BRC NewsFlash - December 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: December 2017
The new BRC calendar of retreats from October 2017 to September 2018 is published on our website for those who have opted not to receive the printed brochure by post. You will find it at www.brcixopo.co.za |
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| Stupa spire | Image: Lisa de Venter | |
"All states of being are determined by mind. It is mind that leads the way. As surely as our shadow never leaves us, so well-being will follow when we speak or act with a pure state of mind”
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| Light on the wattle plantation | Image: Lisa de Venter | |
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When Greed captures our mind, it drags along its brothers, Hatred and Delusion. The Buddha compared these brothers to our shadow: just like our shadow never leaves us no matter where we go, so our minds are forever pursued by our negative emotions - your three evil brothers. His teachings therefore concern themselves with displacing them by their beautiful sisters, Loving-Kindness, Compassion and Forgiveness. These reflections showed me, once again, how such Buddhist insights find relevance in our modern world, 2500 years after they were first formulated. Louis |
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| BRC Cats | Images: L de Venter , S. Laurenz, A. Buckland, L. Erikson | |
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There are still a few spaces left on: |
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| Blue sky and shaded seating | Image: Chantelle Flores | |
Forthcoming Retreats: 1 December to 1 January, 2018In December, step into summer with a new, unique retreat “ Building Your BounceBackAbility” with Graeme Williams who will guide you into coping better with change and adversity. Explore journalling around sensuality, eating and living with journalist, Wanda Hennig, and delve into your own story. Don't miss "Introduction To Insight Dialogue" from 12-17 December led by renowned international teachers, Bikkhu Sukhacitto and Janet Surrey who will introduce us to something quite new - a form of interpersonal meditation practice that focuses on communication as a way of discovering our deeper truth. Aspiring artists can make the brush dance and the ink sing with Sumie, Japanese brush painting, and can watch how ‘accidental beauty’ emerges with the Raku process. Develop a sense of composure and balance with tai chi - chi kung and feel the all-round benefits of this ancient practice. Enjoy Christmas and New Year - with a difference - in silence. Alternatively, opt for a ‘soulful’ Self-Retreat where you can take time out to rake the sand gardens, welcome the Blue Swallows home, walk the indigenous forests, listen to the wind chimes and revel in the Piet-my-vrou of the red-chested cuckoo or meditate in the Zen garden with the mossy Buddha. Building Your “BounceBackAbility”Feeling overwhelmed by stress, change and disappointments? In this retreat you will learn how to flourish in adversity, and “smile in trouble, gather strength from distress and grow brave by reflection”. Leonardo da Vinci From The Inside Out: The Human Dynamics Of SustainabilityA mid-week retreat for those who wish to develop ethical, compassionate, forward-looking, collaborative and effective leadership, and who want to contribute to a better world. On Giving Good Ear: The Zen Of ListeningUngrounded fears and ‘stories’ we tell ourselves can trap us in unsatisfying ‘comfort’ zones. Meditation and journalling are two ways to reach the source of inner freedom and choice. Communication, A Path To UnderstandingThe focus on this retreat is using the form of Insight Dialogue in a safe and supportive space to explore mindful conversation and inquiry so our deeper truth can be heard and received, enabling authentic relationship, understanding and healing. Bursaries are available. Please enquire: Shibuie: When Beauty Happens AccidentallyLearn the classical Japanese brush painting techniques (Sumie) as these are applied to the traditional subjects such as the bamboo and plum blossom, and admire the pots (Raku) as they emerge triumphantly from the fire. Grounded In Space: A Tai Chi - Chi Kung RetreatThrough slow, gentle body movements, release your Chi and experience a deep sense of well-being, vigour and health. Catching The Ungraspable Moment: Christmas At the BRCIn this retreat we will discover how we forget to live in the here and now when we focus too much on what is past and fret about what may happen in the future. New Year At The BRCEscape the mayhem, unwind and immerse yourself in sunrise chi kung, meditation practice and silence. This is a good time to take stock, and welcome the new year with a renewed willingness to take life on the chin and make whatever comes along workable. A Self-Retreat: The Profundity Of Solitude – The Enjoyment Of Being Still And AloneEnjoy a quiet time in the beautiful, indigenous setting of the BRC with chi kung and meditation, walks and communing with nature. |
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| Sunlit path at the BRC | Image: Lisa de Venter | |
Visiting International Teachers at the BRCThis is a rare opportunity to attend a retreat with Bhikkhu Sukhacitto and American teacher, Janet Surrey, and to explore the possibilities of a fully engaged co-meditation practice.
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Bhikkhu Sukhacitto and Janet Surrey conduct Wise Communication As A Path To Understanding, Authenticity and Healing 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. Testimonial for Janet Surrey, who will be teaching an Insight Dialogue Retreat with Bhikkhu Sukhacitto at the BRC from 12-17 December In 2013, I attended my first Insight Dialogue Retreat with Janet Surrey in Gloucester, MA, U.S.A I had no idea how to meditate with another person, especially looking right into their eyes. Janet’s presence and knowledge of the Dharma brought us to the contemplation theme “Suffering”, the first Noble Truth. Using the Insight Dialogue guidelines, she led us to an interpersonal, mutual relationship with ourselves and others. Mindful communication has helped transform relationships in my life. It has brought tranquility to my heart and a deeper understanding of people by breaking down walls from habitual tendencies of communication. I am so grateful for Janet Surrey’s teachings and I love attending her Sangha in Cambridge, MA whenever I can. She is a remarkable teacher with so much wisdom and provides a nice refuge for many people. The experience of practising meditation with another human body has taught me how to accept humanity with humility and loving kindness. Marie Rudinsky |
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Many thanks to all our BRC friends for supporting our Silent Auction fund-raiserA magnificent total of R120,000.00 was raised as a result of your generous support of our Silent Auction and Raffle We cannot thank you enough! Additional thanks must go to our wonderful Committee members: Rene Stevenson, Pam Evans, Rosemary Turner and Rob Havemann for all their hard work in making the auction happen. Grateful thanks too must go to all the donors who contributed the beautiful items so willingly for the auction and also the friends who made cash donations. And the raffle winners are: Neil Stevenson, Lauren Huntington and Claire Bell. Congratulations! Thank you to everyone who supported this so generously. |
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Path from the Stupa to the Dining Room
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Image: Chantel 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. 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. 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 and promoting their wonderful crafts in our shop. Thank you for the abundance that has flowed to the BRC over these last two months in the form of PUY contributions and other donations, trees, herbs and plants, a new granite kitchen server, a new canvas parasol for the outside umbrella, kitchen utensils, books for our library, thirty-five beautiful beige towels, a marvelous collection of illustrated books on the Sumie tradition, some of which have been long out of print and stunning photographs from "Fairlady" magazine. We have been so touched by your appreciative letters, emails, support and friendship. The good news for friends of the BRC is that we now have pure natural honey produced from the estate. The project started when Rob Pooley, an apiarist from Botha’s Hill, was consulted about the influx of bees into the buildings. He suggested placing catcher boxes to entice the bees and then relocating them to an apiary site above the Deer Park. This worked remarkably well and over 40 hives were relocated to the apiary. However, the drought of 2015/2016 had a devastating effect and with a dearth of food, it led to a reduction of hives to 30. Good rains at the beginning of this year brought a wonderful resurgence to the flora, especially the Halleria Lucida (Tree Fuschia) which abounds at the Centre, and so far this year we have managed to harvest 250 kg of honey. Without the help of Colin and his staff during the drought in helping to feed the bees with a mixture of glucose and water, the results would not be so positive. May our bees remain happy and busy and may the honey flow. 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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