BRC Newsletter - November/December 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: November/December 2026 Dear Friends, For almost 47 years, the Buddhist Retreat Centre in Ixopo has been a place of refuge, practice, silence and renewal. Generations of people have walked through our gates seeking something that is increasingly precious in our troubled world: a place to stop, to breathe, to listen deeply, and to reconnect with what truly matters. Today, we are reaching out to you because the Centre needs support. Like many organisations and households, we are feeling the effects of a difficult economy and a world marked by uncertainty. Retreat numbers fell significantly over winter, and the income on which the Centre depends to keep operating consequently declined. We have worked hard to meet these challenges, to keep our costs under control and to continue offering the Centre as a place of practice and growth. But we need the support of our sangha. |
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| Buddha Rupa | Image: Odette Ryan | |
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The Buddhist Retreat Centre has never been simply a business or a building. It is a community-supported place of practice that has existed for nearly half a century because people have believed in its value and have helped sustain it. Many of you have your own stories of the Centre. Perhaps you came here for your first retreat. Perhaps you sat beneath the trees, walked the paths, listened to the birds, shared meals in silence, cuddled a kitty or found a little space in which to meet yourself more honestly. Perhaps the Centre has supported you through a difficult period in your life. Whatever your connection, we are asking you now to consider what the Centre means to you and how you can help. Please consider coming on retreat when you can or booking ahead: we have a broad array of summer retreats, encouraging friends to visit, sharing information about the Centre, or simply speaking about this place and what it has meant to you. Please join our monthly Sangha Friends or Paid-Up Yogis. A monthly commitment for as little as R50.00 can make a meaningful difference. Every contribution helps us maintain the land and buildings, support our staff, sponsor teachers and retreatants alike and continue offering retreats and the Dharma to the wider sangha. Donations in kind are enormously helpful: we desperately need a new industrial fridge; our recipe books need reprinting; we always need new linen and towels. We are not asking because we want to preserve an institution for its own sake. We are asking because we believe that places dedicated to stillness, compassion, wisdom, inner transformation and where people can reconnect with themselves and one another are needed now more than ever. We would love the Buddhist Retreat Centre to celebrate its half century and beyond. But we cannot do that alone. If the Centre has touched your life, please help us carry it forward. With Metta, Chrisi and The BRC Family |
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| Reconnect | Image: Andrew Brown | |
When the Brush Dances and the Ink Sings: A Sumi-e and Raku RetreatDiscover the expressive beauty of Sumi-e brush painting and the joyful unpredictability of Raku pottery in this creative, hands-on retreat. This retreat draws inspiration from a memorable lesson in Kyoto, where Louis van Loon as an aspiring painter struggled to paint a single orchid leaf. Its tip needed to point downwards yet still seemed too long for the sky. When the leaf finally captured that feeling, the teacher proudly claimed his painting as a souvenir. This delicate balance of brushstroke and blank space lies at the heart of sumi-e: each mark matters, and so does the space around it. Participants will practise traditional bamboo, orchid and plum-blossom brushwork before decorating their own tea bowls. The bowls will then be fired in a Raku kiln and treated to earth, fire, air and water. The results are wonderfully unpredictable: glazes craze, clay blackens and unexpected patterns emerge - a Japanese quality known as Shibui, or accidental beauty. Rooted in a tradition first brought to the Centre by renowned South African potter Anthony Shapiro, this much-loved retreat offers a chance to create, experiment and delight in the beauty of what cannot be planned. Ingrid Adams and Sharon Paterson will be offering the Sumie and Raku, accompanied by Chris Rooke leading sunrise qigong, Belinda Best offering Reflexology and Sound Therapy and Shogan guiding the meditation and a traditional Japanese tea ceremony: Dates: 11-15 December 
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| Raku firing | Image: Thomas Campher | |
There are still a few spaces left on the following November retreats:Unlock Your Secret Superpower: Practical Tools For Lasting TransformationDash Singh | Weekend | 13-15 November Women Together: A Weekend Dedicated To Rest, Reconnection And Restoration with Yoga, Sound And AstrologyMargarita Celeste and Magdarie van Staden | Weekend | 20-22 November
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| Moments of contemplation and joy | Image: Nick Halliday | |
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Conducted Retreats December 2026 Art of Living Silence RetreatVljaylakshmi Sewnarainn| 3 days | 3-6 December The prerequisite to attending the Art of Silence retreat is the Art of Living Part 1 The Happiness Course. Japanese Brush Painting And Ceramics: Sumie And Raku With Qigong, Meditation And RelexologyIngrid Adams, Sharon Paterson, Chris Rooke, Shogan Parker, Belinda Best | 4 days | 11-15 December Chris will offer sunrise qigong, Belinda will offer Sound Therapy and Reflexology, while Shogan will be guiding the meditation and holding a traditional Japanese tea ceremony on the final night. Finding Meaning And Purpose - Buddhist Insights Into The Nature Of MindVen Khenpo Jamyang Gompo | Weekend | 18-20 December Summer Relax And RechargeKeelan Naidoo | 2 days | 21-23 December
The Four Immeasurable Gifts At ChristmasTsunma Tsondru | 4 days | 23- 27 December Take time out at the BRC this Christmas to slow down into the moment and unwrap the Four Immeasurable Gifts. The retreat will be held in an atmosphere of introspection and silence.
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| Relax and recharge | Image:Sharleen Lupke | |
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-six 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 - six 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 deeply touched by the many generous gifts received in the form of linen and towels, furniture, indigenous trees, a Kenwood mixer and food processor, vacuum cleaners and Buddha statues. How you can help to keep the Dharma wheels turning at the BRC and to 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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Transformation Through Mindfulness
