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? [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
by the lazy Buddhist #ImStaying is a Facebook group that has taken South Africa by storm. With over 891 000 members (and counting) guys, it’s big. It was founded on 7 September 2019 with the core ethos to honour all those who still believe that we as a nation can turn things around. With so [...]
Patience is not really my thing... which has made the Buddhist quality of forbearance tricky to understand, never mind put into practice. Tai Situpa defined forbearance using three very practical aspects. (https://www.samyeling.org/buddhism-and-meditation/teaching-archive-2/chamgon-khentin-tai-situpa/the-paramita-of-forbearance/) The first is to refrain from hurting those who have hurt us. The second is to cope with whatever suffering we have to [...]
There I was, living at the tip of Africa looking for something, not really sure what, confused by the roots of my German-Indian descent: not at home, nor here nor there, standing on the halfway line between those two worlds. They say Cape Town is one of the most beautiful places on earth and South [...]
A Valentines’ weekend workshop By Dorcas B. Molefe The workshop was facilitated by Dharma teacher, Dr Ava Avalos, at one of the few places with clean air and clean water; a place of luxurious shades of green, on the weekend of 15 to 17 February, 2019. Dr Avalos’ profound teachings were based on Zen Buddhism, [...]
Planting of a cherry tree in the food forest in memory of Susan As most of you know by now, our friend Susan died on Wednesday 23rd of January 2019. On Sunday 10 Feb, a cherry tree was planted in memory of Susan in Tatjana's food forest at TRC. Susan loved cherries - they reminded [...]
