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The Buddhist Retreat Centre |
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Ixopo, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa | For people of all religions | |
Dear Retreatant
BRC Newsflash: April 2017In February and March, the BRC again featured retreats that showed us how Buddhism has penetrated into every aspect of modern society.
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Image: Sean Laurenz
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Ian Weinberg (A Neurosurgeon Probes Wellness And Performance) took us on a dizzying ride into the microcosm, the atom, and into the outer reaches of the visible and invisible universe via Quantum Physics - arriving finally inside the human brain and the way personality and our life experiences are shaped by a multitude of factors - from how we think and process our emotional lives to what we eat. Those of us who have studied the Abhidhamma - the Buddha’s most intellectually challenging teachings - were stunned to see how these teachings, formulated 2500 years ago, foreshadowed these latest scientific findings. Something very special must have happened under that Bodhi tree that long ago…. |
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Image: Angela Shaw
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Tsunma Tsundra (Buddha Touches The Earth) also showed the contemporary relevance of Buddhism when she emphasised that Buddhism, as we have come to recognise in modern times, represents a challenge to establish an intimate and caring relationship with our environment and our fellow beings - human and otherwise. She emphasised something we have started to realise: we exploit and destroy nature at our peril…. The upsurge in interest in the 5000-year old practice of Hatha Yoga was also the subject of Bruce van Dongen’s retreat (Going With The Flow). It is clear that Yoga has become main-stream in the modern world! Thank you for all your support over these past two months! |
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Images: Sean Laurenz
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Forthcoming Retreats: March 31 to May 1, 2017As usual, the retreats offered at the BRC during April cover a large spectrum of topics that enable one to experience the truly amazing way in which Buddhism is so relevant to the kind of life we live - here, in South Africa - 25 centuries after this philosophy first came into being in the north of India. All these retreats, in one way or the other, urge us to adopt holistic ways of living - whether through physical disciplines such as Yoga or Recovery Therapy, or psychological and mental ones, such as mindfulness practice and meditation. Make your choice! |
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There are still a few spaces left on: |
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Image: Sean Laurenz
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Meditation For BeginnersAn interactive retreat designed to help those new to meditation to understand and experience Mindfulness (sati) as a powerful tool to positively transform our mind, emotions and behaviour. The Awakening Shift Experience: Realise Your Magnificence!The Shift Experience is based on John’s own experiences and insights, taking retreatants through a shift from living too much in their heads to heart-centred living. Ancient “I AM” Teachings For The New Golden AgeReverse your negative mind-set with “I AM” sick, tired, afraid, poor, angry, and learn the right use of these words, to create lives of peace and harmony. Sitting Quietly - Doing Nothing: A Contemplative Easter RetreatThis retreat will cultivate a state of sustained calmness and clarity in an atmosphere of Noble Silence, with meditation, mindful walking and periods of rest and reflection, culminating in a traditional Chinese Tea Ceremony. Strong In Body, Peace In Mind: Rejuvenate And Restore With YogaWe will rediscover the essence of traditional yoga which aims to restore one’s health and vitality and develop emotional stability, calmness and serenity. The Zen Of Recovery: Twelve Steps To Wholeness And Well-BeingWe all have a deeper sense of what it takes to bring about wholeness and fulfilment in our life, no matter how embedded we have become in negative states of mind and emotions. This retreat will give us the tools to do so. Sumie workshopLouis van Loon is offering another one of his popular workshops on Sumie: Japanese brush painting "Make the brush dance and the ink sing!." in Durban on 25 and 26 March 2017. Participants will learn how to make the traditional strokes used in this unique 5000 year-old art to paint plant and landscape studies with a special, imported deer-hair brush - dipped in Pine-soot ink on mulberry paper. Advance NoticeSHIBUIE: The Accident of Beauty in May 2017An introduction to Japanese Brush Painting (Sumi-e) & Raku Pottery Chrisi
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Image: Sean Laurenz
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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 more than thirty six 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. In 1989, the BRC was awarded Natural Heritage status by President Mandela for turning an eroded farm into the natural paradise it has become with 160 species of birds, including the Blue Swallow, otter, deer and indigenous forests. The BRC facilitated the founding of Woza Moya, the community-based NGO, located in Ufafa Valley. It continues to support the organisation in a variety of ways. Visit our website for further information, directions, image gallery etc. |
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www.brcixopo.co.za | 039 834 1863 | 087 809 1687 | 082 579 3037 | 031 2095995 |
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