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Raise The Roof

We are appealing to our friends and supporters to sponsor a square meter of thatch at R200 or more to help us to renew the deteriorated and leaking thatch roof over our studio. We need R110,000.00 to rethatch it to keep us high and dry over the summer rains.

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KZN ZEN: Retreating to flavour and mindfulness

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?
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Beekeeping

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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

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Gift A Retreat

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Share the Buddhist Retreat Centre with friends and family you love, and gift a retreat to them. BRC vouchers are available. Contact us at:   

Visitors from Tibet Consecrate Buddha Rupa & Stupa

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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.

 

You are invited to our AGM

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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

Tributes From Friends

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It is said to be magical! But that description ignores the human and very real work and effort that went into, and continues to make the BRC what it is.

It was a person - not a sprite or a djinn - who had an idea, a vision and a plan to create a refuge for those in pain, lost, or those knowing the necessity to maintain contact with the spiritual self.

A plot of beautiful land on the edge of a green Ixopo hill giving onto a valley of more hills; trees, shrubs, foliage and flowers which in their green-ness, their extravagant abundance, create a protective armour that gives one the indisputable knowledge that one is supported, protected, nurtured whoever and whatever we may be.

Franchesca Balladon: 01.01.2021

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Mossy Buddhas

mossy buddhaThe 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.

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"Plentiful - The Big Book Of Buddha Food" launched in December

"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.

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International Zen teacher: David Loy at the BRC

david-loyBook 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.

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