BRC Newsflash - September 2019
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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: 30 August to 29 September |
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The new BRC calendar of retreats from May 2019 to April 2020 is published on our website. You will find it at www.brcixopo.co.za |
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| Buddha in spring | Image: Angela Buckland | |
How To Watch The Grass Grow…When I began building the Buddhist Retreat Centre, a friend of mine was puzzled and asked me why I would want to do something like that. To spend so much time, energy and money on building a lovely country resort solely to enable people to come and sit on black cushions - doing nothing. They would simply experience their breathing - the inhalations and exhalations, as these caused the chest to expand and contract and the abdomen to rise and fall. And to let go of everything else that would be trying to flood into their minds: thoughts, memories and emotions - no matter what they were or how important they may have seemed. To my friend, this was as loony as watching the grass grow. He was a dynamic businessman - running a string of clothing factories and shops. I had created an architectural and structural engineering consulting practice, with branch offices in many other parts of Africa. So we both had reasons to feel fulfilled in having been successful entrepreneurs. The idea of withdrawing from such achievements in order to reflect on the purpose and deeper meaning of life by noticing you were breathing was, to him, a waste of time. He wanted to advance and expand, he said - not retreat. |
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| Watch the grass grow | Image: Chantal Flores | |
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A similar dilemma happened 2500 years ago when, as a young man, Siddhartha Gautama, the future Buddha, decided to become a mendicant yogi rather than indulge in the luxurious life that awaited him as the son of a wealthy landowner in Northern India. Siddhartha’s father had been told by a yogi that his son would become one of the greatest Gurus of all time. This was bad news for dad. He had visions of his son expanding his empire - not giving it all up for some nebulous nirvana. In less dramatic ways, we all come across such a dilemma at some stage in our lives. It often happens when an incident unexpectedly pounces on you that urges you to find the deeper meaning behind your experiences - particularly the painful ones: is life just a relentless succession of random events, some joyful and others painful; or is there a larger purpose behind them that overarches them - one which I need to uncover? “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead” - Nelson Mandela. When I was 9 years old during the painful years of the Second World War in Holland, my family was reduced to poverty. Although I did not know it at the time, this is where my journey into Buddhist philosophy started: in Suffering (Dhukka) - the First of the Buddha’s Four Noble Truths. |
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| When Khentral Rinpoche smiles, the world smiles with him | Image: Laura Ackerman | |
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When I first envisioned the BRC, I wanted it to become a sanctuary and refuge of stillness for people to experience what it is like to just be: to disconnect from the wearisome routine of home and office life and simply tune into whatever happened to be around them. So - what does it mean to retreat in this way to the many people who have experienced, often for the first time, what it is like to leave behind their daily routine and sit on a black cushion letting go of the thoughts that randomly and relentlessly elbow their way into their awareness - only to return almost immediately? Your tendency then is to dismiss this tradition of meditation as hogwash - similar to the rope trick in which a flute-playing yogi throws a length of rope into the sky where it stays - stiff and upright and a small boy is made to climb up it - and disappear, out of sight. In my early travels in India, I witnessed this trick. Having since learned the power of hypnosis myself, I had to conclude that the yogi had mesmerised his audience in a similar way. Afterall, the boy had danced back into our midst - whole and hearty from the forest behind us! Is meditation a similar illusion? Or is it a delusion in which we make-believe that something real is happening, but where we have allowed our imagination to get the better of us? This is like experiencing the happenings in your dream as if they actually, physically happening to you. If you allow it, meditation can be a powerful tool to help bring you back into the present: to enable you to “Take the backward step, and turn the light inward.” - Zen Master Dogen. Only when you find that still core of being, only when you feel calm and clear, can you be in the moment-to-moment of here-now reality - even if it is as simple as listening to the coo of the dove in the Erythrina tree outside the meditation hall, or hearing a truck noisily lumbering down the D64. This is real life in all its simplicity! |
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| Valley view from Nalanda Rocks | Image: Steve McCurrach | |
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The Grass Will Be Green Again When you next visit the BRC you will see the vistas over Chibini valley have opened up as you walk from the lodge to the dining room. Landscaper and conservationist, Chris Dalzell with his team, have been hard at work to remove all the invasive trees and shrubs that have turned the once pristine grassland into potential forests. Grasslands in South Africa are one of the most threatened biomes due to plantations that have sprung up all over the country, in particular in Kwazulu Natal. With the loss of the grasslands many of the grass species plus insects and birds that rely on this vegetation for their existence are being threatened. The endangered blue swallows that breed on the hills overlooking the valley would lose their breeding ground if we lost the grasslands. Our plan for the future is to remove all the trees and shrubs that have germinated in these areas and to keep a very strict tree and seedling removal program in place. The best way to prevent trees from proliferating in grasslands is to burn and this is something we are looking at going forward. There are three main plants threatening the grasslands of which two are popular indigenous trees: the Tree Fuschia, Halleria Lucida and the False Assagai, Maesa Lanceolata. The third plant is a shrub from India called Plectranthus Barbatus which is spreading relentlessly in the meadows. It has attractive purple flowers, but is a pest. The project of restoring the grasslands will take at least a year of hard work, so if anyone would like to assist with the labour and material, please contact the office. With Spring around the corner, the sweet fragrance of the flowering wild Sage and Jasmine is in the air, with the orange, white and pink azalea bushes beginning to colour over the green. The controlled firebreaks have done their job and the wild flowers such as Pentanisia, Watsonia, Senecio, Leonotis, and Helichrysum are beginning to emerge faithfully in the burnt veld. We look forward to the summer rains when the grass will be green again. Live kindly, Louis |
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| Wild sage in full fragrant bloom | Image: Chris Dalzell | |
There are still a few spaces left on the following retreats in August:
Healing Relaxation: Opening and relaxing the heart and mind |
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| BRC flavour | Images: Wanda Hennig | |
Forthcoming Retreats: 30 August to 29 September 2019People 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 - where silence is a precious commodity - and where people meet to engage in a range of talks on Eastern and Western philosophy and psychology, and to learn yoga, chi kung, and tai chi. Step into Spring with a holistic blend of retreats on mindfulness, yoga and Ayurveda, lucid dreaming and learning to deal with difficult relationships - all with the purpose of opening up our hearts and focusing our awareness. Alternatively, treat yourself to a personal retreat where you can wake up to bird song, walk in the morning mist, rake the sand garden, listen to the wind chimes and meditate in the company of the mossy Buddha. |
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| Spring song |
Image: Al Nicoll | |
Authentic Ayurveda: Restorative Yoga And Mindful CookingEnjoy the revitalizing and rejuvenating effects of both hatha and restorative yoga. You will also learn the art of preparing a dosha-balancing meal incorporating the therapeutic properties of food, herbs and spices into your daily routine. Become your own healer! Mindful Writing - Zen Pen: A Writing, being and meditation retreatWriting opens us to the moment. It is as close as pulse and breath. Come and magnify your sense of aliveness and presence in this safe space. Mirror, Lens And Window: The art of journalingThis journal journey opens you to your creativity and imagination as you express your truths, reflect on your life and behold the window of the world with new eyes. A Taste Of Mindfulness: On Being Here-NowParticipants will be given a taste of the practice of Mindfulness, developing moment-to-moment, non-judgemental awareness. This powerful practice enables one to relate with equanimity to whatever is unfolding. The Karma And Drama Of Relationships: A Practical Buddhist ApproachDuring this retreat we will study the Buddhist approach to relationships from which we will learn that we are the creators of all our drama and that we need to take responsibility for change no matter how difficult. Tibetan Dream Yoga: The Practice Of Lucid DreamingThe aim of lucid dreaming is to awaken our consciousness in the dream state. Even though our mental state is more subtle when we are asleep, we can still remain aware with a meditative and observing mind. The Enjoyment Of Being Still And AloneEnjoy some serene “alone” time on a Self-Retreat in the beautiful, indigenous setting of the BRC with chi kung, meditation, communing with nature, enjoying the vistas of the velvet Ixopo hills, and relishing the delicious vegetarian food for which the BRC is justly renowned. |
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| BRC in bloom | Image: Beena Hatcher | |
Remembering Ans van der WaltWe were deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our dear friend Ans van der Walt who looked after our library for many years. We will remember her with great affection. |
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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-nine years, people of all religions and none have come to experience peace and tranquility. 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. The BRC facilitated the founding of Woza Moya, the community-based NGO, located in Ufafa Valley, nineteen 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 in a variety of ways by contributing Dana, sponsoring their Directors, trainers and visitors' 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 R24,000 to Woza Moya to further enable their good work among the community and to help support the 50 children who attend the Woza Moya play school. Become a friend of the Buddhist Retreat Centre (a non-profit organisation) and find out more about the BRC's Paid-Up-Yogi and Sangha Friends’ projects which help to ensure the continuity of the Centre. Thank you for the abundance that has flowed to the BRC in the form of Paid-Up-Yogis and Sangha Friends’ contributions which have enabled us to refurbish the bathrooms in the Lodge, 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, seedlings and plants, a new granite kitchen server, a new canvas parasol for the outside umbrella, kitchen utensils and crockery, 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, Marc Kornberger, Tsunma Tsondru and Lennart Eriksson and "Fairlady" magazine featuring the BRC. The Centre received a generous donation of tables, crockery, ceramics, pillows, cushions, curtains and lanterns, as well as boxes of seedlings, fruit, cheese and olives, two beautiful stone bird baths, a new fire pit for meditation under the stars and a new noticeboard. The recently donated mahogany table and chairs and table cloth in the studio have enhanced the room enormously. We welcomed two new power drills, garden tools and the high-back oak chairs for our meditation hall and generous donations towards the re-paving of the entrance road to the BRC. We are very touched by your appreciative letters, emails, support and friendship towards the BRC - your spiritual home from home. Chrisi Visit our website for further information, directions, image gallery etc. |
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| www.brcixopo.co.za | 087 809 1687 | 082 579 3037 | 031 2095995 |
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