Updated BRC Newsflash - July 2024
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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: July 2024 Dear Friends, |
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| Handfuls Of Quietness | Image: Nelson Alvares | |
Handfuls Of QuietnessSelf-described as a ‘professing Christian and a functional atheist’ the Protestant theologian W. Paul Jones decided to put his paradoxical position to the test by living as a monk for three months in a Trappist monastery high up in the mountains of Colorado. The diary he kept was published as The Province Beyond the River. Spending a great deal of the time in silence was part of the deal and at one point Jones meditates on these lines from the Bible: ‘Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil.’ (Ecclesiastes 4:6). He also speaks of discovering how much the transcendent - God, the Dharma, or whatever label (or none) you wish to attach - speaks to us through our experience of and interaction with the natural world. The Buddhist Retreat Centre with its beautiful gardens offering vistas of valleys and hills provides us with a similar setting to that of Jones in which to interact with nature, often within the frame of silent retreats, whether long or short they are generous handfuls of quietness. |
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| Stupa under dramatic skies | Image: Andrew Brown | |
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In Buddhism what is called ‘Noble Silence’ gives us the opportunity - and in the context of a retreat, the permission - to experience the world around us without the distraction of chatter. Talking with others often diverts and distracts, diluting our experience. The practice of noble silence allows us to put down our masks and listen more attentively to the world around us and to our inner selves, making us a little more porous to their promptings. But let’s not make a meal out of silence. Being silent on retreat doesn’t mean sensory deprivation. And is a silent retreat really all that silent? Silence will really mean the absence of conversation and even then we will still contribute our fair quota of sounds, either when practising in the zendo - sneezing, coughs, stomachs gurgling - or when eating together: the incidental music of plates and cutlery, the crunching of toast. We will also hear the sounds of nature: birds singing, the liquid piping of the orioles, the chanting of the doves and cuckoos, monkeys barking, the chirping of frogs and insects, the creaking of trees in the wind, the drumming of rain on the roof. Offered a handful of quietness, grab it, pay attention, listen carefully, and perhaps, as in the old Zen poem, you will hear: An old pine preaching wisdom A wild bird crying the truth Stephen Coan |
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| Autumn colours | Image: Andrew Brown | |
A Fresh StartOur July retreats are worth exploring as they all offer affirmation of life’s immense opportunities and a fresh perspective on how one can bring depth and meaning to our daily existence for the rest of this year. We are offering a 10% discount on all June and July bookings. Please continue to support us by:
Warmly, Chrisi |
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There are still a few spaces left on the following June retreats:The BRC Goes Juvenile: A Family Retreat With Children In MindAnisha Maharaj and Melisha Reddy | 3 days | 24-27 June Iyengar Yoga: Nudging The Body Into Shape And HealthJudy Farah | 2 days and/or 5 days | 28-30 June or 28 June-5 July |
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| Monkey face | Image: Andrew Brown | |
Conducted Retreats July 2024The Intersection Between Mindful Meditation And Integrative Clinical Psychotherapy - An Online Course CPD Points: ElevenBeatrice Kidd | 3-18 July | R1000 for CPD points R500 for bona fide students SESSION ONE: WEDNESDAY 3 JULY - 10.00 am - 12.30 pm Self-Care And Centredness - Finding And Keeping Your CentreTessa Pretorius | Weekend | 5-7 July A Calligraphy Course - A Meditative Arts ExperienceSana-Bella Ebrahim | 2 days | 9-11 July The Healing Power Of Music, Movement And NatureChristel Andersen and Eleen Polson | Weekend | 12-14 July Traditional Hatha And Raja YogaDuncan Rice | Weekend | 19-21 July Find Your Way Back To Nature For Self-HealingBernard Chatikobo | 2 days | 24- 26 July The Roots Of Sacred Drumming: Exploring Natural RhythmsRichard Ellis and Marc Kress | Weekend | 26-28 July Qigong For Healing And VitalityMarc Kress | 1-3 days | 29 July 2024 - 1 August A Self RetreatThink peace over pressure and serenity over stress. Enjoy some time at the BRC mid-week, with nourishing vegetarian meals, sunrise meditation and nature's healing embrace to colour the mood of your day. There is no better place than the BRC to rejuvenate the body and mind to guide you into presence and stillness. |
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| What's up there? | Image:Andrew Brown | |
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-four 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. 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, 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 are deeply grateful for your generous gifts to the Centre in the form of PUY and Monthly contributions, new beds and bases, office chairs and a desk, a new refrigerator, microwave oven, bathroom towels, indigenous trees and seedlings, books for our library, a generator, garden benches, pillows, towels and linen, geyser insulation blankets, clothing and Dana for our staff, an inverter and beautiful antique scrolls and Imari platters and ceramics, framed prints and Thankas, new tablecloths and serviettes, a brand new Magimix, signage for our forest paths - 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, to everyone who comes to the Centre - you keep us open and viable - and to our teachers who keep the Dharma wheels turning. 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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