Updated BRC Newsflash - January 2023
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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: January 2023 Dear Retreatants, |
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| Buddha Rupa | Image: Lennart Erikkson | |
Compassion For Others Must Bring Yourself AlongI am sure we are all looking forward to new horizons with 2023 just around the corner. This year has been a capricious and challenging one, with anxiety and stress levels unusually high. The one predominant factor has been that although we have coped - just - we are not refuelling ourselves and paying enough attention to our own welfare; we feel we have not flourished. It is only by taking care of oneself ,that compassion for others is possible and is complete. Self-compassion as in “love your neighbour as you would love yourself’ can easily be confused with self-interest, and self-indulgence, but there is a place for self love in our daily lives at all levels of our of being. By taking time to pause and reflect on how you are doing, and being more alert and responsive to how you have been is a way to refuel. Otherwise, one will soon come to standstill, incapable of doing anything for yourself and for others. |
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| Bath time | Andrew Brown | |
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At the end of all our retreats at the BRC, we conduct a loving-kindness or Metta Bhavana meditation which emphasises the need to include oneself in one’s wish for the happiness and well-being of others. This traditional Buddhist Metta practice is crucial in reducing negative emotions towards oneself and towards others and generating forgiveness and tolerance. As we reflect on this past year at the BRC, we are overwhelmed with gratitude for the loving-kindness that has come our way. This is the true spirit of the Dhamma where goodwill that comes one’s way is gratefully received and then passed on to others. It is thanks to all our teachers, patrons, Board members, friends and retreatants who have supported us so generously and loyally that the BRC continues to be a reservoir of these noble sentiments. We wish you and your families health and well-being. Tread lightly into the new year, With affection, Louis, Chrisi, Lien, Perseverance, Shaun, Mdu, Enkakeni and the BRC family |
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| Louis van Loon in conversation | Image: Richard Pakleppa | |
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Louis van Loon in conversation recently with film producer, Richard Pakleppa of Breathe Films who is making a documentary film on the BRC, its founding and history, entitled Bodhi Is Light – Impressions of the Ixopo Buddhist Retreat Centre. Since opening its doors to the public in 1980, creating and sustaining the BRC has been the work of many hands. Administrators and dedicated supporters have given many years of their lives to developing the Centre. Teachers from South Africa and across the world have brought wisdom teachings which inspired many. Some went on to start retreat centres in South Africa and abroad. Zulu women and men built and maintained the BRC over three generations…and many, many more contributions have enlivened this unique space. It is a unique story. |
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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. |
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| Raindrops on the grass | Image: Andrew Brown | |
There are still a few spaces left on the following December retreat:
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| Crack of dawn | Image: Tsunma Tsondru | |
Conducted Retreats January 2023
Time To Focus And Tune Into 2023: Gently Kickstart The New Year With Qigong, Hatha Yoga, Meditation And Healing TherapiesThis retreat is full. Tsunma Tsondru, Kugan Naidoo, Brett Vallis and Deborah Don | Weekend | 6-8 January |
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| John Lockley and Nomusa Mthembu | Image:Odyssey magazine | |
The Way Of Ubuntu: Exploring Traditional South African HealingJohn Lockley and Nomusa Mthembu | 3 days | 27-30 January A Personal Self Retreat: Walk Into StillnessPeople 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. Treat yourself to a personal retreat. |
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| BRC vegetable garden |
Image: Chantelle Flores | |
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, a new refrigerator, bathroom towels, indigenous trees and seedlings, books for our library, a generator, garden benches, 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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