BRC Newsletter - Updated March 2026
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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 Newsletter: March 2026 Dear Friends, |
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| Buddha in repose | Image: Andrew Brown | |
Disappearing BuddhaAsked to appoint a successor before his death the Buddha declined. The dharma, the teachings, were primary. They spoke for themselves. There was no need for a successor. A retreat ‘Buddhism: the basics’ which I led last year examined the Buddha’s life and teachings. The teachings - the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path - offer few difficulties when it comes to explanation. They are rooted in the human experience. The Buddha himself is more elusive. According to tradition Siddhartha Gautama, who became the Buddha, was born in 563 BCE and died aged 80 in 483 BCE. However modern scholarship differs, some scholars placing his death closer to 400 BCE or between 420-380 BCE. This flexibility in dates is troubling: are we dealing with an historical figure? Standard methodologies of history and biography come to grief pretty quickly. Biographies of the Buddha only began appearing centuries later and were likely written from a partisan view - my school of Buddhism is better than yours! In addition, it was some centuries before the teachings themselves were expressed in written form, prior to that they were passed on via an oral tradition, a very sophisticated one. |
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| Disappearing Buddha | Image: Andrew Brown | |
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Regarding the Buddha himself, Rupert Gethin, a distinguished scholar of Pali and a practicing Buddhist has noted: ‘The historian must recognise that he has virtually no strictly historical criteria for distinguishing between history and myth in the accounts of the life of the Buddha.’ So what are we to make of this seemingly magical figure invested with superpowers of mind and body (there is plenty of evidence of this in the vast array of Buddhist scriptures)? In recent times one approach has been to demythologise him and turn him into a rationalist philosopher along the lines of Socrates, rendering him more acceptable to modern mindsets. In a new book, The Buddha, another eminent Buddhist scholar, Donald Lopez Jr., has gone against this trend by putting back the myth, in effect remythologising the Buddha. In doing so he draws on Buddhist sources but also brings to bear more recent writings from Gustave Flaubert, Oscar Wilde and George Eliot. It is a remarkable book. I was struck by one of Lopez’s observations: ‘The dharma (in the sense of the truth) is not something that is the creation of the Buddha but something that he discovered and then revealed to the world.’ This is in accord with Buddhist tradition which to put words in the Buddha’s mouth, goes something like this: ‘Look, I have found these teachings to be true for myself, but don’t take word for it, try them for yourself and if they is helpful and they work for you that’s fine, if it doesn’t that’s fine too.’ The Buddha found something that was there for anyone to find. When he refuses to name a successor, someone whose word is the final say, he’s not kicking the ball down the road, he’s kicking it straight at you. Catch. Stephen Coan |
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| Moving into stillness | Image: Odette Ryan | |
We have good news!Many of you have asked over the last two years when Dr Ian Weinberg will be offering his memorable retreat “Psychoneuroimmunology: Enhancing The Mind-Body Connection”. As he is completing his doctorate in neuroscience at the moment, he is unable to lead a residential retreat in Ixopo. By popular request Dr Weinberg’s original BRC retreat “Enhancing The Mind-Body Connection” is now comprehensively online. The online program is now available through the BRC at an exclusively reduced price of R3,500.00 (the current selling price online is R14 000.00). The purchase price includes the 5 modules program, online diagnostic, workbook and slides as well as access to the three-monthly Zoom webinar. For a description of the course (similar to the original three day Retreat) see www.neuronostic.com/courses/expanding-consciousness/ “ Should you wish to enrol, please contact the office at and we will send you all the information. |
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| Hatha yoga |
Image: Odette Ryan | |
There are still a few spaces left on the following February retreat:A Yoga And Meditation Retreat - Moving Into StillnessHannelize Robinson | Weekend | 27 February - 1 March |
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| Gifts from nature | Image: Wanda Hennig | |
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Conducted Retreats March 2026 The Mindful Feast : A Foraging And Foodie Retreat With Yoga, MeditationKaz Wilson and Dael Lithgow | Weekend | 6-8 March Change Your Mind - A Mindfulness RetreatMark Joseph | Weekend | 13-15 March A Hatha Yoga RetreatCheryl Lancellas | Weekend | 20-22 March Settle into a weekend of rest and restoration with gentle movements, sound journey and breathwork. Together we will explore breath as medicine for the nervous system, restorative yoga and yoga nidra evenings, reflection, journaling and conscious group processing, emotional alchemy, release and renewal. The Way Of Ubuntu: Exploring Traditional South African HealingJohn Lockley and Nomusa Mthembu | 3 days | 27- 30 March |
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John and Nomusa |
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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-five 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 and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife proclaimed part of the estate as “Nirodha 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 - five 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. How you can help to keep the Dharma wheels turning at the BRC and continue its legacy for the future: Become a Spiritual friend by:
The continued existence of the Centre as a sanctuary for healing is dependent on the goodwill and support of our Sangha. Chrisi Visit our website for further information, directions, image gallery etc. |
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