Excerpts from the Chairman's Report at the 45th AGM of The Buddhist Institute of South Africa
Thank you to those who zoomed into our 45th Annual General Meeting. I include a few excerpts from the introduction to my chairperson’s report for those who are interested.
The BRC celebrated its 45th year of operation and marked the 55th anniversary of its founding by Louis van Loon in May over Wesak. Louis was fond of recalling how when he bought the property in 1970 as a derelict, abandoned farm in pouring rain and thick mist, unseen, no-one else wanted to buy it, because it was so useless to do anything with that was remotely connected to farming. It was too hilly and overrun with bramble, bugweed, and wild wattle. But it suited his purpose just fine. There were significant turning points his life and in the history of the BRC every ten years. In 1960 Louis took his first Buddhist Refuge and Precepts with a Sri Lankan Theravadin monk and, a few weeks later, with a Tibetan lama. In 1970 he bought Nirodha Farm and in 1980 the BRC opened for its first retreat to one retreatant!
Fifty-five years later and after an extraordinary amount of hard work, sacrifice and courage on his part, we are holding this AGM. Looking back, the Centre has acquired a very special character - something that would not have been possible if it had been a piece of flat land with farmsteads - and achieved many accolades: CNN recognised it as one of the 10 finest meditation centres in the world with articles in international journals and much exposure on television; “Buddha In Zululand” was screened on Dutch television and two years ago an evocative documentary “Bodhi is Light” by Richard Pakleppa was launched. Then came the recognition of the Centre as a Natural Heritage Site and later as a private nature reserve and visits by iconic teachers like Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzburg, Stephen and Martine Batchelor and Godwin Samararatne followed by the publication of our three recipe books with ‘Quiet Food’ becoming a national best seller in the non-fiction section and going international!
Following in the wake of Ajahn Sucitto’s visit to South Africa in 2024, Ajahn Jutindharo, a friend and colleague and highly recommended by Ajahn Sucitto, is offering teachings at the BRC from 13-18 February.
Max Weier resides in Switzerland and has been studying and practising various Buddhist traditions - Taoist disciplines and Vedanta - for the past forty years. He has been teaching worldwide for the last twenty years. He is an author on the subjects of ch’i kung and Taoism.