The roots of
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
in
Lithuania can be traced to the 20th century, although the time of its first introduction there remains unknown.
Zen Buddhism
Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), an ...
practiced in
Lithuania today originated in
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
. There are a few active communities across the country including
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
,
Kaunas,
Klaipėda
Klaipėda (; ; german: Memel; pl, Kłajpeda; russian: Клайпеда; sgs, Klaipieda) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. The capital of the eponymous county, it is the third largest city and the only major seaport in Lithuania ...
,
Šiauliai
Šiauliai (; bat-smg, Šiaulē; german: Schaulen, ) is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 107,086. From 1994 to 2010 it was the capital of Šiauliai County.
Names
Šiauliai is referred to by various names in different la ...
,
Panevėžys
Panevėžys (; Latin: ''Panevezen''; pl, Poniewież; yi, פּאָנעװעזש, ''Ponevezh''; see also other names) is the fifth largest city in Lithuania. As of 2011, it occupied with 113,653 inhabitants. As defined by Eurostat, the population ...
and
Šakiai.
History
The first public
Dharma talk
A Dharma talk (Sanskrit) or Dhamma talk (Pali) or Dharma sermon (''Japanese'': , ''Chinese'': ) is a public discourse on Buddhism by a Buddhist teacher.
In Theravāda Buddhism, the study of Buddhist texts and listening to Dhamma talks by monks o ...
in Lithuania was given in Kaunas in 1990 by Pawel Karppowich, the Polish student of
Seung Sahn
Seungsahn Haengwon (, August 1, 1927November 30, 2004), born Duk-In Lee, was a Korean Seon master of the Jogye Order and founder of the international Kwan Um School of Zen. He was the seventy-eighth Patriarch in his lineage. As one of the early ...
. The Kaunas Zen Kwan Um center was officially registered in April 1991, soon followed by a similar group in Vilnius, established after the visit of the Zen Master. The Vilnius Kwan Um Zen community grew under the support of Zen Master
Wu Bong's frequent visits.
The Vilnius International Kwan Um School of Zen Buddhism was officially registered as a religious community in Lithuania in 1991.
Zen Master Su Bong Sunim, the guiding teacher of the Hong Kong Kwan Um Sangha, opened the first Zen Temple, Ko Bong Sa, in Vilnius in 1993. Daily Zen practice is held at the Kaunas Zen Kwan Um Center since 2007.
Zen Buddhism in Lithuania today
The 14th
Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current D ...
Tenzin Gyatso
The 14th Dalai Lama (spiritual name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, known as Tenzin Gyatso (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: ''bsTan-'dzin rgya-mtsho''); né Lhamo Thondup), known as ...
has visited Lithuania twice and met with the President
Valdas Adamkus
Valdas Adamkus (; born Voldemaras Adamkavičius; 3 November 1926) is a Lithuanian-American politician, diplomat and civil engineer. He served as the 5th and 7th President of Lithuania from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2004 to 2009.
Adamkus' ...
and the Catholic Cardinal
Audrys Juozas Bačkis. In 2009 supporters of Tibetan independence suggested giving its name to one of the parks in Vilnius as a gratitude for the Dalai Lama's support for the Lithuanian independence movement of the 1990s.
In 2009 ''The Days of Tibetan Culture'' (
Lithuanian language
Lithuanian ( ) is an Eastern Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is the official language of Lithuania and one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.8 mill ...
: "Tibeto kultūros dienos") were held in Vilnius, attended by Indian Buddhist monks.
Probably the most prominent Lithuanian Zen Buddhist is a TV journalist and a former head of the international non-governmental organisation
Transparency International
Transparency International e.V. (TI) is a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil ...
,
Rytis Juozapavičius, who is also the abbot of Vilnius Zen Center, Ko Bong Sa.
Transparency International Lithuania
References
External links
Lithuanian site on Buddhism
Kwan Um Zen in Lithuania
Lithuania, Buddhism in
Religion in Lithuania
Lit
{{Buddhism-stub