BRC Newsflash - December 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: 29 November 2019 to 1 January 2020 |
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| Stupa in the clouds | Image: Martin Randall | |
Stress Can Make You SickThe other day I noticed a young man wearing a T-shirt with the word “CHILL” blazoned all over the front. If only we could be more “chilled” all round in our social and emotional lives and in the way we handle ourselves in the workspace and in our relationships - when we are shoved out of our comfort zones. With global uncertainties mounting, everyone seems stressed nowadays - with the result that we are seeing many more people retreating at the BRC mid-week on extended meditation retreats. Tsunma Tsondru recently led a 5-day mid-week silent retreat: “Beginner’s Mind, Quiet Mind: Meditation For Meaningful Daily Living” which was very well attended. The retreat invited people to take time out from the incessant demands and pressured pace of daily life, and to learn to cultivate a state of peace and ease. |
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| Buddha boma peace and ease | Image: Natascha Prussen | |
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Being in silence and reflection can have remarkable results. I was fortunate to attend a month-long retreat in the UK some years back and felt profoundly affected in the deepest layers of my psyche. Long, intensive meditation retreats are not for everyone, but to persevere with your practice - however difficult it may seem at first - can be enormously beneficial when it comes to reducing stress. Even ten minutes a day quietly watching your breath, can over time, recondition the mind into greater ease. I recently read an article about Dr Rangan Chaterjee who urged one of his patients to practise yoga and meditation, as stress was making him sick. Chatterjee, an author and influential British doctor, believes the role of stress in chronic disease is far too often overlooked. He estimates that stress can suppress the immune system and promote inflammation and cause premature ageing. In his latest book “The Stress Solution” he suggests techniques that are easy to adopt, like simple relaxation exercises and a calming morning routine to set the tone for the day which he calls “The three M’s - Mindfulness, Movement and Mindset.” He points out that some of these techniques are easy to adopt like simple breathing exercises. Others require lifestyle changes such as optimizing sleep and diet, fostering friendships and purposeful living. |
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| A mindset for meditation | Image:Chantal Flores | |
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The BRC provides a space that is conducive to step off the wheel and come home to the quiet, firm refuge that lies at the core of our being. The Buddha himself indicated that the acquisition of a mindful attitude is the greatest physician one can have in life. In a world that is slowly sliding into a state of misery, there seems to be a a slow-burning joylessness and a sense of helpless-hopelessness infecting human behaviour. This was, of course, explored eloquently and at great depth and insight by the Buddha in his teachings 2500 years ago, when he urged us to redirect our life energy towards meaning and purpose. The Buddhist perspective offers practical steps to change your relationship to stress - by training your mind and opening your heart. The primary mind-training tool is Mindfulness practice through which you can achieve Calmness and Clarity. As you repeatedly bring your attention back to the breath, both your breath and your mind become more steady. By opening your heart, compassion and kindness are generated and can thus impact on the quality of your relationships. When you are more generous-hearted you are less self-absorbed. Judy Lief, a Buddhist teacher, comments: “Stress is exaggerated when your mind is flighty and unbalanced, and it is also heightened when you are weighed down with self-concerns. It is unrealistic to expect your life to be free of stress, but there is a real possibility that you could transform the way you deal with it. Stress brings to light harmful habits of the mind and heart. So instead of viewing it as an enemy, you could regard stress as a teacher, and be grateful for it.” Live kindly, Louis |
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| Stillness and reflection | Image: Chantal Flores | |
There are still a few spaces left on the following retreats in November:
Eyes horizontal, nose vertical: A weekend of meditation |
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| Plentiful summer celebration |
Images: Angela Shaw | |
Forthcoming Retreats: 29 November to 1 January 2020People 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. Embrace December as an opportunity to align your body, mind and emotions with kundalini yoga, tai chi and chi kung; learn to see with ‘deep-seeing eyes’ through Japanese ink painting and raku-fired pottery, and take the opportunity to celebrate Christmas and new year in a tranquil environment, away from the madding crowd. 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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| Labyrinth tranquility | Image: Angela Shaw | |
Going With The Flow: Integrating Yoga Into Daily Life As A Mindfulness PracticeThe aim of this workshop is to develop the tools that make us aware of the ebb and flow of our moods and emotions and to learn to be mindful instead of reactive in our daily interactions; to be fully present and integrated in the flow of life. We will explore kundalini yoga which focuses on stationary and dynamic poses, sitting meditation, dynamic breathing exercises, chanting and chi kung. Quiet Mountain, Clear Sky: Meditating With Calmness And ClarityThis retreat will provide the opportunity to explore two aspects to meditation practice - the gradual development of calmness and peacefulness in our mind and the practise of awareness in order to live with more clarity and centredness in the present moment. Grounded In Space: A Weekend Of Tai Chi And Chi KungTai chi is rooted in balance and flow, stillness within movement and reflection during action. We will learn a short sequence of yang-style tai chi and simple chi kung exercises as well as movement-within-stillness meditation. Shibuie: When Beauty Happens Accidentally - Sumie And RakuLearn Japanese brush painting (Sumie), both the traditional and contemporary techniques, and sumie-decorate bisque-fired pots (Raku). Watch the magic unfold as the kiln-hot pots triumphantly emerge from scorching heat in all their accidental beauty. Stalking The Moment: Being At Home 24/7. Christmas at the BRCTake time out at the BRC over Christmas to slow down into each moment of being here-now. It will be an introspective, reflective time away from the usual distractions and noise of the festive season. Welcoming The New Year With Compassion And Joy: New Year At The BRCIn the nurturing atmosphere of silence and tranquility, we will reflect with kindness and compassion on the year which is ending, creating a space of possibility for new beginnings and joyful discovery as we welcome the new year with an open and generous heart and mind. The new year will be ushered in with a lantern-lit circumambulation around the Buddha rupa. 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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| Movement, mindfulness and meditation | Image: Angela Shaw | |
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, indigenous trees, 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 and the beautiful side tables, coffee tables, headboards and bunk beds have finessed all the rooms. 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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