For the 15th successive year we are happy to be able to facilitate a mindful peace walk at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh as part of the Edinburgh International Festival of Middle Eastern Peace and Spirituality EICSP.

NB: A slightly later start time than previous years.

Venue: Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, John Hope Gateway, Arboretum Place, Edinburgh, EH3 5NZ.
Date: Sunday 24 March 2019
Time: 10am for 10.15am ends by 11.15am. Meet at West Gate entrance to the John Hope Gateway, Arboretum Place. Introduction to mindful walking at 10.00am. Walk begins at 10.15am.
Cost: Admission Free. Just come along on the day.

This silent walking meditation is an open event. It will be led by the lay members of the Edinburgh Sangha of the Community of Interbeing, who follow the practice and teachings of Zen Buddhist Master, Thich Nhat Hanh. The walk begins at the John Hope Gateway of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Before the walk begins there will be a brief introduction to mindful walking as meditation practice. This is not a protest or a campaigning event, so please do not use any banners. Children are welcome when accompanied by adults. Please remember to wrap up warmly – last year it was snowy!

You may be interested in a mindfulness morning at St Mark’s on the Saturday following the walk.

‘We walk just for walking. We walk with freedom and solidity, no longer in a hurry. Let us enjoy every step we make.’

Thich Nhat Hanh.

This session will continue our gentle exploration together of the Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing.

Exercise 13 is the first of the four breathings covering ‘objects of mind’ and it brings us to the contemplation of impermanence. As a way to try to bridge the gap between the notion of impermanence and the living insight of impermanence we will learn from each other by sharing our own experiences of change in small deep listening groups.

Although things constantly change they continue in other forms, so we will also explore the ways in which we are continued by our thoughts, words and actions.

The session naturally follows on from previous ones in this series but we hope the session will also work as a stand alone session and all are welcome. It will include guided meditation, walking meditation, readings and sharing in small groups.

NB: Please note that this not specifically a workshop on death, but is about all kinds of change. Participants will be able to choose for themselves which aspect of the topic is most alive for them and share (if they wish) at whatever level feels comfortable for them.

We will also have a mindful lunch together so please bring a little vegetarian or vegan food to share. Tea will be provided. Cushions, mats and blankets are available at the venue, but you are welcome to bring your own if you prefer.

When: Saturday 30th March 2019 – 9:30am to 1:00pm (Please try to arrive a little earlier so that we can start at 09:30)
Where: St. Marks Unitarian Church, Castle Terrace
Booking: Just turn up.
Bring: Small amount of vegetarian food to share if that is easy.
Cost: By donation – to cover the cost of hiring the venue etc. Suggested: £10 (£5).

You may be interested in joining us on our annual mindful peace walk at the botanics on the Sunday before this mindfulness morning.

Amongst practitioners with many years experience in mindfulness and meditation, it is all too easy to build a routine mind around our practice and, in so doing, lose touch with the present moment without even realising it. This can further lead to us losing faith in the practice as we inadvertently mistake the habitual mind developed around the practice for the practice itself.

In this mindfulness morning, we will explore together a mind free from our perceptions of practice – seeking the original motivation and enthusiasm which brought us to meditate. Beginners welcome.

The morning will be lead by Keith.

When: Saturday 19th January 2019 – 9:30am for 10am to 1:00pm
Where: St. Marks Unitarian Church, Castle Terrace
Booking: Just turn up.
Bring: Small amount of vegetarian food to share if that is easy.
Cost: By donation – to cover the cost of hiring the venue etc. Suggested: £10 (£5).

Following the wonderful Monastic led retreat in Glasgow 2016, Dear Green Sangha are delighted that Sister Anabel has once again agreed to come to Scotland, accompanied by a small delegation of monks and nuns of the Plum Village tradition.

The Centre for World Peace on the beautiful Holy Isle, just off the Scottish island of Arran, is a very special location for this seven-day retreat with the theme of “One Buddha is not Enough.”  We hope that you are able to take advantage of this amazing opportunity to deepen your practice.

Now Fully Booked! We hope you can join us another time.

It is that time of year when everything has a natural pause to mark the turning of the year. A chance to breath and look inwards before blossoming into the new year.

Here are the few days when we won’t hold our regular meetings:

• Mondays at Santosa: 17th & 24th December & 1st January.
• Tuesdays Mindfulness@Lunchtime: 25th December & 31st December
• Thursdays at St Marks: 27th December & 3rd January.
• Fridays early morning: 28th December

By the 7th January we will be back to our normal schedule.

Just because we aren’t having “formal” meetings doesn’t mean we can’t get together. If you’d like to meet with Sangha friends for food in the warm or a walk in the cold over the holiday period then speak up before we break up and arrange something.

Our friends across the water in Fife are running mindfulness courses next year in Falkland. These are very much recommended. The wonderful Orla is coordinating. Details below.

We will be holding a Morning of Mindfulness on Saturday 8th December to round off the year and celebrated the stillness of mid winter.

There will be guided and unguided sitting mediation, some walking and maybe some gentle movement. There will be silence. There will be companionship. There will be inspirational readings. And there may be a little Christmas cheer.

Why not come along and charge your spiritual batteries for the festive season ahead?

When: Saturday 8th December – 9:30am for 10am to 1:00pm
Where: St. Marks Unitarian Church, Castle Terrace
Booking: Just turn up.
Bring: Small amount of vegetarian food to share if that is easy.
Cost: By donation – to cover the cost of hiring the venue etc. Suggested: £10 (£5).

You are invited to a nourishing and relaxing afternoon with writer, storyteller and mindfulness teacher Jane Ellen Combelic. Come hear stories from her recent book, No Coming No Going, about the year she – and her dog, Serafina – spent on a farm near Plum Village in southern France, studying with Zen monk Thich Nhat Hanh.

We will experience and discuss one of the most meaningful practices from Plum Village: deep listening and speaking from the heart, sharing that most precious of gifts, our presence. Everyone is welcome, from any faith tradition or none.

Jane Ellen Combelic is a long-time student of Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, and former editor of his magazine The Mindfulness Bell. Originally from Colorado, she now lives near Findhorn in Scotland.

Do you know someone who would be interested in attending or where this event should be advertised? Click here to download the event poster.

When: Saturday 6 October 2018 – 14:30 – 17:30
Where: St. Marks Unitarian Church, Castle Terrace
Booking: Just turn up.
Cost: Pay what you can: £10 recommended, £5 for unwaged, £15 for greater support

During the Edinburgh Festival Fringe St Marks church is used as a venue in the evenings and so we will take a break from our regular Thursday evening meetings in August. Our other meetings at Santosa and Mindfulness@Lunchtime at St Marks continue as usual.

• Mondays – continue as usual at Santosa
• Tuesdays – Mindfulness@Lunchtime continues at St Marks
• Thursdays – No meetings in August
• Friday – continues as usual at Albany Street

Enjoy the summer and see you at one of our other meetings or in September.

Welcome to a Morning of Mindfulness on the 21st of July, 10am-2pm at St Mark’s unitarian church.

Arrival from 9.30; we have to lock the door when starting, so do arrive before 10.

Come and join us for a relaxed morning of sitting and walking meditation, reflecting on Buddhist teachings of reconciliation (both within oneself and with others), enjoying delicious food, and each other’s company.

Facilitators will be Gustaf from the Wild Geese and Keith from Wild Geese and Wake Up Edinburgh.

Come as you are, and bring something vegetarian (vegan?) to share at lunch time.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

When: Saturday 21st July – 9:30am for 10am to 2:00pm
Where: St. Marks Unitarian Church, Castle Terrace
Booking: Just turn up.
Cost: A donation would be appreciated to cover the cost of hiring the venue. Suggested: £10 (£5).