Finnish Buddhist Union (

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

''Suomen Buddhalainen Unioni ry''), commonly abbreviated SBU, is an umbrella organisation for different

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

associations in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

and is thus not affiliated to any particular school of Buddhism. In total there're around 40 different Buddhist organisations in the country although some of them are not officially registered. The aims of SBU are among other things to represent Buddhist associations in Finland on both national and international level, to make practicing Buddhism easier in Finland, to increase awareness of the religion and participate the public discussion about different world views. The current chairperson of the organisation is Irma Rinne. The union was founded on 9 May 2009 and its located in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

though it functions throughout the country. Its first chairperson was Juhani Hakala. The founding members include the following associations: * Bodhidharma * Buddhalainen Dharmakeskus * Finnish-Thai Buddhist Association * Helsinki Zen Center * Länsimaisen buddhalaisen veljeskunnan ystävät FWBO * Suomen Vietnamilaisten Buddhalaisten Yhdyskunta As of January 2021 the union has 12 member organisations: The membership is open to a registered Finnish association, congregation or foundation that has been active for at least three years and accepts the core beliefs of the religion. SBU is a member of the

European Buddhist Union The European Buddhist Union (EBU) is the umbrella organization of Buddhist communities and national Buddhist unions in Europe. The EBU is open to all schools and traditions of Buddhism in Europe wishing to unite on the basis of Buddhist teachings an ...

. The

Finnish National Agency for Education Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

has approved Buddhism as a religion to be taught on a high school level with its own curriculum. The curriculum was written by SBU and then revised by the agency in 2016.

References

Buddhism in Finland Organizations established in 2009 Organisations based in Finland {{Buddhism-org-stub