"There is a lovely road that runs from Ixopo into the hills”
As we approach the season of Autumn in the Southern hemisphere, I am acutely aware of the cycles of life, the truth of impermanence and the on-going navigation of change and loss that we have all already been embracing this year. This month of March brings us to the 1st year anniversary of the death of our beloved founder of the BRC, Louis van Loon, and I feel such deep gratitude to Louis for the beautiful sanctuary which he created and which his incredible wife, Chrisi, and the dedicated BRC team continue to make a home for so many of us, seeking solace with sangha in silence.
It is an honour, once again to offer the Easter Open the Heart and Still the Mind retreat from 17 - 21 or 24 April (4-7 night options). I will be assisted this year by my colleague and sangha member, Nicole Economou, from Johannesburg. Nicole and I will be sharing some of the teachings that have been inspired by the retreat we are offering together in Greece in June, integrating the Dharma, psychological wisdom and Greek mythology. The theme of pilgrimage is central to all spiritual traditions and I have been remembering my very first pilgrimage to the BRC in 1984, which was completely and unexpectedly life-changing. It takes courage to come on retreat, and over Easter we will explore ways to strengthen that courage and connection to our authentic selves, so that we can deepen our experience of our heartfelt, joyful presence in the midst of all that is unfolding in our lives. I cannot think of a more beautiful space amidst the mist and rolling hills for this inner journey of transformation and healing. Please join us if you can! Reductions to my teacher's fee are always offered if there are financial constraints - more details can be found here or please email me on .
“There is a lovely road that runs from Ixopo into the hills. These hills are grass-covered and rolling, and they are lovely beyond any singing of it. … The grass is rich and matted, you cannot see the soil. It holds the rain and the mist, and they seep into the ground, feeding the streams in every kloof. It is well-tended, and not too many cattle feed upon it; not too many fires burn it, laying bare the soil. Stand unshod upon it, for the ground is holy, being even as it came from the Creator. Keep it, guard it, care for it..."
From Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton.
With Metta,
Sue Cooper
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So on my most recent visit, late January, Louis and Junac were “no more” - but their presence endures and I reckon always will for the many whose lives they affected.
And everything else seems, as it always has, to get more and more special. The remarkable Chrisi van Loon, who oversees the running of things, be it from near or far. The cool people who come to work here. Think morning chi kung from one of them, massage therapy and counselling sessions from another, to mention some extra guest perks.
Central, always, is the food. Dudu Memela and the rest of the kitchen team are inspired by and cook using recipes from the three Buddhist Retreat Centre cookbooks, propped up to show which dish we’re being served. Amazing vegetarian fare, forest walks, and retreats ranging from spiritual to “for the birds” (as in lovers of). Maybe the fact that housekeeper Nomusa Mthembu is also a sangoma, adds to the magic of the Buddhist Retreat Centre recipe.
In the early days, there were no vervet monkeys at the centre. The story goes that someone started keeping vervets somewhere nearby, left the property, and released them… The veggie gardens are now well secured. And if you leave your window open, heaven help you. Buddha won’t.”
Wanda Hennig
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International teacher, Max Weier, will be in residence until 22 March and will be offering daily sessions of Yantra Yoga and Qigong – We are offering a 15% discount for mid-week bookings.
There are still a few spaces left on the following March retreats:
Felicity Joan Hart | 2 days | 11-13 March
In this retreat we will explore four spiritual disciplines, two spiritual laws and a self-directed challenge to change your beliefs about money, to be in right relationship with money and to allow money to become a form of spiritual practice. Engaging with money can be stressful. Regardless of how much we have it is often a source of fear and anxiety. Our minds can be preoccupied with thoughts around not having enough, or running out, or losing the money we have. The intention of this retreat is to transform your relationship with money into a dimension of your spiritual practice. This course is inclusive and friendly to open-minded people of all religions and wisdom traditions.
You can expect daily mindful meditation practice and down time for rest and relaxation.
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Max Weier | Weekend | 14-16 March
Tibetan yantra yoga presents effective means of healing and harmonising body and mind and includes vigorous movement and powerful breathing exercises, visualisation, meditation, the practice of mudras (ritual gestures) and the chanting of bija mantras (seed-syllables) i.e. OM, AH, HUM. Most of the body postures are performed either standing or sitting and are interspersed with periods of meditation.
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Max Weier | 2 days | accommodation | 18-20 March
This retreat is based on the ancient tradition of Daoism. It offers a holistic approach that takes equal account of body, energy and mind. It combines breath work and moving qigong exercises to stimulate, free and balance the flow of the inner energy (qi). It includes silent meditation to calm and expand the mind.
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Hannelize Robinson | Weekend | 21-23 March
Yoga teaches us the ability to remain present, calm and stable no matter what situation we find ourselves in. It is not about perfecting the shape of the pose or increasing flexibility - it is about knowing what the shapes do and how they impact our physiology, our energy and our mind. A complete practice includes physical postures (asana), breathwork (pranayama), and meditation which trains one to pause and respond calmly with more wisdom and compassion.
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Elana Bregin | Weekend | 28-30 March
Take back your life, it’s the only one you’ve got! The past few years seem to have been particularly challenging for many of us. This recalibration workshop is geared at those who feel they have lost the compass. Under the experienced guidance of creative journey guide and author, you will be led through the gentle process of rebuilding your inner fire and reclaiming the joie de vivre that may have gone missing in the stresses and traumas of daily life. Amid the quiet beauty of the BRC grounds, well supported by delicious meals, cosy fires and revitalising ambience, we will open our senses and heart chakras and start the conversation with our deeper selves that relaxed attention enables.
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Conducted Retreats April 2025
☸ indicates retreats held in noble silence
Dr Gcina Mhlophe | Weekend | 4-6 April
For as long as there have been people on this earth, there have been stories. As human beings attempted to make sense of natural phenomena, the interpreted mysteries and feelings that led them to creating and inventing cultural norms that would endure for centuries. As the sun set at the end of each day, the evening star heralded a time to take a well-deserved rest. Around the fire they enjoyed delicious meals and conversations and as a thanks giving, they composed new songs to embrace each other, young and old. The operative word in Gcina's work is sharing. Just like in those olden days, storytellers are language lovers, we cannot share our stories without a language we are comfortable in, to gift our narratives with one another. In the fast world we now live in, now more than ever before, we need to hear ourselves and each other, in calm, serene spaces. Ukuthula kube nani. “May peace be with you” some bird calls sing to us in the early morning hour. Gcina truly believes that every living person has a story to tell. That is why she is humbled in the knowledge that each time she tells a story, she wakes up stories in other people. Together we will not only embrace the natural beauty of the environment, the colours surrounding us, the undulating hills and valleys, the blue skies above and the fresh air we breathe - we will delve deep into our memory banks. Like the unyielding timeless rhythm of the ocean – so too shall we continue to enjoy the gift of our African Story Magic. In the most quiet hour, we will be reminded of a gentle sound of the cowhide drum honouring our individual and unique heartbeats. May the Spirit of Light, walk ahead of you!
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John Homewood | 2 days | 6-8 April
Many men are experiencing a crisis of identity and meaning in their lives right now. Relationship and careers are in transition, and the heart is yearning for a more meaningful and soul-centred vision in life. What is required is a fundamental shift in how we see ourselves, our roles, and our purpose in the world. This Men’s Retreat will facilitate huge shifts in the quality and experience of one’s life. This powerful intervention will assist participants to reduce stress, shift limiting perceptions and attitudes, gain self-knowledge, self-worth and emotional balance and inculcate mental and emotional resilience in coping with this rapidly changing world.
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Christine Withiel and Howard Lipschitz | 2 days | 8-10 April
How we age is dependent on lifestyle, life experiences, mental health and attitudes, and our genes. Qigong and yoga give us tools to keep the body healthy by mobilizing the joints, strengthening muscles and keeping us flexible. The postures and sequences can be adapted to all conditions and abilities. Yoga gives us pranayama, breathing techniques which strengthen and calm the nervous system as well as infusing our body with prana (life force energy). Meditation quietens the mind and has been shown to alter structures in the brain causing us to become more peaceful and less reactive. can nurture the body and manage the effects of menopause, ageing and living in a stressful world. On this retreat we will slow down and explore the offerings and take away what resonates and fits into our life.
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John Homewood and Michelle McClunan | Weekend | 11-13 April
Are you ready for a life shift? John Homewood and Michelle McClunan bring their combined forty years of facilitating experience to this two-part retreat, providing you with a gentle, yet powerful process that will shift, awaken and nourish your whole being. You will leave this retreat greatly refreshed with a new and awakened perspective in life, taking with you practical tools to apply in shifting all areas of your life. The retreat will integrate transformational, yet practical spiritual teachings of Presence, Awakening and Creative Art Processes. This integration will help you clear blockages that may have prevented you from living a healthy, peaceful and abundant life. All creative experiences are process-driven, as opposed to being outcome-based, so no artistic experience or skill is required. You will leave with a more focused sense of life purpose and rekindled joy.
Should you only be able to attend the weekend, Part 1, you will still gain much. However, investing in the whole 4 days will provide you the space to integrate and apply this Shift even deeper and more fully into your awareness.
For more info on their work see www.journeysofawakening.com
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John Homewood and Michelle McClunan | 2 days | 13-15 April
Are you ready for a life shift? John Homewood and Michelle McClunan bring their combined forty years of facilitating experience to this two-part retreat, providing you with a gentle, yet powerful process that will shift, awaken and nourish your whole being. Part 2 will provide you the space to integrate and apply this Shift more deeply and more fully into your awareness. You will leave with a deeper sense of peace and with greater emotional and spiritual intelligence to navigate life’s challenges.
For more info on their work see www.journeysofawakening.com
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Sue Cooper | 4 or 7 days | 17-24 April
This Easter long-weekend Open the Heart and Still the Mind Compassion Retreat with clinical psychologist Sue Cooper, is held in Noble Silence and is offered either as a 4 night Easter Weekend retreat or as an extended 7 night retreat. Inspired by the wisdom teachings of the Dharma and of Buddhist and western psychology, we will cultivate mindfulness and compassion practices which calm the nervous system and help integrate body, heart and mind. As we learn to listen and connect more compassionately with ourselves, drawing silent support from the sangha (like-minded practitioners finding solace in the shared silence), we will discover that the containment of ennobling silence allows us to find the courage to honour and embody our authentic, heartfelt presence with greater confidence, clarity and joy.
As we embrace the joys and the sorrows of life with a greater understanding of impermanence, we move beyond fear, shame and crippling self-doubt. After establishing some stillness and calm in the mind and the heart, we will explore the Brahma viharas (the four divine abodes/ immeasurables) to cultivate greater kindness, courage and compassion for ourselves and others. These compassion practices bring more appreciative joy, equanimity and wisdom into our lives, strengthening our capacity for more open-hearted presence and healthier boundaries in our relationships. This silent retreat includes teachings, guided meditations, daily qigong, time to walk, rest and replenish, as well as short, individual sessions with Sue to deepen our insight and sense of well-being. There will be relaxing massages and mindful movement offered as optional extras (the cost of which to be confirmed), to support our embodied experience.
CPD accreditation for psychologists and other HPCSA (or equivalent) registered professionals will be confirmed, with an annual admin fee tbc.
Please note: There is a teacher's fee for this retreat, which is offered on a sliding scale, with reductions and payment plans on request. Please contact Sue on for her pre-retreat questionnaire and to discuss a pre-retreat session if needed. More details can be found here: https://stillmindretreats.com/event/retreat-the-joy-of-courageous-heartfelt-presence/
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Heike Sym | 3 days | 25-28 April
We all have inner guidance and knowledge, but we don't always know how to access it and use it as the incredible gift it is. We are constantly trying to keep up with the ever-increasing pace and demands of our lives which leaves us with high stress levels and exhausted. On this retreat we will fortify our spirit, embrace our personal power, and allow our light to shine brightly again, the way the universe intended. Through talks, meditation, group work, transformational exercises, relaxation and conversation, we will journey back to our centre - to our most natural and balanced state of being. Deepening our connection with our inner self allows us to stand strong in our own personal power in the here and now. We will learn to listen less to the limiting, fear-based voices of our mind, and start aligning with our intuition, to our core that already knows that we are born as an unstoppable and magnificent force.
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Tsunma Tsondru | 3 days | 28 April-1 May
It is important for us to take time out from the incessant demands and fast pace of daily life. The BRC gives us a space to step off the wheel and the time to come home to the quiet, strong refuge which lies at our centre. Cultivating the natural state of peace and ease that lies there reveals our true nature - which enables us to not only help ourselves, but to help the world of which we are part. Then daily living becomes meaningful. This 3-day mid-week retreat will bring out our Beginner’s Mind through the practice of meditation. The time will be silent, quiet, and slow. There will be meditation instruction and guidance, formal sitting, and time for walking, writing, or staring into the distance. The retreat is suitable for those with or without meditation experience and will be held in an atmosphere of introspection.
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We are offering a 15% discount in March
Find meaningful solitude on a Self-Retreat. These Retreats are unstructured: one does as much (or as little) reading, walking, meditation or resting as one chooses. Enjoy walks and bird watching; savour our delicious vegetarian food and browse our well-stocked library. Yantra yoga and qigong with Max, massage treatments with Krishia, guided walks with Nelson and meditation with Will are available. Self-Retreats are an ideal opportunity to be in a gentle, sympathetic space where one can be still and get in touch with oneself.
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About the BRC
Perched 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.
CNN Travel awarded another feather in the BRC’s cap by voting it as one of the ten best spiritual centres in South Africa.
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.
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife granted the BRC “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-two 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:
- Booking for a retreat – we have a broad range of retreats on offer until the end of October 2025
- Offering a donation
- Pledging a monthly contribution of R50 or more
- Joining our Paid Up Yogi scheme which involves paying a contribution forward whereby your credit can be used at any time in the future towards a retreat, with a 10% discount
- Gifting a voucher to a friend or family member
- Supporting our film “Bodhi Is Light”
- Purchasing our popular recipe books
- Organising a group visit midweek
- Supporting our GoodMoodFood venture
The continued existence of the Centre as a sanctuary Buddhist philosophy and teachings 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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