Introduction
Nirodha is a Theravada Buddhist organization based in Helsinki, Finland. We organize weekly sittings, practice days, silent meditation retreats, courses, and study groups.
In Nirodha events, we practise vipassana (insight), samatha (concentration), and brahma vihara meditation. We do not have a teacher in Finland, but our active members facilitate discussions and give meditation instructions for beginners. The teachers of our retreats come from abroad; many of them have received their teacher training at Gaia House, England.
For weekly sittings and practice days, we gather at Buddhist Center Sampo in Hakaniemi, Helsinki. Our retreats take place in various locations in Southern Finland, usually within two hours of travel from Helsinki.
Everybody is warmly welcome to practise with us!
Weekly Meditation
Weekly meditations are every Tuesday at 6 PM at Buddhist Center Sampo in Helsinki. We sit 2 * 45 minutes, with a walking meditation, dharma talk, and/or group discussion between the two sitting periods. The official program ends at 8:30 PM, followed by some tea, cookies, and socializing. The first Tuesday of every month is in English, the other Tuesdays are in Finnish.
Practice Days
We organize silent practice days about once a month, always on Saturday from 10 AM until 6 PM at Buddhist Center Sampo. During the day, we alternate between 45-minute sitting and walking periods. We listen to a recorded English dharma talk, and have a lunch break usually at 1:30 PM. Please bring your own lunch. If you do not wish to attend the whole day, it is possible to arrive / leave halfway, at 1:45 PM.
The following practice days are on 3.12., 7.1., 4.2., 3.3., 31.3., 5.5. and 2.6.
Meditation Retreats
We typically organize three retreats a year. The retreats can be attended by both beginners and advanced meditators. All retreats are in English.
- April 5-10, 2012. Patricia Genoud-Feldman
- Click here for more information.
- June 30 – July 8, 2012. Caroline Jones and Paul Burrows
- Click here for more information.
- October 20-27, 2012. Caroline Jones and Paul Burrows
- September 6-15, 2013. Leigh Brasington
- The retreat will be taught by Leigh Brasington who is specialized in the teaching of Meditative Absorptions. Click here for more information.
Past retreats
Nirodha has been organizing retreats since 2006, some of the latest include October 2011, July 2011, Easter 2011, autumn 2010 and summer 2010.
Courses and Study Groups
From time to time, we organize various courses and study groups. At the moment, we have a group of people attending the Awakening Joy course by the vipassana teacher James Baraz. Our local Awakening Joy group meets once a month to discuss the course themes and practices.
Contact Information
Nirodha
Buddhist Center Sampo
Vetehisenkuja 3
00530 Helsinki
Finland
Ilkka Urvas (+358 50 454 3000)
Anne Patrikainen (+358 40 533 9812)
Sampo Koistinen (+358 440 513 176)
Links
- Theravada Buddhist Meditation Centers and Groups in Europe
- Gaia House, Devon, UK
- Vimalakirti Center, Geneva, Switzerland
- Sangha Vipassanagrouppen, Stockholm, Sweden
- Meditation Center Beatenberg, Germany
- Moulin des Chaves Dharma Centre, France
- Buddha Haus, Germany
- Sharpham Barn, UK
- Pa-Auk Latvia International Meditation Centre, Latvia
- Stichting Inzichts Meditatie, Netherlands
- Sagarapriya, Portugal
- Passadhi, Ireland
- Cittaviveka, UK
- Amaravati Buddhist Monastery, UK
- Satipanya Buddhist Retreat, UK
- Goenka Vipassana Retreats in Finland, Finland
- Theravada Buddhist Meditation Centers in USA and Australia
- Insight Meditation Society, Massachusetts, USA
- Spirit Rock, Massachusetts, USA
- Cloud Mountain Retreat Center, Oregon, USA
- Metta Forest Monastery, USA
- Southern Dharma Retreat Center, USA
- Bodhi Tree, Australia
- Other Related Organizations
- Sanghaseva: Combines volunteer work and dharma practice
- Barre Center for Buddhist Studies: Buddhism-related courses
- Buddhist Web Directories
- Other Resources
- Access to Insight: Sutta translations, dharma talks, books, and essays
- Dhammatalks: Dharma talks and writings of Thanissaro Bhikkhu
- Dharmaseed: Recorded dharma talks of various teachers
- Vipassana Fellowship: Online meditation courses