| Finnish Buddhist Union | |
| Native Name: | Suomen Buddhalainen Unioni ry (fi) Buddhistiska Unionen i Finland rf (sv) |
| Abbreviation: | SBU |
| Formation: | 2009 |
| Type: | NGO |
| Status: | registered organisation |
| Purpose: | Buddhist umbrella organisation |
| Language: | Finnish[1] |
| Leader Title: | Chairperson |
| Leader Name: | Irma Rinne |
| Website: | http://www.sbu.fi |
Finnish Buddhist Union (Finnish Suomen Buddhalainen Unioni ry), commonly abbreviated SBU, is an umbrella organisation for different Buddhist associations in Finland and is thus not affiliated to any particular school of Buddhism.[2] In total there're around 40 different Buddhist organisations in the country although some of them are not officially registered.[3] 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.[4]
The current chairperson of the organisation is Irma Rinne.[5]
The union was founded on 9 May 2009 and its located in Helsinki though it functions throughout the country.[6] Its first chairperson was Juhani Hakala. The founding members include the following associations:[7]
As of January 2021 the union has 12 member organisations:[8]
| Association | School | Locality | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tavallinen Mieli Zendo ry | Zen | Helsinki, Tampere, Jyväskylä | |
| Bodhidharma ry | Helsinki | ||
| Buddhalainen Dharmakeskus | Vajrayana | Helsinki, Loimaa | |
| Buddhalainen yhteisö Triratna ry | Independent | Helsinki, Tampere | |
| Danakosha Ling | Tibetan Buddhism | Helsinki, Jokioinen | |
| Finnish-Thai Buddhist Association ry | Theravada | Nurmijärvi | |
| Helsinki Zen Center | Zen | Helsinki | |
| Nirodha ry | Theravada | Hämeenlinna, Joensuu, Jyväskylä, Lahti, Tampere, Turku | |
| Soka Gakkai International Suomi | Mahayana | Rovaniemi, Oulu, Kuopio, Vaasa, Joensuu, Jyväskylä, Pori, Tampere, Lahti, Turku, Ingå, Pääkaupunkiseutu | |
| Suomen vietnamilaisten buddhalaisten yhdyskunta | Mahayana | Turku | |
| Suomen Vietnamilaisten Buddhalaisuus Yhdyskunta (Phúc Lâm) | Mahayana | Vantaa | |
| Tampere Zen ry | Zen | Tampere |
The Finnish National Agency for Education has approved Buddhism as a religion to be taught on a high school level with its own curriculum.[10] The curriculum was written by SBU and then revised by the agency in 2016.[11]