Buddhism in Denmark
Encyclopedia
Buddhism is the 4th largest religion in Denmark with approximately 20,000 - 25,000 members.
and Philologists. In 1921, Dr. Christian F. Melbye founded the first Buddhist Society in Denmark, but it was later dissolved in 1950 before his death in 1953. In the 1950s, there was a revival in interest towards Buddhism, especially Tibetan Buddhism
and Hannah and Ole Nydahl
, founded the first Karma Kagyu
Buddhist centers in Copenhagen
. The third wave of Buddhism came in the 1980s, when refugees from Vietnam
, Sri Lanka
and China came to Denmark. Some Buddhist women, especially those from Thailand
, came to Denmark seeking Danish husbands.
and 6,000 are from Thailand
. There are about 40 different Buddhist groups in Denmark, but only 6 of them have the status of recognized religion by the state. Despite Buddhism being a minority religion, the Dalai Lama
is the Danes preferred religious role model.
There are fifteen different schools of Tibetan Buddhism
represented in Denmark.
and the Wat Phra Dhammakaya Denmark, Denmark. 900 of the Sri Lankan Tamil
refugees are buddhist. These Buddhist émigrés seem almost invisible in Denmark, partly because Buddhism is generally not an evangelical religion, and they rarely take part in the larger social debate, partly because they have low unemployment and crime rates and are therefore not particularly newsworthy subjects for the media.
was founded in Denmark by Hannah and Ole Nydahl
. It is a Tibetan Buddhist group within the Karma Kagyu
, one of the major Tibetan
schools. The very first center was opened in Copenhagen in 1972 and relocated in 1975 to its current location. To this day Diamond Way Buddhism has increased to nearly 600 centers world wide. This school is the largest Vajrayana
school in Denmark, with 1,200 Danish affiliates.
is amongst the smallest schools of Buddhism in Denmark. It has 7 groups and no more than 100 practitioners.
was established in Denmark in 1983 and has approximately 800 members in 54 local groups.
despite having only two hundred paying members. Another Lakha Lama project called Phendeling has subsequently taken over its role and now includes some non-Vajrayana
Buddhist groups. Two groups, the Diamond Way Buddhism
and Sokka Gakkai have not been invited to join the umbrella organizations. In the early 1990s there was a split between Ole Nydahl and the rest of the groups during the Karmapa controversy
. One of two candidates was about to be chosen as the one new reincarnation
of the 16th Karmapa. Ole Nydahl was supported Trinley Thaye Dorje whilst Urgyen Trinley Dorje
was supported by most other Buddhist groups and the Dalai Lama
has visited Denmark several times. He first visited in 1973 to help inaugurate the first Karma Kagyu center founded by the Nydahls. He came back in 1996 for an official visit, but was not met by the Danish prime minister at that time Poul Nyrup Rasmussen
who said that he was too busy, which he said again when the Dalai Lama re-visited in 2000. However, he did meet him in the airport just before he left.
In 2003, the Dalai Lama returned and was officially welcomed by Rasmussen's successor Anders Fogh Rasmussen
with the backing of the entire government, despite protests from China.
The next visit is scheduled for May 2009 and has been invited by the Tibet Charity led by Lakha Lama.
History
In the 19th century, knowledge about Buddhism was brought back from expeditions that explored the East and but interest was mainly from authors, BuddhologistsBuddhology
Buddhology is the study of the Buddha or Buddhahood. The term is also used as a synonym for Buddhist Studies, contemporary academic investigation of Buddhism....
and Philologists. In 1921, Dr. Christian F. Melbye founded the first Buddhist Society in Denmark, but it was later dissolved in 1950 before his death in 1953. In the 1950s, there was a revival in interest towards Buddhism, especially Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
and Hannah and Ole Nydahl
Ole Nydahl
Ole Nydahl is a lama in the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism under guidance of Trinley Thaye Dorje. Since the early 1970s, Nydahl has toured the world giving lectures and meditation courses. With his wife, Hannah Nydahl, he founded Diamond Way Buddhism, a worldwide lay organization of Karma...
, founded the first Karma Kagyu
Karma Kagyu
Karma Kagyu , or Kamtsang Kagyu, is probably the largest and certainly the most widely practiced lineage within the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The lineage has long-standing monasteries in Tibet, China, Russia, Mongolia, India, Nepal, and Bhutan, and current...
Buddhist centers in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
. The third wave of Buddhism came in the 1980s, when refugees from Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and China came to Denmark. Some Buddhist women, especially those from Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, came to Denmark seeking Danish husbands.
Demographics
Accurate figures for the number of Buddhists in Denmark is not known, as it is illegal to record people's faiths in Denmark. However, according to Jørn Borup (Department of the Study of Religion at the University of Aarhus), are where approximately 18-20,000 Buddhists in Denmark today, of which 80% are Asian immigrants. Of these, 7,000 - 9,000 from VietnamVietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
and 6,000 are from Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. There are about 40 different Buddhist groups in Denmark, but only 6 of them have the status of recognized religion by the state. Despite Buddhism being a minority religion, the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
is the Danes preferred religious role model.
Schools
Accurate figures for the number of buddhists in each school are not known. But it has been estimated that of the 20,000 Buddhists in Denmark, 3,000 are Tibetan Buddhists, and 1,000 are part of the Japanese Soka Gakkai.There are fifteen different schools of Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
represented in Denmark.
Theravadan
Theravada Buddhism in Denmark is practised primarily by Thais and Sri Lankans and between 90 and 95% of the 7,700 Danish Thais are Buddhists. Thai Buddhist temples include the Watpa in Copenhagen, Wat Thai Denmark Brahmavihara Buddhist MonasteryMonastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
and the Wat Phra Dhammakaya Denmark, Denmark. 900 of the Sri Lankan Tamil
Tamil people
Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
refugees are buddhist. These Buddhist émigrés seem almost invisible in Denmark, partly because Buddhism is generally not an evangelical religion, and they rarely take part in the larger social debate, partly because they have low unemployment and crime rates and are therefore not particularly newsworthy subjects for the media.
Diamond Way
Diamond Way BuddhismDiamond Way Buddhism
Diamond Way Buddhism is a lay organization within the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. The first Diamond Way Buddhist centre was founded in 1972 by Hannah and Ole Nydahl...
was founded in Denmark by Hannah and Ole Nydahl
Ole Nydahl
Ole Nydahl is a lama in the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism under guidance of Trinley Thaye Dorje. Since the early 1970s, Nydahl has toured the world giving lectures and meditation courses. With his wife, Hannah Nydahl, he founded Diamond Way Buddhism, a worldwide lay organization of Karma...
. It is a Tibetan Buddhist group within the Karma Kagyu
Karma Kagyu
Karma Kagyu , or Kamtsang Kagyu, is probably the largest and certainly the most widely practiced lineage within the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The lineage has long-standing monasteries in Tibet, China, Russia, Mongolia, India, Nepal, and Bhutan, and current...
, one of the major Tibetan
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
schools. The very first center was opened in Copenhagen in 1972 and relocated in 1975 to its current location. To this day Diamond Way Buddhism has increased to nearly 600 centers world wide. This school is the largest Vajrayana
Vajrayana
Vajrayāna Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayāna, Mantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Vehicle...
school in Denmark, with 1,200 Danish affiliates.
Zen
ZenZen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
is amongst the smallest schools of Buddhism in Denmark. It has 7 groups and no more than 100 practitioners.
Soka Gakkai
The Soka Gakkai sectSect
A sect is a group with distinctive religious, political or philosophical beliefs. Although in past it was mostly used to refer to religious groups, it has since expanded and in modern culture can refer to any organization that breaks away from a larger one to follow a different set of rules and...
was established in Denmark in 1983 and has approximately 800 members in 54 local groups.
Attempts at Unity
In 1991, the Tibetan-born Lakha Lama tried to establish a trans-sectarian Buddhist umbrella organization called the Buddhist Forum and since 1993 it has been a member of the European Buddhist UnionEuropean Buddhist Union
The European Buddhist Union is an umbrella organization of Buddhist communities and organizations in Europe founded in 1975. It is open to Buddhist organizations of all schools and traditions....
despite having only two hundred paying members. Another Lakha Lama project called Phendeling has subsequently taken over its role and now includes some non-Vajrayana
Vajrayana
Vajrayāna Buddhism is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayāna, Mantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Vehicle...
Buddhist groups. Two groups, the Diamond Way Buddhism
Diamond Way Buddhism
Diamond Way Buddhism is a lay organization within the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. The first Diamond Way Buddhist centre was founded in 1972 by Hannah and Ole Nydahl...
and Sokka Gakkai have not been invited to join the umbrella organizations. In the early 1990s there was a split between Ole Nydahl and the rest of the groups during the Karmapa controversy
Karmapa controversy
The recognition of the Seventeenth Karmapa, the head of the Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism, has been the subject of controversy. Since the death of the sixteenth Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, in 1981, two candidates have been put forward:...
. One of two candidates was about to be chosen as the one new reincarnation
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
of the 16th Karmapa. Ole Nydahl was supported Trinley Thaye Dorje whilst Urgyen Trinley Dorje
Urgyen Trinley Dorje
Ogyen Trinley Dorje , also written Urgyen Trinley Dorje , is a claimant to the title of 17th Karmapa.The Karmapa is head of the Karma Kagyu school, one of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism...
was supported by most other Buddhist groups and the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
Visits by the Dalai Lama
The exiled Tibetan leader, the Dalai LamaDalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
has visited Denmark several times. He first visited in 1973 to help inaugurate the first Karma Kagyu center founded by the Nydahls. He came back in 1996 for an official visit, but was not met by the Danish prime minister at that time Poul Nyrup Rasmussen
Poul Nyrup Rasmussen
Poul Nyrup Rasmussen , informally Poul Nyrup, born 15 June 1943), was Prime Minister of Denmark from 25 January 1993 to 27 November 2001 and is currently President of the Party of European Socialists . He was the leader of the governing Social Democrats from 1992 to 2002...
who said that he was too busy, which he said again when the Dalai Lama re-visited in 2000. However, he did meet him in the airport just before he left.
In 2003, the Dalai Lama returned and was officially welcomed by Rasmussen's successor Anders Fogh Rasmussen
Anders Fogh Rasmussen
Anders Fogh Rasmussen is a Danish politician, and the 12th and current Secretary General of NATO. Rasmussen served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 27 November 2001 to 5 April 2009....
with the backing of the entire government, despite protests from China.
The next visit is scheduled for May 2009 and has been invited by the Tibet Charity led by Lakha Lama.