Mervyn Croft has been engaged in Buddhism for over forty years, including a period of thirteen years as a member of the resident community at the Buddhist Retreat Centre, Ixopo. He has participated in retreats in the Theravada, Zen and Tibetan traditions and for many years was a student of Godwin Samararatne from Sri Lanka. In 2000, he co-founded the Emoyeni Retreat Centre, where he teaches and lives in a house of stone.