and mindfulness practices through the lense of the vagus nerve and soothing the nervous system. Yin yoga is a quiet, slow, nourishing, releasing and grounded yoga practice. Hatha yoga is practised at a slow, steady pace, supporting the strengthening and flexibility of the body, heart and mind. Restorative yoga focuses on relaxing and softening, rather than stretching and strengthening. Mindfulness is paying particular attention to the present moment with curiosity and friendship with whatever is arising from moment to moment - it is knowing what we are doing when we are doing it; it is being awake and open to this life just as it unfolds. Combining these practices of movement and stillness creates powerful possibilities for insight, transformation and healing for the body, mind, and heart. Please note that the retreat will be trauma sensitive/informed. Stand Like A Tree To Power Up Your ChiPaul Dorrian | 2 days | 11-13 October Zhan Zhuang (‘Standing like a Tree’) Qigong is unlike most other Qigong styles, in that with the exception of changing from one static posture to the next, the practitioner remains absolutely still. Regarded by many contemporary Masters as the most powerful of all Qigong practices, it opens all of the nine energy portals in the body, and encourages one’s chi (life force) to flow powerfully throughout one’s entire being. In this retreat Paul will teach the Four Posture Zhan Zhuang Form, which assists in developing a strong physical structure as well as creating a greater supply of healing chi to promote health and vitality. He will also teach the ancient Taoist Qigong meditation for inner tranquillity. Life Tides And Word Links: A Course In PoetryDawn Garisch | 3 days | 13-16 October I want to share an approach to poetry This course will help you to connect with themes and images that need expression and exploration. Learning to condense or distil your inquiry can help with insight and clarity. Working with rhythm and rhyme, off-and-half-rhymes, and with antonyms and synonyms, can break open meaning in new and unexpected ways. Please bring a thesaurus and a rhyming dictionary if you have one. I will bring mine to share. Root Memoir Course: Exploring Nature And NurtureDawn Garisch | 5 days | 18-23 October In this experimental and experiential writing course, we will explore our relationship with the natural world. We have done damage to ourselves and the environment by constructing the idea that human beings are separate from nature. Even our language betrays this attitude - we speak of nature and the environment as though it is ‘out there’. Through experiential exercises and writing, we will explore how the built environment, consumerism, ideas about time, and our fears, anxieties, disgust and distrust keep us disconnected from resources that nourish and support us. The creative mind is a natural space where we can remake connections with the source of life as inclusive and sensory. Writing into our relationship with the elements, our habitat, natural cycles and with life in all forms can help us live in a responsive and responsible way, taking better care of the two homes we inhabit until we die – our bodies and the earth. Yin And Yang: A Yoga Retreat: Release, Relax And RestoreGeorgie Carter | 3 days | 25-28 October Yin yoga provides the balance to our hectic Yang lifestyle. In today’s busy world we are inundated with the pressure to do more, take on yet more and push ourselves even further. This 3-day mid-week retreat provides a balance to our often frenetic, stressful lives and will restore harmony, health and calmness. In relaxing our muscles and surrendering into our yoga postures, we are able to work deeply into the joints, ligaments, fascia and bones of the body - releasing tension and detoxifying normally inaccessible parts of our bodies. The retreat is centred around releasing, relaxing and restoring our bodies, our minds and our energy and is suitable for everyone. Please bring your own yoga mats.
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| A resting place on your hike |
Image: Lisa de Venter | |
About the BRCPerched on a ridge at the head of a valley in the Umkomaas river system in KwaZulu-Natal, the Buddhist Retreat Centre looks out on a vista of indigenous valleys, forests and rolling hills receding like waves in the blue distance. Here, for forty two years, people of all religions and none have come to experience peace and tranquillity. It is a gentle, sympathetic space where one can be still and get in touch with oneself and reflect on the things that crowd one's life. The BRC was voted by CNN as one of the ten best meditation centres in the world. CNN Travel awarded another feather in the BRC’s cap by voting it as one of the ten best spiritual centres in South Africa, recently. The BRC was awarded Natural Heritage status in 1995 under the auspices of the Department of Environmental Affairs and received a certificate to that effect signed by President Nelson Mandela for turning an eroded farm into the natural paradise it has become - thousands of indigenous trees were planted by retreatants under the supervision of Mervyn Croft - with 160 species of birds, including the Blue Swallow, otter, deer, antbear and indigenous forests. The Centre was also given the special status of “Custodian of the Blue Swallow” for its work in preserving the breeding areas of this endangered bird. Recently, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife granted the BRC “Private Nature Reserve” for the conservation of the rare Blue Swallow and Mistbelt Grassland. The BRC facilitated the founding of Woza Moya, the community-based NGO, located in Ufafa Valley, twenty-two years ago, on the estate. Their vision is for all people in the community to be healthy and.productive, to live in a safe and clean environment, with good access to services and social justice. The Centre continues to support the organisation by showcasing their crafts in the shop and sponsoring their trainers and consultants. We have been very touched by your appreciative letters, emails and friendship towards the BRC - your spiritual home from home. We are deeply grateful for your generous gifts to the Centre this year: new beds and bases, office chairs and a desk, bathroom towels, indigenous trees and seedlings, books for our library, a generator, a garden bench, clothing and Dana for our staff - and so much more. Thank you to all of you who continue to support our work in Ixopo with monthly and Paid Up Yogi contributions and donations, with gifts, or with skills and time. And, of course, everyone who comes to the Centre keeps us open and viable. We are deeply grateful for your generosity towards us; it encourages us to continue Louis’ beautiful vision and legacy for the future. Please continue to support the BRC by becoming a friend of the Buddhist Retreat Centre (a registered non-profit organisation) and find out more about the BRC's Paid-Up-Yogi and Sangha Friends’ projects. Chrisi Visit our website for further information, directions, image gallery etc. |
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The Moon At The Window - A Silent Retreat With Ryokan
