Stirling Retreat with Plum Village Monastics

At the end of May, around 200 friends met in the beautiful surroundings of Stirling University to share practice and to enjoy the teaching of six monastic friends from Plum Village, France.

We were held beautifully by the warmth of the university staff, the mature oak trees, the beautiful lochside location and our animal friends – deer, nesting oystercatchers and a wonderful family of swans with eight cygnets who were our dining hall companions.

We were blessed with not one, but three monastic dharma teachers and received both wisdom and inspiration from their dharma talks.

Five new brown jackets were ordained in a wonderfully supportive atmosphere, and forty friends received the five mindfulness trainings together as we enjoyed the morning freshness of the trees from the window of Still Loch Hall.

We are so happy to have welcomed so many practitioners to share this time together in Scotland and hold treasured memories in our hearts. In the beautiful words of one retreatant, we have enjoyed “a loch full of lotuses”.

Other retreatants shared:

“Thank-you for an incredible experience.I have learned so much about Plum Village teachings and about “myself”. 

“The setting was tranquil and the wildlife helped to create a nourishing environment”.

“There was real richness in all elements of the retreat content”.

photos by: Roger Hyam

Stirling Retreat was lovingly and skillfully organised by Sally Day, Bill Crook and Andrew Cottee