Mind Over Matter Psych Talks podcast host, Kirsten Russouw speaks with resident volunteer William Parker at the Buddhist Retreat Centre in Ixopo, KwaZulu-Natal.
He shares his personal journey and experiences at the centre and how principles of mindfulness, compassion and wisdom have transformed his life.
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.
I am reaching out to invite you to consider joining his 5 day Mindfulness Retreat.
The BRC has faced challenging times before and we have found that with the help of our BRC Friends and Supporters we have been able to continue to offer the Centre as a place for self-reflection and spiritual growth.
We are again facing challenging times, and we need your help.
Asalha Puja, also known as Dharma Day, is one of Theravada Buddhism's most important festivals, celebrating as it does the Buddha's first sermon, the Sermon in the Deer Park at Sarnath, in which he set out to his five former associates the doctrine that had come to him following his enlightenment. This first pivotal sermon, often referred to as “setting into motion the wheel of dhamma", is the teaching which is encapsulated for Buddhists in the Four Noble Truths: there is suffering (dukkha); suffering is caused by craving (tanha); there is a state (nibbana) beyond suffering and craving; and finally, the way to nirvana is via the Noble Eightfold Path. All the various schools and traditions of Buddhism revolve around this central doctrine.
We share very sad news. Louis Van Loon departed this life peacefully on Tuesday 26 March. Louis was a pioneer who brought so many of us to the Dharma practice. Infinite bows of gratitude for his generosity of spirit. He will be greatly missed by all who were fortunate enough to meet him at the BRC. His legacy will live on through the hills and valleys and all that constitutes the BRC.
The BRC has embraced difficult and uncertain times before and we have found that with the help of the BRC family and friends we have always emerged with increased enthusiasm and confidence to continue to offer the Centre as a place for self-reflection and spiritual growth.
As has happened before, we are again facing challenging times and we need your help.
The BRC has not fully recovered from lockdown over Covid and the subsequent fallout from cancelled retreats, followed by the unrest in Natal two years ago. This - compounded by the low attendance of our retreats over the last 3 months - has resulted in the Centre being under serious financial constraint.
Being a non-profit organisation reliant solely on income from accommodation, we need to break even each month to cover our expenses. We are not doing that at the moment.
We are fervently appealing to you, our Friends and Supporters, who care deeply about the Centre, to help us keep the doors open.
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.
He is conducting the following retreats at the BRC duing February and March:
Qigong From The Daoist Mountain Wudang: Energy - Vastness - Stillness
Tue 28 Feb - Thu 2 Mar 2023
Pathways To Dao: Qigong – Meditation – Wisdom
Tuesday 21 Mar - Thu 23 Mar
During February and March 2023, international teacher, Max Weier, will be offering two sessions of qigong and guided meditation practice, daily, for those who like to add some depth and flavour to their self retreats.
There is no better place to reboot and rejuvenate and to get in touch with nature than in the beautiful, tranquil spaces of the BRC.
Day visitors are welcome by prior arrangement and by donation.
pink seeding grasses
on the road to Ixopo
- another autumn
Late on a May afternoon driving the twisting R56 as it ascends the southern side of the Umkomaas valley the sinking sun backlights the autumn grasses growing by the roadside rendering their seed heads blush-pink. It’s a familiar sight at this time of the year for those on their way to the Buddhist Retreat Centre to attend the annual Wesak retreat held under the full moon of May (or the closest weekend thereto) to commemorate and celebrate the birth, enlightenment and death of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, ‘the awakened one’, 2500 years ago.
In one of his teachings, the Buddha enumerated the most noble sentiments we should endeavour to develop in our life. The first and most important one is Dana or Generosity because from that springs forth all other beautiful characteristics such as kindness, forgiveness and virtue. We should therefore be alert to situations that arouse these qualities in us and provide us with an opportunity to express them towards others. They then become habitual, effortless and spontaneous.
