Updated BRC Newsflash - March 2020

view it online \|

The Buddhist Retreat Centre
Ixopo, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa		For people of all religions
Dear Retreatant BRC Newsflash: 6-29 March 2020
Forthcoming retreats from March 2020 to January 2021 have been updated on our website: www.brcixopo.co.za The BRC printed brochure February 2020 to January 2021 was posted at the end of January Quiet Food and Plentiful: The Big Book Of Buddha Food are available in the shop. They can also be posted to you. Please contact the BRC office Teacher's Dana. Without our retreatants' support and attendance, there would be no BRC, and without our teachers, the Centre would be unthinkable. In keeping with ancient Buddhist tradition, the Dharma is offered at no charge, and teachers are not paid a fee for their teachings. Some teachers rely solely on Dana for their living expenses. We therefore encourage you to offer Teacher's Dana (Generosity) from your heart at the end of your stay, with an awareness that it is your generous financial support/ Dana which enables our teachers to continue offering their teachings at our Centre Twenty years ago, come April 2020, Woza Moya was launched at the BRC by Executive Director, Sue Hedden. Now a thriving community-based organisation, improving the lives of close on 10,000 people in the Ufafa Valley Community, Woza Moya has gained a global reputation. Celebrating 20 years, Sue is travelling around South Africa (in Cape Town in March and in the UK in May) telling the Woza Moya Story, meeting old friends and making new connections. Please invite Sue to your home, a coffee shop, school, community hall, church, club house, where 4/40/400 people are gathered. By bringing friends together, and then friends of friends - having fun, sharing the Woza Moya Story, touching hearts - retelling our story and generating goodwill - will help us to make significant connections to raise the funds to remain sustainable. Nowadays it is ALL about who you know! Please contact Sue on:

Louis fitting the ushnisha (indicates higher wisdom) on top of the Buddha’s head
The BRC Turns Forty.....Some Recollections In December last year, Mervyn Croft led a retreat “Quiet Mountain, Clear Sky” at the BRC which was deeply appreciated by all. Before his retreat started, he visited the yellowwood trees he had planted some 30 years ago behind the pine trees - which I had planted 10 years earlier. The strategy behind this was that as the pines fell at the end of their lives, the yellowwood trees would take their place. The indigenous purists strongly recommended that I should ringbark the alien pines I had planted originally which I considered to be ‘my friends’ - as they lined and shaded the trail leading to the dam. For more than forty years many people have enjoyed walking under these trees on the beds of pine needles that cushioned this trail leading to the dam. It is a cool walk that is home to deer, nesting hadedas, porcupine and the occasional otter that ventures up from the dam. How could I ringbark them? I told my purist friends that the pines were there to stay until they fell by natural attrition - and that the yellowwoods that had befriended them would eventually take over the job of providing shade for the walkers and shelter for the wildlife.

Fresh greens from the vegetable garden at the BRC		Image: Chantelle Flores
Mervyn was instrumental in planting several thousand indigenous trees on the wattle stands that we cleared to encourage the biodiversity on the property. He started planting indigenous trees in 1986, and gradually reduced the wattle plantation area from 45 to 38 hectares. He worked on planting a density of about 1000 trees per hectare and planted about 8000 trees over 12 years. He planted them in concentric circles with three or 4 canopy trees in the centre, surrounded by a circle of smaller understory trees. The trees mostly came from the Botanic Gardens nursery in PMB, the Parks Board nursery and his own germination of seeds. In those early days retreatants also helped to clear acres of alien bramble and bugweed during periods of “Mindful Work” which was part and parcel of the weekend retreat schedule. These areas have become natural forests - some impenetrably dense and home to the many birds like turacoes, yellow bellied bulbuls, cuckoos, mousebirds and butterflies. What a legacy Mervyn has left! Chrisi and I attended Mervyn’s Durban launch of his evocative poetry book “Without Limit”, a homage to stillness and calmness. In his opening speech, he recollected his early BRC days when he stayed in the cottage next to the office which was still under construction, and where he slept on a door propped up on concrete blocks as a bed base, on a mattress of course.....and how the windows had no glass. How basic things were in those early days....... My early vision was to keep all the accommodation and buildings simple and Zen. Seasoned retreatants remind us to stay true to that early Zen vision, with a gentle caution to avoid accumulating too much ‘stuff’. We appreciate these reminders of keeping things simple.

Reaching for the heavens - Ixoponibbana		Image: Lisa de Venter
Enrico Gerber who was our chef 35 years ago, and who currently resides in Cornwall, UK, sent his recollections…. Silence.... silence, learning to sit, Louis my first teacher, space, retreats with various teachers: Godwin Samararatne, Michelle MacDonald, working with Junaq (Arjuna-ji), Mervyn, Pierre...Mbanjwa, Essie, Mabel, Engakheni, Dudu, Zaphi,... and the other staff in the kitchen and garden and wattle plantations, chanting in Pali with Ajahn Sucitto at the unveiling and consecration of the Buddha rupa, building a kiln for Raku pottery, spending many many hours firing pieces, the children's retreat, and the snow! going to fetch bamboo from the plantation and making all sorts of musical instruments, playing Scriabin on a very out of tune piano, turning a wattle forest into a "Zen" garden, collecting trailer loads of rocks and stones from the valley, acquiring Basil and Bergamot as kittens, Pansy, the old tortoise shell cat, making pickled walnuts, introducing freshly ground mealie porridge, honey from the MacGregors, being able to run up and down the hills and spending four days staying and sleeping down in the valley by a beautiful pond in the stream, living in the kuti at the edge of the spectacular Ofafa valley, the sea of mist in the mornings, the sound of the people singing and drumming from Chibini and the valley, playing the violin at the Stupa, meeting many lovely people, picking basketsful of wild mushrooms and fresh greens from the vegetable garden, the whistling of the tree frogs, the white lilies in the mist, no mobile phones or internet, radio or TV, walking for many kilometres through the plantations, felling wattles, battling wild fires, spending 72 hours awake and taking turns to make sure fires did not flare up again! Louis' great kindness to me when I hurt my back moving boulders, and when my violin fell apart due to the humidity, learning Sumie with Louis, Japanese tea ceremonies...in short, the best years of my life - and a place and experiences I will always treasure - dear Ixoponibbana!

Bruce contemplating infinity		Image: Kerry Martinaglia
Sarah Woods who first visited the BRC 30 years ago, remembers….. I wonder when I first visited the BRC? At least 30 years ago and it was like "coming home". As I listened to Louis sketching out the basics of "an introduction to Buddhism" I felt like I had finally found a spiritual home, that I had discovered a world view that made total sense to me. It did not ask me to conform to a narrow view point, it did not exclude anyone on narrow judgemental lines, it did not ask me to perform any strange rituals that made me feel slightly embarrassed, and above all it did not ask me to shut down my enquiring analytical mind. On the contrary it made me feel open and expansive, it challenged me to confront life head-on and to see the beauties and growthful challenges in the daily paradoxes of life. But over and above all that I could see the potential for joy and pleasure in the simplest of things. I couldn't wait to return. I remember our afternoons of "noble work" and the hard slog of planting and watering the indigenous saplings -what a joy to now visit and walk in the mature forest. I remember marvelling at the elderly people who came and sat on the straight backed chairs at the back of the meditation hall, never once imagining that I too would arrive there one day and be smiling down on all the young sitting with their flexible hips on the meditation cushions in front of me. I remember too how hard I tried with my well-trained western mind to "do it perfectly", to "empty my mind"! It really took me a long time to grasp the simplicity and beauty of the teachings and I can honestly say I am still learning (and hopefully I will never stop!). It is astounding to see how the rest of the world has opened up to the teachings, to meditation and to mindfulness. For that I am deeply grateful to the Jon Kabat Zinn's of the world but to be honest, at times I find my age makes me somewhat uncomfortable with the 'commodification' of things like mindfulness. So ... even though I now live in the Cape, I will keep returning to the BRC to feed and nourish my inner soul - it is my spiritual home.So an enormous thank you to you both Louis and Chrisi for creating this place of calm and compassion, serenity and great beauty. I salute you both. Let’s keep these recollections going for the year. If you have any that you would like to share, please do. Live kindly, Louis

A bridge through the forest		Image: Angela Buckland

Scrumptious spread from Plentiful: The Big Book Of Buddha Food		Images: Angela Shaw
Forthcoming Retreats: 6 to 29 March 2020 People often yearn for an opportunity to recalibrate their lives and to spend some time in quiet reflection among like-minded people. The BRC provides such a refuge - where silence is a precious commodity - and where people meet to engage in a range of talks on Eastern and Western philosophy and psychology. Use the month of March to take stock and start navigating new avenues. Connect with people and places that bring you joy and growth by saying “ Yes To Life “ and living wholeheartedly in the midst of a challenging world. Choose practices such as reiki, yoga and meditation, or commit to making a difference to the environment by living more mindfully. Alternatively treat yourself to a personal retreat where you can wake up to bird song, walk in the morning mist, rake the sand garden, listen to the wind chimes and meditate in the company of the mossy Buddha.

Rain iris		Image: Brendon Hatcher
The Sacred Feminine: Empowering The Feminine With Yoga, Meditation And Your Astrological Moon In a weekend that promises to be nurturing for women - mothers and daughters, sister and best friends, gentle yin-style yoga, evening “Moon” themed meditations and talks on the Astrological Moon will be offered. Use this as an opportunity to connect with your Inner Feminine. Margarita Celeste and Michelle Strybis \| Weekend: March 6-8 Read more... The Healing Art Of Reiki (Level 1), Yoga And Meditation Enjoy a vitalizing weekend of gentle yoga, breath work, meditation and reiki - the ancient Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation which promotes healing, improves sleep, eliminates depression and enhances your immune system. Katherine Fillmore \| Weekend: March 13-15 Read more... Deepening The Healing Art Of Reiki: (Levels 2 And 3), Yoga And Meditation At level 2 reiki practice, you will learn to apply the healing effects of reiki to others, and at level 3 reiki practice, you will make a commitment to reiki in your life and progress to become a Reiki Master. Katherine Fillmore \| 4 days: March 15-19 Read more... The Wilderness Within - The Subtle Activism Of Engaged Buddhism The key to our future lies in re-connecting ourselves to the Earth, to one another, to our true nature. Taking advantage of the wilderness around the BRC, we will explore the meeting place of the outer and inner worlds to uncover our connection with ourselves, all beings, the sun and moon and the stars. The retreat will combine meditation practice with contemplative walking in nature, as well as some of the spiral practices from Joanna Macy’s Work That Reconnects. Tsunma Tsondru \| Weekend: March 20-22 Read more... Saying Yes To Life: How We Can Live Wholeheartedly In The Midst Of A Challenging World We have a choice in how we meet the difficulties that life presents us with: we can be defensive and erect barriers to pain, or we can choose to approach discomfort with an attitude of friendliness and curiosity. Being open to what is challenging requires courage and practice. Learning to befriend ourselves and our world and saying yes to life in all its forms - positive and negative - is what this introspective, silent will offer. Richard-John Chippindall \| Weekend: March 27-29 Read more... The Enjoyment Of Being Still And Alone Enjoy some serene “alone” time on a Self-Retreat in the beautiful, indigenous setting of the BRC with chi kung, meditation, communing with nature, enjoying the vistas of the velvet Ixopo hills, and relishing the delicious vegetarian food for which the BRC is justly renowned. Mid-week Read more..

Path to the Buddha Boma		Image: Chantelle Flores
About the BRC Perched 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 thirty-nine years, people of all religions and none have come to experience peace and tranquility. 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. The BRC facilitated the founding of Woza Moya, the community-based NGO, located in Ufafa Valley, nineteen 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 in a variety of ways by contributing Dana, sponsoring their Directors, trainers and visitors' accommodation, and showcasing and promoting their wonderful crafts in the shop such as the sock monkeys, cushions, bags, scarves, beanies and stationery. The Woza Moya Crafters are local women who receive ongoing training and support to enable them to create these unique and charming best sellers. This year as a result of retreatants' Dana (Generosity), the BRC was able to donate R 24,000 to Woza Moya to further enable their good work among the community and to help support the 50 children who attend the Woza Moya play school. Become a friend of the Buddhist Retreat Centre (a non-profit organisation) and find out more about the BRC's Paid-Up-Yogi and Sangha Friends’ projects which help to ensure the continuity of the Centre. Thank you for the abundance that has flowed to the BRC in the form of Paid-Up-Yogis and Sangha Friends’ contributions last year which enabled us to complete major projects such as rethatching the library and studio roofs, repaving the entrance roads, refurbishing all the Lodge rooms and bathrooms and replacing all the beds. This year we are aiming to turn two more rooms into ensuite bedsitters. We are very touched by your appreciative letters, emails, support and friendship towards the BRC - your spiritual home from home. Chrisi Visit our website for further information, directions, image gallery etc.
www.brcixopo.co.za \| 087 809 1687 \| 082 579 3037 \| 031 2095995 Share: \| Follow us:
The email was sent to: \| Technical and e-marketing support by: