Introduction
Nirodha organizes insight (vipassana) meditation related events in Finland. We offer silent meditation retreats, weekly meditation evenings, monthly practice days, and other activities. The teachers of our retreats come from abroad; many of them have got their teacher training at Gaia House, Insight Meditation Society, or Spirit Rock. The teachings are based on Theravada Buddhism. Many Nirodha events take place in Helsinki, but we have local sitting groups in several other Finnish cities as well. Everybody is warmly welcome to practise with us!
Opportunities to Practice in English
Nirodha offers many practice opportunities for non-Finnish speakers. All our retreats and other events led by visiting teachers are taught in English. In Helsinki, the first Tuesday meditation evening of each month is in English. The silent sitting on Friday, as well as the monthly practice days, can be attended by non-Finnish speakers. In other cities, there’s no regular program in English, but you’re welcome to ask for details about their situation.
If you’d like to discuss your practice with one of our facilitators, we offer 30-minute appointments on a donation basis. The meetings take place in Helsinki, but sometimes there are Skype sessions available as well.
Meditation Retreats
We organize several silent meditation retreats each year. Most retreats are 5–9 days long and can be attended by both beginners and experienced meditators. Most retreats are taught in English. Most of them take place in Southern Finland, within two hours of travel from Helsinki. Recorded material from retreats can be found here. Registration for the retreats is now opened 3 months prior to the retreat starting.
Upcoming retreats in English
- 1.-8.10.2023 Alexis Santos FULL
- 13.–16.11.2023 Online retreat: Heather Sundberg & Juha Penttilä
- 23.-26.11.2023 Online retreat: Christoph Köck
- 4.-10.12.2023 Online retreat: Insight Dialogue retreat with Rosalie Dores & Suvi Laukkanen
- 23.2.-1.3.2024 Catherine McGee (registration opens during September 2023)
- 26.4.-3.5.2024 Yahel Avigur & Susy Keely (registration opens 26.10.2023)
- 19.-26.5.2024 Gerit Stöcklmair & Christin Illeborg (registration opens 19.11.2023)
Past retreats
Nirodha has been organizing retreats since 2006. The teachers of our past retreats include Caroline Jones, Patricia Genoud Feldman, Leigh Brasington, Sayadaw U Tejaniya, Martine Batchelor, Rob Burbea, James Baraz, Greg Scharf, Alexis Santos, Kirsten Kratz, Yanai Postelnik, Leela Sarti, Suvaco, Zohar Lavie, Nathan Glyde and Catherine McGee, among others.
Weekly Meditation Evenings
We offer meditation evenings on Tuesdays and Fridays in Helsinki, online meditation evenings on Wednesdays and online meditation mornings every day of the week. All these events are donation based, and there is no need to sign up in advance. If you do not speak Finnish, you can attend the silent sittings on Fridays or the meditation mornings, as well as the first Tuesday of each month, which will be taught in English.
- On Tuesdays we meet from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM. The evening typically consists of a guided meditation, dharma talk, group discussion and silent meditation. Afterwards, you can join us for tea, cookies and socializing. Please plan to arrive 15 minutes early on your first visit.
- On Wednesdays we meet online from 6 PM to 7:30 PM. Afterwards, there will usually be the opportunity for conversation. You can join by following this link.
- On Fridays we meet from 7 PM to 7:45 PM for a silent sit. The doors open at 6:45 PM. Afterwards, you can join us for tea, cookies and socializing.
- The daily online morning meditations are held on weekdays from 7:30 AM to 8:00 AM and on the weekend at 9:00 AM to 9:30 AM. You can join by following this link.
On Tuesdays and Fridays we meet at Buddhist Center Sampo.
Weekly Meditation Evenings in Other Cities
Nirodha has local groups in Joensuu, Jyväskylä, Lahti, Lappeenranta, Porvoo, Tampere, Turku, Oulu and Rovaniemi. Here are some of the contact details:
- Joensuu. More information on Facebook page. Contact Sami Sieranoja (sami.sieranoja(at)gmail.com).
- Jyväskylä. More information can be found on the group’s Facebook page and by e-mail at nirodha.jkl(at)gmail.com, where you can also join the mailing list of the group.
- Lahti. More information can be found by e-mail at nirodha.lahti(at)gmail.com. More information can be found on the Facebook page of the group.
- Tampere. More information can be found on the group’s Facebook page and by e-mail at nirodha.tre(at)gmail.com, where you can also join the mailing list of the group.
- Turku. Contact Tapio Nasu Envall (tapio.envall(at)gmail.com). More information can be found on the Facebook page of the group.
- Rovaniemi. More information can be found on Facebook page and by e-mail at nirodha.rovaniemi(at)gmail.com.
Monthly Practice Days in Helsinki
We organize a silent practice day once a month, usually on the first Saturday of each month from 10 AM – 6 PM at Buddhist Center Sampo. During the day, we alternate between silent 45-minute sitting and walking meditation periods. We also listen to a recorded English dharma talk. If you’re not familiar with walking meditation, please arrive early for a short introduction. There is a lunch break at 1:30–2:00 PM – please bring your own lunch. If you prefer to attend half a day, it is possible to arrive or leave during the lunch break.
Other Activities
We also organize courses, daylong retreats, study circles, movie nights, social gatherings, etc. For instance, we have had several groups of people attending the Awakening Joy course by the vipassana teacher James Baraz. The best source of information on these miscellaneous events is our mailing list.
Contact Information
Nirodha ry
Buddhist Center Sampo
Vetehisenkuja 3
00530 Helsinki
Finland
Email: nirodha@nirodha.fi
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/nirodha.ry
Juha Penttilä (+358 40 324 6724)
Robin Lybeck (+358 40 746 4757)
Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions, we are happy to help!
Links
- Insight meditation retreats abroad
- Gaia House, Devon, UK
- Insight Meditation Society, Massachusetts, USA
- Spirit Rock, California, USA
- Vipassanagruppen, Stockholm, Sweden
- Northern Light Vipassana Society, Sweden
- Skogskloster buddhistsamfunn, Norway
- Vimalakirti Center, Geneva, Switzerland
- Meditation Center Beatenberg, Switzerland
- Miscellaneous resources
- Goenka Vipassana Retreats in Finland
- The Finnish Buddhist Union
- Access to Insight: Readings in Theravada Buddhism
- Dharma Seed: Large collection of recorded dharma talks
- Worldwide Insight: Live meditation evenings led by renowned vipassana teachers every Sunday