BRC Newsflash - October 2019
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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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Dear Retreatant BRC Newsflash: 4 to 31 October 2019 |
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The new BRC calendar of retreats from May 2019 to April 2020 is published on our website. You will find it at www.brcixopo.co.za |
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| Breathtaking rainbow | Image: Andrew Brown | |
The Tao Of Design - Letting Nature Have Its WayAs we were preparing our papers and passports to travel to Greece for our annual breakaway in the Mediterranean sun, I came across my scooter driver’s licence issued to me in 1956. It reminded me of my adventures on my Vespa scooter and especially my foolhardy trip to Hluhluwe Game Reserve in 1958 at the height of the rainy season. Upon my arrival at the entrance to the game reserve , I was met by astonished guards crisply attired in their khaki uniforms who politely told me that I was not allowed to enter the reserve on a scooter. After much discussion in isiZulu which I did not understand, I asked them to show me the rule book which said so - knowing full well that they would never have made provision for an idiot like me thinking he could go game-viewing on a scooter. |
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| Thatched studio | Image: Chantal Flores | |
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So I was allowed to enter the reserve provided that I was accompanied by a ranger. He sat on the pillow seat behind me with his rifle slung over his shoulder. I don’t remember much about the game-viewing as there had been so much rain that the roads had become rivulets. Naturally the animals wisely stayed well away from us sheltering under cover - which was a good thing. This is where I learnt my lesson that the African bush is not for ‘sissies on scooters’. I am sure they changed the rule book and banned scooters after I had left. On a different note, 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. I built the studio some 35 years ago. The oval shape is based on the earliest prototypes of meditation halls in India and Sri Lanka which I saw in my early travels to the East. The structure of the studio and meditation hall at the BRC mirrors the ancient assembly halls, Viharas, found in the ruined city of Anaradhapura. This design appealed to me because it allows your gaze to circulate along the curved interior of the building rather than being interrupted by a wall suddenly turning at a right angle. This, l felt, would encourage the mind to ease into a sense of continuity and spaciousness. I chose to use thatch and timber rafters rather than man-made materials such as trusses and corrugated iron as this would be as close to nature as one could get sitting inside a building. The drawback, of course, is that thatch deteriorates over time and needs renewing. That time has now arrived. |
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Louis with one of the cairn rocks to demarcate the location of the stupa in the early 1970’s |
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The circumstances under which I acquired the property 50 years ago may sound like the stuff of legends, but I believe it shows that we do possess a deeper sense of knowing than we are inclined to admit in our rational age - call it instinct or intuition. I bought the property or it rather bought me in a fit of recklessness in the pouring rain and thick mist, and, in developing it, I followed the same crazy intuition. The orientation and location of the buildings were purely instinctual; if a piece of ground “shouted at me”, then that was where I started building. As an architect I have always tried to blend my buildings into their natural environment - to let nature have its way - and to design shapes and use materials that are organic, yielding, and human-centred, but which remain deferential to the landscape around it, welcoming in the natural light. The windows in the meditation hall and studio extend from floor to ceiling so that your slice of the exterior takes in the entire space of ground to sky to create the connection to a wider world beyond yourself. My design philosophy when building the retreat centre was to keep in mind the unique purpose of the place - to meld the interior landscape of the mind with the exterior landscape - and incorporate the dramatic hills, open spaces and the expansive sky and forests that embrace it. The trait that has defined Buddhist philosophy for 2600 years is to live in harmony with the world around you - human and otherwise - and to do what you can to encourage others to do the same. The design and layout of the BRC are an appreciation of how we can live in closer harmony with nature, ourselves and others. |
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| A window to meditation | Image: Angela Shaw | |
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In my last newsletter, I talked about watching the breath as a tool for your meditation practice as recommended by the Buddha in his teaching of the Anapanasati - Mindfulness of Breathing. Recently, I was struck by the poet Maya Angelou’s words where she reminds us that “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” May you all have such moments! Live kindly, Louis |
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| Labyrinth and grindstone | Image: Angela Shaw | |
There are still a few spaces left on the following retreats in September:
Mindful Writing: Zen Pen - A Mindful writing, being and meditation retreat |
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| Spring in bowl | Images: various | |
Forthcoming Retreats: 4 to 31 October 2019People 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 - and where people meet to engage in a range of talks on Eastern and Western philosophy and psychology, and to learn yoga, chi kung, and tai chi. Reboot for summer by immersing yourself in a 5-day silent meditation retreat. Learn to manage stress and walk the path to health and well-being by incorporating yoga, relaxed breathing and the Alexander Technique into your daily life. Deepen your emotional intelligence through Mindfulness. Alternatively treat yourself to a personal retreat where you can wake up to bird song, walk in the morning mist, rake the sand garden, listen to the wind chimes and meditate in the company of the mossy Buddha. |
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| Stupa in silence |
Image: Lisa de Venter | |
Deepening Your Emotional Intelligence Through MindfulnessResearch on emotional intelligence suggests your ability to perceive, identify and manage your emotions is essential to making good decisions, taking optimal action to solve problems and coping with change. This interactive retreat supports participants in their personal journey through gaining insights into emotional intelligence and mindfulness, and behavior that positively impacts their well-being and relationships. Mindful Body - Embodied Mind: Alexander technique and mindful movementThrough a combination of Alexander Technique and mindful movement - gentle tai chi- chi kung and conscious walking - we will restore a state of ease in body and mind. Come and walk the path to health and well-being. The Alexander Technique ContinuedSpend two days in the tranquil environment of the BRC to ground yourself in this technique. In order to manage our lives in such challenging times, we need life skills such as attentiveness and focus, poise and balance and kindness and compassion. “You Can’t Fill The Hole In Your Heart With Food”... And Other Things - Jan Chosen BayFood and eating can be a source of great joy, but it can also be a source of great suffering and struggle. This retreat is based on a combination of the principles of Mindful Eating and Intuitive Eating and draws on techniques that enable us to manage the sometimes destructive patterns around food and to create healthier habits. Beginner’s Mind, Quiet Mind: Meditation practice for meaningful daily livingIt is important for us to take time out from the incessant demands of daily life to come home to the quiet, strong refuge which lies at our centre. This introspective retreat will encourage our Beginner’s Mind through the practice of meditation. There will be time for rest, walking, writing or just staring into the distance. Yoga Mind, Body And Breath: A journey of self- discoveryThe practice of yoga brings the mind and body together, grounding us in the present, connecting us with where we are and what our body tells us about ourselves. Yoga is more that a work-out; it is a work-in. Spring Writing Retreat: Let your inspiration flow and renew your writing impetus with nature’s most creative showThis writing retreat is an invitation to steep yourself in the energy of nature’s loveliest season, and to get to grips with the writing you have been wanting to do. Amid the spring abundance of flowers, birdsong, bee dreams and gorgeous views, we will help you craft and shape your story. The Enjoyment Of Being Still And AloneEnjoy some serene “alone” time on a Self-Retreat in the beautiful, indigenous setting of the BRC with chi kung, meditation, communing with nature, enjoying the vistas of the velvet Ixopo hills, and relishing the delicious vegetarian food for which the BRC is justly renowned. |
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| A zen moment | Image: Sean Laurenz | |
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 thirty-nine years, people of all religions and none have come to experience peace and tranquility. 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. The BRC facilitated the founding of Woza Moya, the community-based NGO, located in Ufafa Valley, nineteen 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 in a variety of ways by contributing Dana, sponsoring their Directors, trainers and visitors' accommodation, and showcasing and promoting their wonderful crafts in the shop such as the sock monkeys, cushions, bags, scarves, beanies and stationery. The Woza Moya Crafters are local women who receive ongoing training and support to enable them to create these unique and charming best sellers. This year as a result of retreatants' Dana (Generosity), the BRC was able to donate R24,000 to Woza Moya to further enable their good work among the community and to help support the 50 children who attend the Woza Moya play school. Become a friend of the Buddhist Retreat Centre (a non-profit organisation) and find out more about the BRC's Paid-Up-Yogi and Sangha Friends’ projects which help to ensure the continuity of the Centre. Thank you for the abundance that has flowed to the BRC in the form of Paid-Up-Yogis and Sangha Friends’ contributions which have enabled us to refurbish the bathrooms in the Lodge, tile the entrance to the dining room and install a tea station in the Lodge for those hot cups of milo on the cooler misty nights. We are grateful for the truck-load of indigenous trees, herbs, seedlings and plants, a new granite kitchen server, a new canvas parasol for the outside umbrella, kitchen utensils and crockery, garden tools, books for our library, beautiful beige towels, soft new pillows, Woollies duvet covers, a coffee plunger, a marvellous collection of illustrated books on the Sumie tradition, some of which have been long out of print, a beautiful silk scarf for Louis from Sikkhim to use during the Chinese tea ceremony, Elsa Pooley's book on flowers for the library, a generous donation towards installing LED lights to reduce our energy consumption and stunning photographs from Andrew Brown, Marc Kornberger, Tsunma Tsondru and Lennart Eriksson and "Fairlady" magazine featuring the BRC. The Centre received a generous donation of tables, crockery, ceramics, pillows, cushions, curtains and lanterns, as well as boxes of seedlings, fruit, cheese and olives, two beautiful stone bird baths, a new fire pit for meditation under the stars and a new noticeboard. The recently donated mahogany table and chairs and table cloth in the studio have enhanced the room enormously. We welcomed two new power drills, garden tools and the high-back oak chairs for our meditation hall and generous donations towards the re-paving of the entrance road to the BRC. A recent donation has enabled us to fix the leaking pantry roof. We are very touched by your appreciative letters, emails, support and friendship towards the BRC - your spiritual home from home. Chrisi Visit our website for further information, directions, image gallery etc. |
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| www.brcixopo.co.za | 087 809 1687 | 082 579 3037 | 031 2095995 |
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