This has been an astonishing winter. For the first time in many years we had a thick blanket of snow covering the house and outbuildings, softening the corners and adding another layer of silence to the quiet. The veld is still waterlogged from the autumn rains, we have not been able to walk in the grove or fetch firewood there and the earth dam has been overflowing since April. Springs are still running across the Oorlogpoort road, so that guests with smart cars have to leave their vehicles in town and be ferried to the farm. Everything changes all the time and, if we don’t like it, we suffer; if we can embrace the cold and wet then there is no problem. So that is our practice here.
The June Zen-Art retreat came and went. The afternoons were spent in the sunshine, learning to put down our self-consciousness and make spontaneous marks on paper – and learning to LOOK; in that way our facilitator JP Meyer added another dimension to our Zen practice. From the response of those who attended, it seems that creativity flows very naturally into formal Zen practice and we can look forward to paying more attention to this in future, while always keeping a space for plain Zen retreats.
Since then we have had a number of guests and informal groups passing through – book clubs, martial arts practitioners, writers and people just needing a break – using the place for whatever they need. And Antony will be away leading short retreats at the Buddhist Retreat Centre in August and at Emoyeni in September.
DIMENSIONS OF SPACE
From 15 to 21 October 2011 Marguerite van der Merwe will be leading her annual workshop-retreat called ‘Dimensions of Space’ and also introducing her new book, ‘The Art of Walking’. Anyone wanting to ask questions or to book for this retreat can contact Marguerite at 028-271 4555 or by e-mail at margsmerwe@telkoma.net; a booking form is attached to this letter and any booking form for this event which is sent to Margie at Poplar Grove will be forwarded to Marguerite.
NEW YEAR RETREAT
Earlier this year we asked if anyone would be interested in a retreat over New Year. The response was enthusiastic. So we have decided to schedule a retreat from the evening of Wednesday 28 December 2011 to mid-day on Monday 2 January 2012 – anybody who does not have to get back to work can stay on for a day or two afterwards, at the same daily rate. This will not be a traditional formal Zen retreat; while there will still be daily group walks, meditations, Dharma talks, individual interviews and work practice, there will also be time on your own for exploring, reading, humming a tune and, of course, a daily summer siesta. We will also gong in the New Year with a special midnight meditation ceremony. A booking form is attached to this newsletter for those who want to join us.
FINDING THE GENTLENESS IN OUR PRACTICE
We often work too hard at improving our life, desperate for the ease and peace that we imagine lies across the threshold of enlightenment. This is natural and understandable. But it also backfires on us – which is inevitable, really, because we are working from the sense of self that ultimately has to be dropped and because we are holding on to ideas of what our practice should bring – ideas that have to be dropped too. It is easy to become discouraged when we practise like this. So sometimes we have to find the gentleness in our Zen practice, we have to stop pushing and judging ourselves, we have to take ourselves and our quest less seriously, we have to forgive ourselves for our inadequacies and mistakes, and we have to find our sense of humour.
All this is simply and beautifully described by the late Suzuki Roshi in his book Not Always So:- ‘In our practice we put emphasis on a warm heart, on warm zazen. This warm feeling we have in zazen is, in other words, enlightenment. The point is to take care of the breath while inhaling and exhaling, just as a mother watches her baby. If the baby smiles the mother will smile. If the baby cries the mother is worried. That kind of close relationship – being one with your practice – is the point. Please take care of your practice and be very kind to yourself.’
With love from the blue skies and white frosted grass of Poplar Grove.
Antony and Margie Osler
Poplar grove practice period OR RETREAT
Booking form
Poplar Grove Farm Tel. 051-7531356
COLESBERG 9795 Fax. 0866240446
Banking details:
A.D. Osler Standard Bank Cheque Account
Account no. 280336810 Branch code. 050-018
Please make the following booking :
Date: From……………………….. …….to …………………………………………
Total number of nights: ………….. @ R300-00 per person per night = ………….
to be paid into the above bank account before arrival (confirm with deposit slip)
or to be paid by cheque or cash on arrival.
Name(s): ………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………….
Accommodation requested (subject to availability):
Single room: ……. Room for a couple: ……….
Twin room sharing: ………
CONTACT DETAILS:
Telephone: …………………………… Cell phone: ……………………………………
Address: …………………………………………………………………………………
E-mail Address:…………………………………………………………………………..
Any foods you cannot eat: ……………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
I/We expect to arrive at Poplar Grove on: ……………………….. ………...................
Estimated time of arrival: ………………………………………………………………
PLEASE PHONE IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR QUERIES
DIRECTIONS TO POPLAR GROVE
1. From Colesberg take the N9 towards Noupoort, Middelburg, Port Elizabeth
2. At the signpost ‘Oorlogspoort’ on the left side of the N9, turn left onto a gravel road and continue for about 24 km – over a railway line, through veld and farms, past a large gate on the left marked ‘Groenfontein’ with a homestead behind it, and past a further group of buildings about 1 km further on the left which is also part of Groenfontein farm.
3. At a cattle grid about 500 metres further on from the second group of Groenfontein buildings there is a signboard for ‘Poplar Grove’ and ‘Nieuwefontein’ on the left side of the road – turn left there and go up the slope about 1 km.
4. At a sign ‘Poplar Grove’ on your right, turn left over the motor gate edged with stone walls and follow the road for about 2 km directly into the Poplar Grove yard.
5. Park somewhere at the house, turn off the engine, and enjoy the silence.
