Story and photo by Wanda Hennig • The Daily Maverick • 28 June 2019
Too many chefs. Zen food. Monkey thieves. Ensconced. Sangoma recipes. Kitchen wisdom. Adam’s sourdough. Only in KZN.
Tantric Tarts: crispy, zesty, intriguing. A Thriller with Vanilla: sublime, luscious, decadent. You’ll have guessed we’re talking food, this being TGIF. But what’s cooking? Who’s cooking? And where?
Read more...
Join us for a fascinating talk on beekeeping and the intriguing world of these little super insects that have been producing honey for millions of years.
Speaker: Curtis Fulton,
Owner: Avalon Apiaries
Date: Tuesday 11 December 2018
Time: 11:30
Venue: Studio, BRC
Bookings: 082 579 3037 or e-mail bookings@brcixopo.co.za
Share the Buddhist Retreat Centre with friends and family you love, and gift a retreat to them. BRC vouchers are available. Contact us at: bookings@brcixopo.co.za
In October, the BRC was blessed with the visit of four Tibetan monks and esteemed Tibetan Medicine doctor Tenzin Lhanzey and Mrs Tenzin Lhamo, Tibetan Astro-Science Practitioner. The Consecration of the Stupa and Buddha Rupa was declared by Geshe Lobsang as an auspicious occasion and those in attendance were grateful to be part of it.
Thank you Elizabeth Gaywood for organising this rare and special visit.
The 38th Annual General Meeting of
The Buddhist Institute of South Africa
Wednesday July 25 2018 @ 19h30
to be held at the home of Chrisi & Louis van Loon,
24 Bemersyde Road, off Stephen Dlamini (Essenwood) Road Durban.
Please RSVP for catering: 0824668306
For over 20 years of my visits the retreat has cradled me, whichever mood I am in. The home baked bread and honey remain a comfort in a kitchen that brings my grandmother's memories to life. (At home I cook from the coffee table quality BRC cook books.) The coming together of Nature, Art, Science and Spirit at this place where Alan Paton's hills unfold, makes it a place where folks from all faiths, and none, are welcome. Spirit is spacious here.
Mari Pete: 07.10.2017
The Buddha statue at the BRC has an interesting story. The idea of constructing it occurred to me when I travelled widely in the East during the 1950’s and 60’s where I came across the majestic ruined remains of the ancient Buddhist monastic cities, built centuries before the Christian era - such as you find in India, Thailand, Burma and Sri Lanka. They had been vandalised by hordes of antagonistic invaders who used the sculptures to vent their hatred of religions other than their own - much as Napolean’s soldiers did to the sphinxes guarding Egyptian pyramids when they used them as targets in rifle shooting practice. It happened again during the Crusades and the Reformation and, recently, when the Taliban went berserk in the Middle East.
"Quiet Food" became more vocal in the "Cake The Buddha Ate", which was eaten to the last crumb. The Ixopo food story continues with the BRC's third recipe book, "Plentiful - The Big Book Of Buddha Food" launched in Durban on Thursday 8 December at Adams Musgrave bookstore.
Book early for “Awakening from the illusion of separateness: a Zen retreat” led by international Zen teacher, David Loy, from December 20-27. “To study the Buddha Way is to study yourself. To study yourself is to forget yourself. To forget yourself is to realise your intimacy with all things.” Read more about the retreat here.
“We are here to overcome the illusion of our separateness” Thich Nhat Hanh
Friends, this is an invitation to a public talk or retreat over the Christmas and New-Year Season with leading edge philosopher David Loy. Do listen to a short interview here with David where he talks about the interface of inner transformation through spiritual practice and a world in crisis.
David is an esteemed American Buddhist author, philosopher, activist and teacher. He trained in the Sanbo Zen tradition of Japanese Buddhism and a professor of Buddhist Studies. His articles appear regularly in journals such as Tricycle and Buddhadharma, and his latest book is A New Buddhist Path: Enlightenment, Evolution and Ethics in the Modern World. David’s other books include, Money, Sex, War, Karma and The World is Made of Stories.
In the wake of his successful courses, Louis is offering another weekend of Japanese brushpainting.
Louis has conducted traditional Japanese brush painting courses in Ixopo and Cape Town for many years. Following many requests, he has just started a four-weekend course in Durban with an appreciative group of students. He has now been asked to offer an introductory 3-day course in this fascinating ancient Eastern art, using the traditional tools: deer hair brushes and ink made of pine soot. You will learn the basic strokes the brush is capable of making and the shades of grey the ink can produce to depict the character of our natural environment – in landscape, plants, flowers and trees.
Dates: 29, 30 October 2016.
Cost: R800 - includes a set of sample paintings and the hire of a set of brushes, ink and rubbing slate. A set of brushes, ink and slate can be purchased at a cost of R700
