Jyväskylä Zen ry

We provide an opportunity to practice Zen in a group, under the guidance of an experienced teacher and in connection with a living tradition.

We have zazen (Zen meditation) two times a week, on Wednesdays and Sundays at 6 pm. Once a month, on every 2nd Sunday of each month, we have zazenkai (whole day sitting) from 10 am to 3 pm. Members may also participate in weekend retreats in Finland and sesshins (four- or seven-day retreats) in Zengården in Sweden.

We have our sittings at Paja (Old Forge) which is the building I at the Seminaarinmäki Campus. Take a look at the map.

We arrange practical one day introductions to meditation practice and formal zazen procedure. After this introduction you can start to practice on your own and attend formal zazen with our group. These formal introductions are in Finnish. If you want to have an introduction in English, please contact us.

Our teachers are Sensei Sante Poromaa and Sensei Kanja Odland, the spiritual leaders of Zenbuddhistiska Samfundet. The teachers live in Sweden, and you can meet them for example during meditation retreats in Finland and in Sweden.

We practice Zen according to the lineage that was established by the Japanese master Sogaku Harada Roshi, brought to the West by Roshi Philip Kapleau. For more information about Zen, our teachers, and our lineage, see the Rochester Zen Center and Zenbuddhistiska Samfundet websites. Zen groups in our tradition also practice in Helsinki, Tampere, and Lahti.

For further information, please get in touch! You can find the e-mail address at the bottom of the page.