WELCOME TO KAGYU SAMYE DZONG HIGHLANDS
OUR ACTIVITIES AT PRESENT
Welcome to Kagyu Samye Dzong Highlands in 2025. We look forward to meeting old friends and new during this year and here you will find information about the various activities of our group
WEEKLY MEDIATATION IN INVERNESS - OPEN TO ALL.
The Chapel at the Royal Northern Infirmary
We meet in person every Wednesday evening for meditation at the old Chapel building in the grounds of the RNI Community Hospital, Ness Walk, Inverness IV3 5SF.
This is an open session of meditation and everyone is very welcome, whether you are new to meditation or not and whether you are Buddhist or not... that certainly isn't a prerequisite as we can all benefit from a joint meditation opportunity. We begin at 7pm and hold a 20-minute-long silent meditation, have a short break for tea and then resume with another 20-minute session.
The sessions are free, though we do appreciate any donations those attending would like to make (there's a small collection box on the tea table for this).
You don't have to book in advance, just turn up for 7pm.
However, if you'd like some more information before coming along then please just email our general inquiry address at info@highlands.samye.org
OUR CENTRE AT LOCH NESS
We presently have a small centre in the hills high above Loch Ness which is open for some of our regular activities, including Tibetan Buddhist pujas. We plan to develop this centre for many more activities, so why not join us to help build a peace and health centre for the benefit of all.
For more detail on our regular and special events at the centre, please see our Weekly Programme page.
For those who are interested in our pujas but are too far away to join us in person, our Chenrezig pujas are held on Zoom as well as in person. All you need to do to take part is to email us on info@highlands.samye.org and we will send you the instructions and the links you will need.
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OUR LINK WITH SAMYE LING TIBETAN BUDDHIST MONASTERY AND CENTRE
We are honoured to come under the direction and governance of the first and largest Tibetan Buddhist Monastery to be built in the Western World, a magical and unique place in the Borders of Scotland which has been visited by many of the highest teachers and lamas in the Tibetan tradition, including His Holiness 14th Dalai Lama. We were also privileged to host His Holiness in Inverness in 2012 and please see the link Dalai Lama in Inverness for the moving reminiscences of this visit.
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TEACHINGS AND GUIDANCE
We are most fortunate to have teachings, genuine instruction and arrange regular visits to Samye Ling. To maintain the connection we are also blessed to have regular visits from this year onwards from one of Samye Ling's respected lamas, Lama Zangpo.
Lama Zangpo
Lama Zangpo has vast experience of Dharma practice and teachings. He spent eight years in our men's retreat on Arran and was then sent by Samye Ling to Sekar Retreat in Nepal for a further six years of study and retreat.
Lama Zangpo returned from Nepal in 2021 and, following a spell at our newest centre in D R Congo, now visits KSD Highlands regularly to provide guidance and teachings.
NEW TO MEDITATION
If you are new to meditation and mindfulness, we can heartily recommend some reading (or listening) material that will help get you started on the right path. We strongly suggest finding a copy of Gelong Thubten's book, A Monk's Guide to Happiness - Meditation in the 21st Century.
Thubten visits KSD Highlands on a regular basis to help us develop Compassion-based Mindfulness, meditation and Buddhist teachings. He wrote much of his Sunday Times bestseller at Loch Ness and held his Scottish launch overlooking the famous loch. The book is available from Waterstones or on Amazon where you can obtain it as a paperback, hardback, audiobook or on Kindle.
Thubten specialises in teaching mindfulness meditation internationally, in businesses, hospitals, schools, universities, prisons and addiction counselling centres, and he gives keynote speeches at major events around the world. He has been teaching for over 20 years and is a world pioneer in the mindfulness movement, as he was teaching in these sectors many years before it became popular. He works with major clients such as: Google, LinkedIn, Deloitte, Lloyds Bank, Deutsche Bank, Siemens, Accenture and Clifford Chance. He has lectured at Facebook's London offices, Morrisons and McCain head offices, Linklaters and many other global companies.
To see some of Gelong Thubten's online talks, please go to our Links page
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Keep up to date with the latest news - join our mailing list
Please email us at info@highlands.samye.org in order to receive our newsletters and updates.
KSD Highlands is part of Rokpa Trust, a charity registered in Scotland (SCO38628)
PRIVACY STATEMENT
Rokpa Trust and all its branches are committed to handling personal data fairly, transparently and in accordance with the Rokpa Trust Data Protection Policy. The personal data we hold are names, addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses for the purpose of keeping interested people informed of our activities and facilities offered. In the case of donors we also hold such banking details as are necessary to process donations and reclaim the tax where applicable. In the case of residents and volunteers at our centres we keep records of stays at the centres and work that they offer to perform.
We take all reasonable steps to keep the data secure and only share it when legally required to do so, for instance with HMRC or our auditors. We delete data when it is no longer required and we offer the facility for people to check and correct data. We comply with any request to delete data unless we are legally required to retain it.