BRC NewsFlash - September 2018
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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: 31 August to 30 September 2018
The new BRC calendar of retreats from August 2018 to July 2019 is published on our website. You will find it at www.brcixopo.co.za |
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| Stupa | Image: Chantell Flores | |
A global story - About cavesOccasionally, something dramatic happens that gives us hope that, in the midst of the doom and gloom that lurks below most global events, those Buddhist Paragons of Virtue - such as Kindness and Compassion, Courage and Selflessness - are alive and well in the human species. The Buddha also said that these beautiful emotions and states of mind are intrinsic in us and tend to respond spontaneously to suffering experienced by a fellow creature - human or animal. Indeed, by extension, to everything else that sustains the natural environment on which all creatures depend for their well-being and survival: the plants and trees, soil, air and water. But the Buddha also warned that we may tend to become selective and opinionated about who or what “deserves” our compassion. He therefore said that to withhold your kindness in cases where it is needed is equivalent to being cruel. Because the need to be kind surpasses all other emotions. Two months ago we were all transfixed by the entrapment and dramatic rescue of the school boys from their flooded cave deep within a mountain in Northern Thailand. It clearly resonated with us at deep levels of our psyche because, from our earliest days as hominid humans, caves featured prominently in our lives. They provided shelter against inclement weather and as places of refuge against enemies and dangerous wild animals. By association, this included the wild goings-on in our minds and emotions. |
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| Meditation Hall | Image: Lisa De Venter | |
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Indeed, to this day, caves along the Ganges river in India and elsewhere in the east are used by yogis and recluses when they want to practise their rigorous disciplines that tradition has handed down to them with the aim of leading them to Moksha or Nirvana: liberation from suffering and the repeated rounds of rebirths - of future lives and deaths. Caves were therefore associated with safety and protection - primarily against physical danger but, additionally, by association, against anything that threatens our psychological well-being, including negative states of mind and emotional trauma. In that sense our mind resembles a cave. Just as a cave is open to the space outside it, our mind too has windows: we are able to see, smell, taste, hear and touch the world around us. This makes it possible to interact with that world. When that happens, we experience that which is external to us as an internalised reality: we have superimposed our mental and emotional projections onto that external world. It then distorts what that world actually presents to us. Parts of our mental cave lie below the threshold of our consciousness. In order to gain access to these parts one needs to undergo strict mental disciplines because there are many secret cavities and dark alleys that hide repressed and unresolved memories of our past experiences. These tend to resonate with similar experiences that happen in the present. |
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| Lodge Foyer | Image: Chantell Flores | |
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Through these memories, therefore, organic responses in us are similar to the ones we had when we were exposed to them in real-life past situations. Dreams act in a similar way. They are caves into which we have secreted our undigested experiences that are awaiting an opportunity to act out in our lived reality. This brings me to the story of the Thai school boys who were stranded in a flooded cave in central Thailand - a story that caught the imagination and captured the world’s attention. When the boys were first discovered by British divers, they were reportedly meditating. As the mother of one of the boys exclaimed, referring to a widely-shared video of the moment the boys were found: Look how calm they were: just sitting there; just waiting. No-one was crying. It was astonishing! It turns out that their coach, Ekapol Chanthwong, who led them on a hike into the cave when it suddenly flooded, had trained in meditation as a Buddhist monk for a decade before becoming a soccer coach. He left the monastery in Mae Sai, Thailand, to care for a sick grandmother and was then hired to be the assistant soccer coach of the team known as the “Wild Boars”. Coach Ake, as he is known, still maintains close contact with the monastery. He taught the boys, ages 11 to 17, to meditate in the cave in order to keep them calm; to minimise the oxygen they were using and to preserve their energy to get them through their ordeal. That meditation would be a useful practice in extremely stressful situations like this is really no surprise. The Buddha taught it as a tool for achieving clarity, calmness and composure under all circumstances - even the most challenging ones. Because only then can we deal wisely with the difficulties that life throws at us. With our mind and emotions in disarray, it is unlikely that we can make wise decisions. Live kindly Louis |
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There are still a few spaces left on the following retreats in August: Soul origami - unfolding me | Nicholas Burnand and Sarah Dekker | 14-16 August |
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Forthcoming Retreats: 31 August to 30 September 2018People 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: a beautiful natural environment of rolling hills and acres of indigenous forests where people meet to engage in a range of unusually interesting activities, from talks on Eastern and Western philosophy, psychology and science, to yoga and Buddhist meditation and art. Surely this should set at ease even the most agitated mind? Immerse yourself in the beauty and healing energy of the BRC and explore insights from both psychology and the Buddha’s teachings on how to be your own best friend in this crazy world and transform stress and anxiety into well-being. Incorporate Mindfulness practice into your daily lives to open the heart and still the mind and to learn to to be here-now under all circumstances, even the most difficult ones. Alternatively, drop into stillness on a Self-Retreat where you can wake up to bird song, walk in the mist, rake the sand garden, listen to the wind chimes or meditate in the Zen garden with the mossy Buddha. Being Our Own Best Friend In This Crazy WorldThis is a silent meditation retreat focussing on the kind of relationship we have with ourselves and others, and what keeps us trapped in cycles of negativity and how we can establish a more natural state of ease and well-being. The Healing Power Of The Four Immeasurables And Tonglen MeditationThe Four Immeasurables offer Equanimity, Sympathetic Joy, Loving-Kindness and Compassion towards ourselves and others. These boundless states can replace the narrow states of mind like fear, jealousy and anger, as the heart opens towards the world beyond our limited selves. Transforming Fear: How To Turn Stress And Anxiety Into Well-BeingTo reduce the suffering in the world we need the skills to reduce our own. This workshop will teach you practical, effective tools to do exactly that. Open The Heart And Still The Mind: Finding Joy Within UsThrough the teachings and practices of compassionate wisdom, we will cultivate a calm, spacious awareness which generates courage and trust in the face of change, uncertainty and loss. A Taste Of Mindfulness: On Being Here-NowThis retreat will give participants a taste of the practice of Mindfulness: developing moment-to-moment non-judgemental awareness. The Profundity Of Solitude - The Enjoyment Of Being Still And AloneEnjoy some “alone” time on a Self-Retreat in the beautiful, indigenous setting of the BRC with chi kung, meditation, communing with nature, and enjoying the delicious vegetarian food for which the BRC is justly renowned. |
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| Valley Path | Image: Chantell Flores | |
You too can sketch what you can see!-with Louis van Loon
Louis has conducted sketching workshops for more than 30 years at the BRC. He is now offering a course in Durban. The intention is to run an introductory course. We will progress from still lives, to interiors and outside locations. Date: September 29 and 30. Cost: R900 – includes a set of sample sketches, practice paper and pen. Catering: bring your own lunch. Tea/coffee included. |
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Chrisi |
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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 thirty-eight 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, 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. The BRC facilitated the founding of Woza Moya, the community-based NGO, located in Ufafa Valley, eighteen years ago, on the estate. Their vision is for all people in the community to be healthy and productive, living in a safe and clean environment, with good access to services and social justice. The Centre 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 the shop such as the sock monkeys, cushions, bags, scarves, beanies and stationery. The Woza Moya Crafters are local women who receive ongoing training and support to enable them to create these unique and charming best sellers. This year as a result of retreatants' Dana (Generosity), the BRC was able to donate R18,000 to Woza Moyà to further enable their good work among the community. Become a friend of the Centre and find out more about the BRC's "Paid-Up-Yogi and Sangha Friends" projects all of which help to ensure the continuity of this non-profit organisation. Thank you for the abundance that has flowed to the BRC over these last months in the form of “Paid-Up-Yogis” and Sangha Friends’ contributions which have enabled us to refurbish the ladies’ Lodge bathroom, tile the entrance to the dining room and install a tea station in the Lodge for those hot cups of milo on the cooler misty nights. We are grateful for the truck-load of indigenous trees, herbs and plants, a new granite kitchen server, a new canvas parasol for the outside umbrella, kitchen utensils, garden tools, books for our library, beautiful beige towels, soft new pillows, Woollies duvet covers, a coffee plunger, a marvellous collection of illustrated books on the Sumie tradition, some of which have been long out of print, a beautiful silk scarf for Louis from Sikkhim to use during the Chinese tea ceremony, Elsa Pooley's book on flowers for the library, a generous donation towards installing LED lights to reduce our energy consumption and stunning photographs from Andrew Brown and "Fairlady" magazine featuring the BRC. We welcomed a Bosch power drill, and the high-back oak chairs that now grace our meditation hall. We have been so touched by your appreciative letters, emails, support and friendship towards the BRC - your spiritual home from home. The "Buddha Buzz" 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 away from the buildings, and to relocate 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 2017/18 brought a wonderful resurgence to the flora, especially the Halleria Lucida (Tree Fuschia) which abounds at the Centre, and so far we harvested 450 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. We thank our resident staff, our patrons, retreatants and teachers for their on-going support in keeping the Dharma wheels turning. 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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To sit down somewhere and draw what is right in front of you is one of the most enjoyable and rewarding of hobbies – whether you are on holiday or just having a cup of coffee at your local corner café. Everyone has that skill. You just need to overcome the notion that you need to have a special talent to make a sketch.
