Updated BRC Newsflash - March 2022
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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 Newsflash: March 2022 Dear Retreatants, |
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| Buddha rupa | Image: Lisa de Venter | |
Veld ZenOur Dharma friends, Antony and Margie Osler, guiding teachers at Poplar Grove Zendo in the Karoo, are no longer teaching at the BRC, but we fortunately can stay connected with them virtually. Antony is offering a Zoom meditation session on the morning of the first Sunday of each month. See the details below: As a poet, writer and teacher - a Zen African - as Antony calls himself - I have always admired the skill with which he uses words - with a good dose of humour - to point the way to great wisdom and profound truth beyond the words - which already reside in us - if only we looked deeper within ourselves. For him, the everyday practice is about clarity of mind, compassion and finding the heart of each moment and seeing everything as new and fresh: present and attentive in every situation and relationship. Antony expresses this 'face to face, clear mind to clear mind' concept so aptly and beautifully in his excerpt entitled “Practice Note”. |
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| Irises at dusk | Image: Andrew Brown | |
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“The first Ch’an (Zen) patriarch in China is the legendary Indian meditation master Bodhidharma. He is said to have described Zen as a ‘mind to mind transmission outside words and scriptures.’ When we see this statement we want to decide whether to agree with it or not. Already we are caught in Bodhidharma’s trap! Of course this is a beautiful teaching, pointing to the need for us to go beyond words and scriptures into a full engagement with this world. We meet the world without the filter of our prejudices, fears and judgements – face to face, clear mind to clear mind. As for ‘transmission’, although the word has a formalized technical usage in certain Japanese Zen schools, in a broader sense it refers to any encounter of true intimacy; as my teacher Joshu Sasaki Roshi once said, ‘Transmission is what happens every day between a man and wife.’ In this way transmission and mind-to-mind are pointing at the same thing and Bodhidharma is reminding us that Zen is a full-bodied life of great intimacy, embedded in things as they are. Good to see you, please come inside! And, of course, such a life is beyond the reach of words – even beyond these ones. Zen teachers have always been willing to put on a hard hat and ride with the bomb squad, telling us to blow up the tradition’s own treasured teachings (including that very instruction itself), which is why Deshan burned his commentaries in the fire. Only if we do this can we step beyond the teachings into the world to which they point; to find out for ourselves. This is the embodiment of ‘outside words and scriptures.’ How wonderful! We bow to the tradition in gratitude and then we leave on our own two feet. Actually, we don’t need Zen Masters to tell us this for it is what happens anyway – teachings naturally self-destruct when we meet this life head on. Aha - the sun is hot, the dog jumps into the water! So is Bodhidharma correct or not!!! Haha! |
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| Meditation hall | Image: Nhlakanipho Nkomo | |
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We need to find again the truth beyond words and teachings, manifestos, policies and promises. How else can we hold ourselves accountable to the reality of this world? How else will we retain our discernment, our affection and our sense of humour? We need to still our thinking and close our mouths so that we can find the boundless real world of persons, dogs, politicians and trees - the place where the laughter and cries of the world can be heard and heeded.” Antony gives a talk at a Zoom meditation session on the morning of the first Sunday of each month (to join the Zoom meetings contact Christine Nachman at ). In addition, selected talks from Poplar Grove retreats and from these Zoom meetings are now available as podcasts, with the link https://stoepzen.co.za/podcasts.html or https://anchor.fm/stoepzen-podcasts. Anyone interested in either of these internet Dharma offerings is welcome to follow the links above. Or you can subscribe to the newsletters by pressing the subscribe button on the website itself. Join Antony for Zen in the Karoo…. |
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| Stupa dawn | Image:Andrew Brown | |
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“When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you don't blame the lettuce. You look for reasons why it is not doing well. It may need fertilizer, or more water, or less sun. You never blame the lettuce. Yet if we have problems with our friends or family, we blame the other person. But if we know how to take care of them, they will grow well, like the lettuce. Blaming has no positive effect at all, nor does trying to persuade using reason and argument. That is my experience. No blame, no reasoning, no argument, just understanding. If you understand, and you show that you understand, you can love, and the situation will change.” – Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, a global spiritual leader, poet, and peace activist, revered for his powerful teachings on mindfulness and peace, through which one can learn to live happily in the present moment and thereby truly develop peace, both in oneself and in the world. After suffering a stroke, he refused medication, choosing rather to return to the temple where he had taken his vows 80 years earlier to await liberation from the cyclical nature of existence. Framed above the bed, on which he ‘transitioned’ in January at the age of 95, were the words tro ve – “returning” – in his own brushstroke. - Jeff Matthee |
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| Circle of Sound in the Bamboo Grove | Image:Andrew Brown | |
Now And Zen: Reboot, Recharge And RetreatThere is no better place than the BRC to rejuvenate the body and mind with nature, meditation and movement to guide you into presence and stillness. All health protocols and Covid-19 regulations are in place - with social distancing, sanitizing and masks - for your safety and well-being. |
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| Rejuvenating hills | Image: Chantelle Flores | |
There are still a few spaces left on the following February retreats:Speak Your Truth, Listen DeeplyLucy Draper-Clarke and Felicity Hart | Weekend | 25-27 February |
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| Mist rising | Image: Gavin de KocK | |
Conducted Retreats March 2022A Neurosurgeon Probes Wellness And Performance: PsychoneuroimmunologyIan Weinberg | Weekend | 4-6 March Yin And Yang: A Yoga Retreat: Release, Relax And RestoreGeorgie Carter | Weekend | 11-13 March From Fear To Fundamental Well-Being: Healing Relaxation, Yoga And MeditationAlbert Osel (Buhr) | 3 days | 18-21 March The Healing Art Of Reiki (Level 1), Yoga And Meditation: Heal The Body, Relax The MindKatherine Fillmore | Weekend | 25-27 March Deepening The Healing Art Of Reiki: Reiki (Levels 2 And 3), Yoga And MeditationKatherine Fillmore and Jade Morey | 4 days | 27-31 March Reiki Level 2 Reiki Level 3 A Personal Self RetreatPeople 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. Treat yourself to a personal retreat where you can wake up to bird song, walk in the morning mist, rake the sand garden and enjoy the Sound Circle in the bamboo grove. |
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| Qigong with Dr. Hu Jin-Yun |
Image: Andrew Brown | |
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 two 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, 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. Recently, 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. Thank you to all of you who continue to support our work in Ixopo with monthly and Paid Up Yogi contributions and donations, with gifts, or with skills and time. And, of course, everyone who comes to the Centre keeps us open and viable. We are deeply grateful for your generosity towards us; it encourages us to continue Louis’ beautiful vision and legacy for the future. Please continue to support the BRC by becoming a friend of the Buddhist Retreat Centre (a registered non-profit organisation) and find out more about the BRC's Paid-Up-Yogi and Sangha Friends’ projects. Chrisi Visit our website for further information, directions, image gallery etc. |
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