A festival inviting people to meditate as they take a gentle walk around temple grounds with their dogs will be held at Bongseonsa Temple in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province. The Namyangju Buddhist Association will hold the 2026 Seon Meditation Festival with Dogs at Bongseonsa Temple on Saturday 17. Now in its third year, having started in 2024, the festival will feature walking meditation with Venerable Hosan, dog yoga and a health talk by a vet.
From 10am to 5pm, for dog owners and the wider public
The festival is organised by Bongseonsa Temple, the 25th district head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, and will run from 10am to 5pm. The programme is designed to welcome members of the public as well as people bringing their dogs. It is supported by Gyeonggi Province and Namyangju City.
The opening ceremony will take place on the Big Lotus Pond stage at 10.10am. About 1,500 dog owners and members of the public attended the first festival in 2024.
An hour of mindfulness walking with the district head monk and dogs
The first programme is walking meditation. From 10.40am, Venerable Hosan, district head monk of Bongseonsa Temple, will lead an hour of mindful walking with dogs.
Walking meditation is an accessible way to begin for people who find it difficult to sit still and observe their breathing. Focusing on the feel of the ground beneath your feet, and the steps and breathing of the dog walking beside you, can naturally give you a chance to look away from your phone for a while. For people who take their dogs out every day, the session can be a chance to practise turning an everyday walk into meditation.
Dog yoga to breathe and move together, plus a talk on canine health
At 1pm, Yoon Jeong-won, president of the Korea Dog Yoga Association, will lead dog yoga therapy. The programme invites people and their dogs to breathe calmly, move their bodies and connect with one another. At 3pm, vet Choi In-young will give a talk on life with dogs and their health, covering how to recognise health signals in a dog’s body and practical ways to care for them day to day.
Experience activities will be available throughout the event at booths beside Padma by the Big Lotus Pond. They include pet tarot to reflect on the relationship with your dog, body decoration and making a beaded necklace for your dog to wear.
Bringing meditation and pet culture together
This year’s festival focuses on bringing meditation and pet culture together to share the values of respect for life and coexistence. A representative of the event office said they hoped it would be an opportunity for dog owners and their dogs to care for their wellbeing together and share the values of respect for life and coexistence.
By opening the temple grounds to dogs, the festival shows that meditation need not mean sitting alone in a quiet room. Walking, breathing and connecting physically with a companion are also ways into meditation. Those who still find seated meditation difficult, or would like to make their time with their dogs more meaningful, can explore the kind of meditation that suits them at Bongseonsa Temple this weekend.
Event enquiries: 02-2231-2013