A silent retreat at The Buddhist Retreat Centre (BRC) Ixopo
‘I just had a feeling of being grounded – in the right place at the right time. When I said to the estate agent, “Yes, I’ll take it”, he said: “But you haven’t seen it!? Don’t you want to come back in better weather?” I insisted; I knew I was home. Sometimes it’s right to act on instinct, or intuition – call it what you like. This comes more certain than reasoning,’ says founder of the BRC, Louis van Loon, as he shares the story of how he first discovered his Utopia. It used to be completely bare: now tall trees, lawns, shrubs and little pathways abound.
‘All these trees will survive me; I think this has been here virtually forever,’ Louis says, as he walks over to the closest Bodhi Tree (the type of tree Buddha sat under when he attained enlightenment). ‘The leaves are like our minds. They have a reflective, light side and a dull side. And they move in the wind – the symbolic winds of success and failure. The reflective side shines outward to the world, it doesn’t keep the light to itself – it gives it away straight away.’
Louis, originally from Amsterdam, came to SA for risk and adventure – he didn’t want a ‘predictable, comfortable life in Holland’. He inspired similar centres in other parts of the country after founding the BRC in 1980. His right hand in running the centre is his wife, Chrisi, who he met when she came on a bird-watching retreat at the BRC. Together they founded Woza Moya, a community-based NGO, to empower the rural community.
On the weekend we attend, the retreat is celebrating Wesak. Buddhists worldwide celebrate this during the full moon of May; it recalls the Enlightenment of the Buddha and his birth and death. Candles in paper bags are lit and set up in a circle around the big Buddha sculpture Louis himself had built, and we walk around it. Retreats are run along various themes – from drawing and writing to the nature of relationships, health and meditation. They’re often run by visiting teachers.
Accommodation options range from shared quarters to luxury suites. They’re all simply and tastefully decorated with warm kilim rugs and paper lightshades softening the lights. It was a really special time.