19th (20th really) Annual Mindful Peace Walk, 30th March 2025 @ The Botanics

Please join us at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, John Hope Gateway, Arboretum Place, Edinburgh, EH3 5NZ on Sunday 30th March 2025 at 10am. The gardens open at 10am. Remember the clocks change that day!

This is the 20th year of run we’ve run these walks but the 19th walk – because we didn’t have one during Covid. A lot has changed and has not changed since 2005.

This silent walking meditation is an open event. Before the walk begins there will be a brief introduction to mindful walking as a meditation practice. We should conclude by 11:30am.

This is not a protest or a campaigning event, so please do not use any banners. Our silence and togetherness in nature says it all at this time.

Children are welcome when accompanied by adults. It is Mother’s Day so bring your mum!

Please remember to wrap up warmly and note that no animals except Registered Assistance Dogs are permitted within the Garden.

This event is organised in collaboration with the Edinburgh International Centre for Spirituality and Peace who organise events throughout the year.

Peace walk on the meadows
Previous peace walk on The Meadows.

Peace is the Way – Monastic Retreat Scotland 2025

There is a wonderful opportunity to join a monastics lead retreat at Stirling University between Wednesday 28th May and Sunday 1st June 2025.

The wisdom of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh teaches us to find a sense of peace within ourselves and serenity in the face of suffering. In a supportive community of like-minded people, supported by six monastics led by Sister Tam Muoi from Plum Village, together we will experience developing more kindness and compassion. In the sister’s words, we will be:

Learning how to cultivate peace, joy and non-fear in ourselves, even in the heart of great difficulty, we develop the clarity to know how to act with compassion, solidity and resilience from a place of love. Knowing how to be fully present for our joy and pain, we can heal and offer our presence to the world .— Sister Tam Muoi.

Full details are available from the ticketing website here.

We are expecting this to be a popular retreat with people attending from across the UK and abroad so book early to avoid disappointment!

Day of Mindfulness: “Seeds” – 1st February 2025

Come join us on Saturday 1 February 2025 10am – 3:30pm. Please arrive from around 09:45 for a 10am start.

We will reflect on seeds – those still resting in the ground and those within us, holding both uncertainty and potential. Together, we’ll embrace this space of not knowing, nurturing, patience and growth.

Bring some real seeds if you have any tucked away somewhere.

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

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

This practice is open to everyone, of all faiths and none. Use the contact form if you have any questions.

Morning of Mindfulness: Saturday 16th November 2024

A full morning of mindfulness practice supported by the collective energy of the sangha. We will sit and walk together in stillness, generate 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.

Please arrive at 9:15 for a 9:30 start. We will finish at 12:00.

Nourishing our Compassion: A Day of Mindfulness Saturday 19th October 2024

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.

Love is the Way – Dharma Training Retreat Scotland, 18-21 October 2024

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.

Mindful Peace Walk @ Saughton Park, 1 September 2024

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.

A Day of Mindfulness: ‘How to Feel Safe!’

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.