***PARTIALLY CLOSED DUE TO CORONA*** (19-02-2021)
After the recent changes from the government we are able to gradually start opening up the monastery.
The following measures are currently effective:
On Saturday and Sunday Ajahn Kalyano will be available in the mediation hall with his translator from 10:00 to 11:00. This means that there is room for maximum 8 guests at a time. This way we can keep in touch and there is opportunity for spiritual guidance. You are welcome to continue meditating for as long as you like after the monks have left.
We intend to keep online teaching sessions going through for example Line and Skype.
We wish you all to stay safe and sound throughout this challenging period the world is currently going through and we hope that the government’s measures will succeed in overcoming this challenge.
After the recent changes from the government we are able to gradually start opening up the monastery.
The following measures are currently effective:
- The meditation hall is open for visitors, maximum 10 people at a time
- The main house is closed, but we can invite in up to 5 people if the circumstances demand it. Please contact us beforehand if you have a need to go into the main house
- Visitors will not be able to eat at the monastery
- A table is set up outside where offerings to the Sangha can be made
On Saturday and Sunday Ajahn Kalyano will be available in the mediation hall with his translator from 10:00 to 11:00. This means that there is room for maximum 8 guests at a time. This way we can keep in touch and there is opportunity for spiritual guidance. You are welcome to continue meditating for as long as you like after the monks have left.
We intend to keep online teaching sessions going through for example Line and Skype.
We wish you all to stay safe and sound throughout this challenging period the world is currently going through and we hope that the government’s measures will succeed in overcoming this challenge.
Skiptvet Buddhist Monastery belongs to the Thai forest tradition of Theravada Buddhism. It was established on the 1st of July, 2015, when Western monks from the lineage of the late Venerable Ajahn Chah came to take up residence here, following an invitation by the Norwegian Forest Monastery Foundation ("Stiftelsen Skogskloster"). The monastery, which is the first of its kind in the Nordic countries, consists of an old farm with surrounding forest ― altogether approximately 37 hectares/90 acres. It is located in the south-east of Norway, about one hour by car south of Oslo and two-and-a-half hours north of Gothenburg.
Lokuttara Vihara is the Pali name for Skiptvet Buddhist Monastery. In Pali, the scriptural language of Theravada Buddhism, it means "Dwelling Beyond the World". Lokuttara is made up of "loka", meaning world, and "uttara", meaning above or the north. Vihara means either a physical abode or a mental dwelling place. The aim of the Buddhist practice is to transcend all worldly conditions and realize Nibbana which is said to be "above the world". It is also a suitable name for a monastery located in the northern part of Europe.
