Buddhism in Finland

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Temple of the Vietnamese Buddhist Association of Finland [fi] in Vantaa Temple of Suomen Vietnamilaisten Buddhalaisuus Yhdyskunta in Lansisalmi, Vantaa, Finland, 2022 November - 2.jpg
Temple of the Vietnamese Buddhist Association of Finland  [ fi ] in Vantaa

Buddhism in Finland represents a very small percentage of nation's religious practices. There are more than 20 000 Buddhists in Finland and the number is rising. [1] > It is, however, hard to evaluate the exact amount of the Buddhists as many donations officially belong to a religious congregation and some of them are registered as associations rather than congregations. Furthermore, it is hard to say how many people are born into the religion and how many converts there are. [2]

Contents

History

The first book on Buddhism by a Finnish writer was published 1886 in Swedish (Buddha den upplyste och hans lära). The anthology of Buddha's teachings by Henry S. Olcott was translated into Finnish in 1906. The first Buddhist association was established in 1947, "Buddhismin ystävät – Buddhismens vänner". It started as a lodge inside the Theosophical Society. They had lectures on Buddhism, translated texts and had a Vesak celebration every year. [3]

Present day

There are Buddhist centers and temples throughout the country. In total there are around 40 different organisations. [4] For example Diamond Way Buddhism Finland has four centers in Helsinki, Lahti, Tampere and Turku. [5] The first Buddhist monastery in Finland, Liên Tâm Monastery, was inaugurated in Moisio in 2015. [6] Another monastery was founded in Kuopio in 2019 (Ratanasukha Monastery). The monastery is open for all people. [4] [7]

Finnish Buddhist Union is loosely organized umbrella organisation of different Buddhist associations and congregations in Finland. [8]

References

  1. ↑ Terävä, Hanna (1 July 2023). "Buddhalaisten määrä on yli tuplaantunut Suomessa – Mikko Asunta lopetti työt keskittyäkseen meditointiin". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish).
  2. ↑ Pyhäranta, Tuija (14 April 2018). "Buddhalaiset yhdyskunnat kasvavat ja Jehovan todistajat menettävät jäseniä Suomessa, kertoo tilasto". Kotimaa (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 22 November 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  3. ↑ "English". SBU.
  4. 1 2 Niiranen, Pekka (20 July 2019). "Burmalaiset keräsivät vuosikausia rahaa buddhalaisluostarin perustamiseksi Savoon – munkki Ven Pannasami: 'Me tavoittelemme myös suomalaisia'". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  5. ↑ "Diamond Way Buddhism Finland". Buddhalaisuus.fi (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 9 November 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  6. ↑ "Suomen vietnamilaisten buddhalaisten yhdyskunta". Suomen Buddhalainen Unioni (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  7. ↑ Niiranen, Janne; Lammi, Sonja (20 July 2019). "Syvänniemellä juhlitaan buddhalaisen luostarin avajaisia – paikalliset toivottivat luostarin tervetulleeksi perinteisillä lahjoilla". Savon Sanomat (in Finnish).
  8. ↑ "The Finnish Buddhist Union". SBU. Archived from the original on 29 October 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2021.


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