Monastic Tour 2023 – Week Three: Edinburgh
The Edinbugh Wild Geese Sangha were so blessed to be included in the UK tour of eight PV monastics.
Back in January we planted a plum tree to celebrate Thay’s visit to Edinburgh and the monastics unveiled a plaque with his calligraphy, “Peace is Every Step”. The plaque manifested so beautifully through a crowdfunding campaign and is an expression of the gratitude and joy felt here in Edinbugh for his teachings. The tree is in the community garden at The Meadows, where Thay led a peace walk and held the hands of the stone engraver’s children! The Meadows is a beautiful place for the people of Edinburgh to come for peace, replenishment in nature and to meet friends, so for there to be a reminder of Thay here is truly wonderful!
The monastics also gave two talks: one at the university and one at our usual home, St Mark’s Unitarian Church.
Both were very well attended and received with open hearts and much happiness.
One of local participants, Iona, shared her experience:
I was so grateful to attend the Mindful Communities event at St Marks Unitarian Church, Edinburgh.
Many people attending this tour will never have the chance to visit Plum Village, so it was a rare opportunity to have Plum Village brought to our community. The audience during the monastics’talks were very reserved, but Sr Samadhi brought a sense of freedom with her singing. She was so joyful that she continued with another verse when everyone else had finished! Her good humour was infectious, and the room became warmer and more relaxed. I had never met monastics from Plum Village in person before, so to see those cheerful people in their brown robes felt like the practice was really coming home for me. I was moved that Br Mountain enjoyed his walk through the Meadows so much, because it felt like Edinburgh was not only receiving wisdom from the monastics, but also giving them a meaningful experience in return.
photos by Roger Hyam and Iona Grant
The Mindful Day in Edinburgh was organised by the Wild Geese Sangha
