Updated BRC Newsflash - March 2023
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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 2023 Dear Retreatants, |
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| Starry starry night | Image: Tsunma Tsondru | |
The Venerable Old Cabbage TreeWe were so fortunate to have Tsunma Tsondru, an ordained nun in the Tibetan tradition of the Kagyu lineage, teach the “Four Immeasurable Gifts at Christmas” and the “Three Wise Medicines For Living Your Life In The New Year” over December - to packed houses - and what a gift and tonic for all who attended! Retreatants are already booking for Tsondru’s December retreats, so book early if you want a place. When I envisaged the Centre a half a century ago, I was determined to make it a Buddhist Centre so that the essential and fundamental message of Buddha’s teachings would remain alive and central to our lives in the 21st century. At the same time, I also wanted the Buddhism we offered to be about an engaged and noble life - so that is why I introduced yoga, an appreciation of art and nature, qigong and tai chi to our curriculum as a kaleidoscope of all these aspects which are all part of the Eastern tradition. For me, it was important to make this connection with these ancient cultures from which Buddhism arose. |
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| Venerable old cabbage tree | Image: Angela Shaw | |
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Teachers like Tsondru from the monastic order bring the lived tradition of the Buddha’s teachings to the Centre and encapsulate the original Dhamma teachings. While there have been the few lone voices who have asked what art has to do with Buddhism, my feeling is if any teachings can bring some joy and inspiration into our lives in these troubled times, then my work at the BRC is done. From the early times, art became a tool to convey and express the message of the Dhamma. All of our retreats introduce an element of meditation practice - even if it is just a taste - as an alternative to secular materialism. Retreatants who are interested in deepening their meditation practice will have the opportunity to do so by attending retreats with visiting monastic teachers: Sister Candasiri, Ven Chamtrul Rinpoche, Ven Khenpo Jamyang Gompo, Tsunma Tsondru who are all scheduled to teach at the BRC this year. Their retreats are published on our website. Book early. The grand news is that Ajhan Sucitto will also be teaching in South Africa from mid February. Once his dates are confirmed, we will let you know. |
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| Misty morning walk | Image: Angela Shaw | |
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Here are some beautiful reflections from Tsunma Tsondu from her December retreats. “It’s been raining like crazy and quite reliably misty, as always around December. I sometimes think this fog has been transferred from the meditators here. Because meditation helps to clear up our mental fogginess, it gets externalised, to manifest ‘outside’ rather than ‘inside’ the mind. In which case, viva the foggy forests of the BRC and strength to the clearing minds of the practitioners!” “The venerable old Cabbage Tree that stands beside the Stupa, is in its own right, also a venerable Stupa. I think perhaps we venerate constructed things too readily while the natural miracles of Earth lie all around us, unappreciated. Cabbage trees always strike me as being lofty beings, such that they are not often noticed by most passers-by, busily walking past them to something more important. May the path through the coming time lead you to light. With Metta, Tsunma Tsondru |
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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. |
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| Meditation Hall | Image: Andrew Brown | |
There are still a few spaces left on the following February retreats:
Shine your Light : Astrology Combining SoulCollage® And YogaCorinna Botoulas and Duncan Rice | Weekend | 24-26 February Qigong From The Daoist Mountain Wudang: Energy - Vastness - StillnessMax Weier | 2 days | 28 February-02 March |
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| Max Weier | Image:Joseph Zuber | |
Conducted Retreats March 2023Healing Qigong For Health And VitalityDr Hu Jin-Yun | Weekend | 3-5 March Yin And Yang: A Yoga Retreat: Release, Relax And RestoreGeorgie Carter | Weekend | 10- 12 March |
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| Still labyrinth |
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 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 in the form of PUY and Monthly contributions, new beds and bases, office chairs and a desk, a new refrigerator, bathroom towels, indigenous trees and seedlings, books for our library, a generator, garden benches, clothing and Dana for our staff, an inverter and beautiful antique scrolls and Imari platters and ceramics - 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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