Making the decision to become a full-time volunteer at Tara Rokpa wasn’t an easy one. Should I go, and leave my family? Will I miss my family (obviously)? Will I like it there? I know I am a loner, but am I ready for that level of solitude? I know I’ve been on retreat before, [...]
Concern for Our Community We take the health of our entire community very seriously and would like to make a clear statement on our current approach to the Covid-19 threat. We wish to take care of those who attend retreats, our staff and residents, and the local community of Rietvaly. North West Province has poor [...]
We continue to enjoy the best summer rains we have had for many years. The rains have led to abundant growth, as well as challenges around maintenance, with leaking buildings, broken lawnmowers, electricity breakdowns on top of load shedding and often impassable dirt roads. But the saturated earth seems to be bursting with thanks. At [...]
Never mind delusions of grandeur, I have just discovered I’m mired in delusions of compassion. I thought I had an idea of what compassion is and isn’t. I don’t! You know how, when you are doing Ngondro, or Chenrezig, simply contemplating the suffering of beings in the lower realms can bring tears to your eyes? [...]
Tara Rokpa Centre is a peaceful retreat centre, situated on 280 hectares of land. TRC hosts a variety of retreats and events throughout the year, and can sleep up to 60 participants, on three sites. Although our roots are Buddhist, the centre is multi-purpose and offers opportunities for spiritual, emotional, social and environmental healing. TRC [...]
Getting to the retreat was, for those of us who arrived in the second week, quite an experience – the rains had turned the roads into deep mud, and alternative routes were equally rough. Other participants had travelled from the northern hemisphere, or from different corners of South Africa, all drawn to spend hours a [...]
Are we held so close to a cacophony A constantly cluttered carry all; finger tight That the truth goes missing? So deafened by the on-screen streaming The strongly selected and over presented - That we are always asking for more - The wild rabbit hole mind – blind Hands full - falling? Even as [...]
Tara Rokpa Centre is a supreme setting for this special retreat. Set in the dramatic scenery of the North West province - wild and wonderful – busting with all the elements of nature and with the living solidity of the Eco/ Adobe buildings - this venue established by our beloved teacher, Akong Rinpoché, made for [...]
The tradition of encampments is seen in the nomadic lifestyles of the fourth to the ninth Karmapas, as they travelled through the peaks and valleys of the Tibetan landscape. Notably, it was not what the areas offered the travellers that would encourage them to set up camp for periods of time, but rather where, “the [...]
I felt a fair amount of trepidation ahead of spending my first Christmas away from family and friends, meditating with a group of strangers - but I have no regrets! Tara Rokpa Centre is situated in a beautiful part of South Africa’s North West Province, in a lush green valley where every day is full [...]
