Updated BRC Newsflash - December 2022

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The Buddhist Retreat Centre

Ixopo, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

For people of all religions

BRC Newsflash: December 2022

Dear Retreatants,

• Max Weier will be teaching at the BRC from 28 February to 23 March 2023. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn qigong and meditation from a great master. His retreats are published on our website www.brcixopo.co.za.
• Our Christmas retreat "The Four Immeasurable Gifts" with Tsunma Tsondru is filling up quickly so if you are needing a quiet space to slow down into the moment, Ixopo calls. Book early to avoid disappointment.
• International teachers, Jonathan Preboy and Anna Scharfenberg, are offering a 10-day Vipassana retreat from 9-19 January 2023. Book soon as spaces are limited.
• Venerable Chamtrul Rinpoche will be returning to South Africa and will lead a retreat “Tibetan Dream Yoga: The Practice Of Lucid Dreaming” from 24-26 March 2023.

In Remembrance of June Atkinson

Sadly, I share the news of June Atkinson’s death, recently. We will hold her in our hearts with great affection.

I will always have fond memories of June helping to establish the BRC and it is the contribution she has made to the Dhamma and to our lives over the past forty years that is particularly important to acknowledge and pay tribute to. Her dedication and loyalty to the Centre, her introduction to meditation for newcomers and early morning qigong sessions were always deeply appreciated. Her steadfast meditation practice at retreats was always an encouragement to others ‘to practice when you feel like it and practice especially when you don’t feel like it’ as the only way to inch towards enlightenment - setting aside your personal preferences and your prejudices and ‘to simply sit.’

Her spiritual friendship and wisdom have sustained so many people and will continue to do so along the way – and for this we offer her a deep bow of gratitude.

June’s presence will always be felt in Ixopo and her imprint is everywhere - indelible - in every flower and protea, in the rocks, the little bridges, the zen garden, the deer trails and the forests. Her deep compassion for all beings - especially those in need - and for all creatures was always a guide to us in how to relate to each other and to live our lives with meaning and care.

May your entire being be gathered into the universe and suffused with love.

We will meet again….

Louis

Junaq

Making Space For Accidental Beauty To Emerge

December is always the time for our 4-day retreat “Shibuie: Accidental Beauty".

I first encountered Sumie - the ancient form of Japanese brush painting - on my travels to the East in the 1960’s when I enrolled in a course in Kyoto run by a Sumie artist of some note. What attracted me to this art form is the way the artist paints with bold lines, and with no hesitation or correction - similar to the way we should be living our lives - capturing the unique reality of each moment as fully, wholeheartedly and directly as possible. Once you have done or said something, particularly when it affects another, it can never be undone. Similarly, a brushstroke on absorbent paper, can never be undone.

In Sumie, the important thing is not about copying a subject, but rather about developing an intimacy with it so that it exists as a subliminal experience which you can draw on when you want to paint it. Only the essential nature of the subject matters. In this way, you become very alert to the world around you. The brushstrokes we make on the paper are as important as the spaces that are left between them – after all, that is where the dragons live.

The idea of Shubuie or accidental beauty comes into play because Sumie is concerned only with the moment - the ink, the brush and the way you hold it as it strikes the absorbent paper is not under your control.

Ingrid Adams who is currently enrolled for a Doctoral thesis on this art form, and ceramicists, Nina and Kate Shand, will be leading Shibuie from 12-16 December.

A candle-lit Chinese Tea Ceremony will be held on the last night.

Why not try this unique art form? 

With Metta,

Louis

Now And Zen: Reboot, Recharge And Retreat

There 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. For the month of November we are offering a 10% discount for a mid week sojourn in Ixopo.

There are still a few spaces left on the following November retreat:

The Roots Of Sacred Drumming: Exploring Natural Rhythms

Richard Ellis and Marc Kress | Weekend | 25-27 November
Drumming and music-making are ancient ways of transcending our routine lifestyle, opening ourselves to spiritual realms of healing and creativity, which is experienced as liberating, rejuvenating and promotes deep relaxation and healing. In this retreat we will learn basic drumming techniques and explore rhythmic creativity which will be combined with meditation practice and contemplation. A Sound Journey meditation using exotic instruments will also be included. The objective of this retreat is to find a balance between the hands-on experience of drumming and its more profound spiritual effects on the human psyche.
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Conducted Retreats December 2022

 indicates retreats held in Noble Silence

Yoga Mind, Body And Breath: A Journey Of Self-Discovery

Marc Kress | Weekend | 2-4 December

The 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 a process of re-connecting to our body and breath, coming back into the present moment. The ancient yogis realized that in order to be able to meditate effectively requires a healthy, strong body, so they developed yoga postures (asanas), cleansing techniques and breathing exercises (pranayama). Through regular practise of asanas, pranayama and meditation, yoga unlocks the deeper levels of our being. It is a way of moving into stillness in order to experience the truth of who we are. This retreat is open to beginners and experienced students. Please bring a yoga mat.
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A Neurosurgeon Probes Wellness And Performance: Psychoneuroimmunology

Ian Weinberg | Weekend | 9-11 December

In the last of a series of workshops which Ian has presented over the past 13 years, he will explore the chemistry which mediates the effects of mind states on the body: psychoneuroimmunology or PNI. The talks and demonstrations will show that we can attain optimal wellness and performance by getting to know our temperament and personality traits; by being more present-minded; and through sensible, informed ways of living and behaving.
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Shibuie - When Beauty Happens Accidentally: Sumie And Raku – Japanese Brush Painting And Pottery

Ingrid Adams, Kate and Nina Shand | 4 days | 12-16 December
Shibuie is the ancient Japanese concept of Accidental Beauty in which the artist is just one ingredient in a number of dynamic interacting natural processes, the outcome of which is delightfully unpredictable, but strangely beautiful - not ego-driven or deliberate. Ingrid will teach the classical Japanese brush painting techniques (Sumie) as these are applied to traditional subjects, such as landscape, bamboo and flower studies - as well as contemporary subjects. We will use the genuine, traditional materials: solid pine-soot ink, a hollowed-out slate to liquefy it, a deer-hair bamboo-stemmed brush and absorbent mulberry paper. Tools will be provided. Each retreatant will receive a bisque-fired tea bowl to sumie-decorate and glaze. The kiln will be fired up by Kate and Nina, after which we will watch the magic as the pots emerge triumphantly from the scorching heat! A candle-lit Chinese Tea Ceremony will be held on the last night.
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“You Can’t Fill The Hole In Your Heart With Food”…And Other Things - Jan Chozen Bays Mindful Eating: The hidden gifts of our compulsions

Xenia Ayiotis | Weekend |16-18 December
Food 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 also draws on techniques from Cognitive Behaviour Therapy that enable us to become aware of - and manage - the sometimes destructive patterns and habits around food, eating and our bodies. The focus is on creating a healthy relationship with food, using a non-judgemental and compassionate approach to re-learning internal physical and emotional cues to guide us when, what and how much we eat, also examining our rules around food. We will look at how to deal with cravings and urges through the development of mindfulness skills. Through a process of enquiry, we will explore the emotional triggers that often lead us to overeating and binge eating, and how these may be understood and effectively dealt with.
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The Four Immeasurable Gifts At Christmas

Tsunma Tsondru | 3 days accommodation | 23-26 December

Imagine! Imagine all the people, living life in peace - John Lennon

Christmas is a time of the giving of gifts. All birthdays are honoured with gift-giving. Usually these gifts are of ‘things’. Yet, the very best gift we can give is not anything tangible or material. It is to definitively take away the suffering of oneself, and of others. And this, after all, is the reason why we give material gifts in the first place. It’s also the reason why we do the myriad things we do in our lives. It’s because we are constantly in pursuit of this (seemingly unattainable) state of being: peace, happiness, contentment, an absence of ‘niggle’. The Four Immeasurable Gifts are the ultimate gift. They are boundless equanimity, loving kindness, compassion, and joy. They define a path and practice leading to all-encompassing peace and happiness. They lead us back to our true nature, which is peace. Take time out at the BRC this Christmas to slow down into the moment and unwrap the Four Immeasurable Gifts. We will discover them through meditation, contemplation, journaling, and by just being present. The retreat will be held in an atmosphere of silence and introspection.
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Let Your Light Shine: Kindle Your Creative Energy

Charisse Louw | 3 days | 26-29 December

Don't you know yet? It is your light that lights the World - Jalaluddin Rumi

In this retreat we will explore a full bouquet of ancient energy practices - such as qigong, tapping, yin yoga, free dance, sunning, breath work, shaking and meditation techniques, while exploring creative expression through movement and stillness, the written word and art. In the beautiful tranquil environment of the BRC, we will find healing in Nature through mindfulness and co-creation. This is a compassionate and open-hearted space for celebrating the light that you are. Beginners and seasoned practitioners are welcome.
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Three Wise Medicines For Living Your Life In The New Year

This retreat is full

Tsunma Tsondru | 4 days | 29 December - 02 January 2023

The spiritual life is first of all a life. It is not merely something to be known and studied, it is to be lived - Thomas Merton

New Year is a good time of the year to take stock and contemplate our moment-to-moment, here-and-now reality in all its fullness. It’s a traditional time for clarifying our motivations, and for starting afresh with new intentions. A time, in other words, to reboot the system. Give yourself the gift of time over this New Year period to collect the Three Wise Medicines of gratitude, ahimsa and contentment, to reflect on the past year, and uncover how you can best live your life in the coming year. During this time together we will let our body, speech and mind fall silent through the practice of meditation and silence. In working with the Three Wise Medicines, there will also be time for writing and contemplation, walking and ceremony especially outside in nature. We will welcome the New Year with a lantern-lit ceremony and ring out the old year with an ancient Chinese temple gong. The retreat will be held in an atmosphere of silence and introspection.
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A Personal Self Retreat: Walk Into Stillness And Summer

People 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.
Marc Kress will be offering daily sessions of yoga mid-week from 27 November to 2 December.
Venessa Muller will be in situ to offer guided meditation mid week.
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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 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.

We are deeply grateful for your generous gifts to the Centre this year: new  beds and bases, office chairs and a desk, bathroom towels, indigenous trees and seedlings, books for our library, a generator, a  garden bench, clothing and Dana for our staff - and so much more. 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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