Come and enjoy a day immersed in mindfulness as we nourish our compassion. We will sit, walk, rest and eat together in stillness and friendship, generating peaceful, healing energy for the benefit of ourselves, our families and for the world.

Open to everyone, of all faiths and none.

St Mark’s Unitarian Church, 7 Castle Terrace, Edinburgh EH1 2DP

10am-4pm (please arrive around 9:45) Please bring some plant-based food to share for lunch.

Any questions, please use the contact form.

An in-depth retreat for those who are familiar with the basic Plum Village practices.

The essence of loving kindness is being able to offer happiness. You can be the sunshine for another person. But you can’t offer happiness until you have it yourself. So build a home inside by accepting yourself and learning to love and heal yourself — Thich Nhat Nanh

This retreat is an opportunity to deeply explore the teachings on love offered by Thich Nhat Hanh. What can be more important in this time of change than cultivating love and understanding for ourselves, our loved ones, the Earth and all beings?

Full details of the retreat can be found on the PlumVilliage.uk site.

After the buzz of the festival has faded will resume our regular Thursday night meetings at St Marks on Castle Terrace from 5th September. We look forward to seeing you there and enjoying a little silence together.

Jointly organized by the Edinburgh International Centre for Spirituality and Peace, EICSP, Scottish Charity, SC038996, and the Edinburgh Sangha of the Community of Interbeing.

Venue: Saughton Park and Gardens, Balgreen Road, Edinburgh, EH11 3BQ.
Date: Sunday 1 September 2024.
Time: 11am. Gather in front of the Bandstand for 11am. What3Words: ///chats.salsa.curvy
Event Description: 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. Before the walk begins there will be a brief introduction to mindful walking as a 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.

Gentle Zen practice in the Plum Village Tradition

Saturday 14 September 2024 from 10am – 4pm (Please arrive from around 09:45 for a 10am start)

How can we feel safe enough to enjoy life in such a scary world? What is the right balance between the security of safety and the excitement and adventure of risk? We will explore this theme together using guided meditation, walking meditation, visualisation, group exercises and sharing. We will then enjoy some deep relaxation.

Please bring some plant-based food to share for lunch.

This practice is open to everyone, of all faiths and none.

St. Mark’s Unitarian Church, 7 Castle Terrace, Edinburgh, EH1 2DP

What Three Words: ///host.fees.panels

Please share the flyer below with people who may enjoy the day.

We will not be meeting at St Marks during the month of August. This is in the tradition of the monastics taking “lazy days” away from formal commitments once in a while – except we take a whole lazy month! It is also because St Marks becomes Edinburgh Festival Fringe Venue 125 in August. This means you can still come to St Marks and enjoy a variety of cultural events whilst we are not sitting formally.

On 22 January 2023 a plum tree was planted in the Community Garden on the Meadows to commemorate Thay’s visit to Edinburgh in 2003 and later that year a plaque next to the tree, inscribed with the words ‘Peace is Every Step‘, was unveiled by 8 visiting monastics from Plum Village. Some of you will have contributed to the plaque and/or attended those events.

As a way to remember and continue this mindful energy, we will be holding a silent walking meditation for about 1 hour on the Meadows on Sunday 28th July at 11:00 am starting from the tree. Before the walk there will be a short introduction to mindful walking. The walk in total will last about 1 hour.

If you are on Middle Meadow Walk facing in the direction of Marchmont, then the Community Garden is about 100m to your left just before you get to the tennis courts.

This event aims to simply provide a collective experience of ‘being peaceful’ together. It is not a protest or campaigning event, so please don’t bring any banners/placards etc, however we will share the energy with those who might benefit from it at the end.

We will be having our annual mindful peace walk at Lauriston Castle on 30th June 2024. We will meet outside the house at 11am (slightly earlier this year). There will be a brief introduction to mindful walking followed by the walk itself. The event should conclude within an hour.

It’s not a protest event, just a chance to generate peaceful energy together and offer it to those who need it. Please come along and enjoy a quiet walk in this idyllic location close to the city. All welcome.

To get to Lauriston Castle you can take buses to Davidson’s Mains (47), or Silverknowes Terminus (16, 27, 29 & 37); both are around 10 minutes’ walk from Lauriston Castle. Cyclists should follow signs for Davidsons Mains on NCR75 and NCR1 from the City Centre. Where NCR1 crosses Cramond Road South, cyclists turn right and continue along Cramond Road for a short distance to the Castle entrance. There is also free parking if you would like to drive.

A full day of mindfulness practice supported by the collective energy of the sangha. The day will be held mostly in silence. We will sit, walk, rest and eat together in stillness, generating peaceful, healing energy for the benefit of ourselves, our families and for the world.

Open to everyone of all faiths and none.

Please bring some plant-based food to share for lunch.

St Mark’s Unitarian Church, 7 Castle Terrace, Edinburgh, EH1 2DP.

Any questions please use the contact form.