BRC NewsFlash - August 2017
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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: August 2017
Ubuntu in Ixopo:We tend to be focussed on the big stories that made the New South Africa possible - often missing the many smaller, seemingly insignificant incidents that, collectively, made the bigger ones possible. It is like a swing in a children's playground : it needs only a little nudge to get it going, and only a few additional nudges to send it swinging further and further... It is like that with acts of Generosity. |
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Image: Angela Shaw |
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I was moved, for instance, when I read a story in our local newspaper which related how, forty years ago, a local shop keeper, Baba Moosa of Moosa Bux Bazaar, Ixopo, had helped Judge Raymond Zondo achieve his present status in South African society. He is now the Deputy Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. As a youngster, Zondo had approached Sulaiman Bux for a loan to enable him to study law. He said he had a passion to help correct the many wrongs he had witnessed and experienced in the South Africa of his day. He explained that his mother had exhausted all of her savings in paying for his education thus far. She was worried how she, and Zondo's siblings, would survive if her son were going to further his studies. Bux looked Zondo intently into his eyes. Then said: "Okay - I won't give you money. But I will give you a voucher which you must give to your mother. Once a month she can come to my shop where she will be given groceries up to the value of R 20 or R 40." The story reminded me of a similar incident I recounted in one of our Newsletters some time ago in which I related how a sparkling, young black woman suddenly hugged me in the middle of Musgrave Shopping Centre in Durban. Puzzled, I asked why I had deserved this very lovely gesture. She then had a similar story to Zondo's to tell: I had enabled her, by paying for her further education to become one of Edgar's principal fashion buyers. She had never looked back, but had always remembered how seemingly casual responses to a need in someone's else's life can trigger a momentum of events that take people to places they could never have achieved otherwise. She was now, in turn, practising this herself. The Buddha stressed that our religious practice is not just a set of beliefs, which often take you away from practical issues, such as how to live a noble and compassionate life. That is why his formulation of the worthwhile qualities that constitute such a life starts with Dana, or Generosity, out of which flow other beautiful sentiments, such as Virtue and Compassion and, interestingly, Patience and Forbearance. Have a look at our forthcoming retreats, because they also, in one way or another, explore the sentiments I have expressed above. Louis |
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| Zendo | Image: Angela Shaw | |
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Forthcoming Retreats: 4 to 27 August, 2017In August, spend some time with a neurosurgeon who will probe wellness and performance, and experience a Zen retreat which will show you how to make a bridge between formal meditation practice and daily life. Take the opportunity for some soulful silence to step away from your busy lives into tranquillity, and enjoy hatha yoga for health and resilience, Take the opportunity to attend teachings with a wise Tibetan teacher who will help you to deepen your insight into the true nature of existence. A Neurosurgeon Probes Wellness And PerformanceThe talks will show that we can attain optimal wellness and performance by getting to know our temperament and personality traits by being more present-minded. Stoep Zen: Living A Zen Life In South AfricaLearn to apply traditional Zen Buddhism to contemporary life - to be able to meditate in a chair on a stoep as well as on a cushion in the Zendo. The Art And Heart Of Writing Your StoryA hands-on, inspirational retreat for those who have a burning story to write but need some guidance to find the fire-lighter to kickstart it. Yogis Live LongerEnjoy a weekend of hatha yoga for health and resilience. The Heart SutraChamptrul Rinpoche will explain the key points of the sutra, which are obscure to the ordinary mind, to help us deepen our insight into the true nature of existence. |
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Silent Auction and Raffle
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| Buddha Boma | Image: Chantelle Flores | |
The 37th Annual General Meetingof |
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Visiting International Teachers at the BRC
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Chamtrul Rinpoche conducts a retreat: The Heart Sutra from 25-27 August.He has taught for over 20 years to thousands of Tibetan monks and foreign students (monks, nuns and lay people), in Tibet, India and other countries. In the words of Rinpoche himself: “Teaching is what I do in this life. Wherever someone asks me to teach, I am there.” More details on Chamtrul Rinpoche’s life can be found on Rinpoche’s offical site in the page “autobiography”. For more information and for updates on Rinpoche’s teachings please visit: Bhikkhu Sukhacitto and Janet Surrey conduct An Introduction To Insight Dialogue from 12-17 December.Bhikkhu Sukhacitto is an ordained monk since 1990 and an Insight Dialogue Teacher. He has lived at various monasteries in the West, including Dhammapala Monastery in Switzerland for six years and at Amaravati Monastery, UK, for 4 years. Janet Surrey, PhD, is an Insight Dialogue Teacher. She teaches Insight Dialogue retreats worldwide and leads a monthly practice group in Boston, USA. She has studied with a number of Vipassana teachers for over 25 years. She is a practising clinical psychologist and founding scholar of the Jean Baker Miller Training Institute at the Wellesley Centres for Women. She is on the faculty and board of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy. |
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Take A Sneak Peek At Our New Schedule Of RetreatsSee the attached Sneak Peek for our new schedule of retreats from September 2017 to October 2018 and take the opportunity to book in advance for your favourite retreats. Call 0878091687 or . Click here to view the full details of the retreats on our website. |
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Image: Chantelle Flores | |
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-seven 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, sixteen years ago. It continues to support the organisation in a variety of ways by contributing Dana, sponsoring their trainers, visitors and Directors' accommodation, and showcasing their wonderful crafts in our shop. Thank you for the amazing gifts and abundance that has flowed to the BRC over these last six months in the form of beautiful thankas, woven carpets, curtains, ornaments, Tibetan artefacts and furniture for the refurbishment in the Lodge, PUY contributions and other donations, trees, herbs and plants, and books for our library. We have been so touched by your gifts and appreciative letters, emails, support and friendship. 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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