An evocative documentary on the BRC “Bodhi Is Light - Impressions of the BRC" has just been released by renowned film maker, Richard Pakleppa.
Moved by his experience of a silent retreat, Richard shares impressions of South Africa’s first Buddhist Retreat Centre in Ixopo, Kwazulu Natal. Through his camera lens and his ‘inner eye’, he has captured the spirit of place and people and the heartbeat of the Ixopo valley. The film’s authenticity is a stirring tribute to the BRC as a space of spiritual friendship and soothing silence, far removed from everyday life. In Richard's words, the film "has many layers - focusing on Louis van Loon’s personal journey, the journey of creating the space of the BRC, the fellow travellers and their take on the deep and far-ranging fundamentals of a Buddhist world view and practice". The visual narrative follows nature and the ever-changing elements to touch moments when the mind is awakened to discover its own nature. Observing the mist rising and the dew falling, the film takes us into what happens when we choose to take refuge in silence. “Bodhi is Light” is a celebration of the many women and men who built and sustained this unique place over the last forty-three years.
