XI Международная студенческая научная конференция Студенческий научный форум - 2019

On the territory of the Russian Federation, Buddhism began to develop quite a long time ago. This Eastern religion for the Russian people is not new. But It is worth noting that its popularity is growing over time. Buddhism is interesting, multifaceted, colorful. Even those who profess other religious teachings or hold atheistic views will be curious about this religion. Buddhism is especially widespread in Buryatia, Kalmykia and the Republic of Tuva. The people living in these regions of the Russian Federation, mainly preach this religion. On the territory of the republics there are Buddhist temples. For example, the main Buddhist temple located in Elista is a place of pilgrimage to which people come from all over Russia and from other countries. In Buryatia there are several sacred datsuns. In the Republic of Tuva, there are Buddhist monasteries in operation.

Thanks to its Eurasian connections, the Tsardom of Russia (1547-1721) and its successor the Muscovy-Romanov Empire (1721-1917) experienced the Buddhist diffusion earlier than many other early modern empires, including the Ottoman, British, and Mughal empires. This unique presence of Buddhism persists today through the nomadic cultures of Kalmyks, Buryats, Tuvans, and other minorities in the Federation. We are grateful to Dr. Andrey Terentyev for publishing this four-part series about Russian Buddhism with us.

Buddhism (Lamaism) in the 17th century, when it comes to the Volga and Transbaikalia from Dzhungaria (China). In the second half of the 18th century Kalmyks left back to Dzhungaria; the remaining ones settled along the Ural, the Terek, and the Kuma. At that time, Buryats had at least 17 lamaist temples and 150 lamas.

In 1771, as a result of persecution by the tsarist government, the bulk of the Kalmyks fled back to Dzungaria (in present-day China). The 13,000 families of Kalmyks who remained in Russia were resettled along the Ural, Terek, and Kuma rivers. Not counting the khuruls that migrated out of Russia in 1771 with the mass of the Kalmyk people, by the end of the eighteenth century fourteen Buddhist monasteries remained among the Kalmyks.

Religious leaders among the Kalmyks were called lamas, while the remaining religious individuals – monks and those studying to become lamas – were khuvaraki (singular khuvarak). After the out-migration of 1771 the Buddhist church was decentralized and each region (ulus) chose its own head lama. There were three ranks of khuvaraki: mandzhi, getsul, and geliung. Since the beginning of the eighteenth century advancement through these ranks was controlled by a system of monastic education: a young mandzhi would study for five years to reach the first monastic rank of getsul, after which eight more years of education would be required to reach the rank of geliung. Finally there would be five to seven more years of study, generally completed by the age of thirty.

Among the Kalmyks we find a legal system requiring universal compulsory education for boys for perhaps the first time in world history. This is prescribed in section seven of the second chapter of the law code promulgated in the reign of khan Dondok-Dashi (1741-1753):

"If any of the sons of the noble people shall not be taught reading and writing in todo ueeg [the Oirat alphabet], then the father shall pay a three-year-old horse as a fine and the son shall be given to a teacher for instruction. The fine for the same offense from a person known to society: a three-year-old sheep. From a commoner: fifteen kopecks*, and the son is given to instruction just as in the above situation. If he does not educate his son before age fifteen, he will be punished for this."

Buddhism diffused into the area east of Lake Baikal at around the same time. The first reports of Buddhist beliefs among the Buryats come from Moscow in 1647 (by the Cossack captain K. Moskvitin). By 1741, eleven temples and 150 Tibetan and Mongolian monks were registered in Transbaikalia. Agvan Puntsok, a Tibetan from Chone, was the head lama. Historians frequently cite a decree of Empress Elizabeth from 1741 as officially recognizing Buddhism in Russia, but so far we have been unable to discover evidence of this decree among the collections of state documents.

The Russian government tried to put a stop to the development of Buddhism among the Buryats as part of its efforts to facilitate the Christianization of the region. In 1853 it forbade the building of new datsans other than the already existing 34 in a law titled Regulation Concerning Lamaist Clergy in Eastern Siberia. It also attempted to limit the growth of the number of lamas by stipulating that only one lama per 200 parishioners would be tax-free. This would have resulted in a limit of 285 established lamas, and the remaining thousands of clergy would be taxed just like ordinary peasants. As a practical matter, however, the 1853 law was not actively enforced because the government had plans for expansion in East Asia and was afraid of stirring up too much dissatisfaction among the population of this key region. And so Buryat Buddhism continued its rapid growth.

The influence of Buddhism was especially noticeable in 1914 following the annexation Tuva with 22 monasteries to Russia. After 1917 Buddhist clergy was under persecution; lamas were denied the right to land; schools and monasteries were closed, churches were looted and their property was handed over to museums. However, during the 1940s the USSR created “the Central Spiritual Administration of Buddhists”; lamas were released from prisons and camps, the Buddhist communities resumed their activities in Tuva, Kalmykia and Leningrad. The basis of this religion is the unique teaching of the Buddha, which, like many other Saints, is considered a person who once really lived on earth. The teachings lie four noble truths. Following the teachings, a person must heal from heartache and be able to live happily and graciously in this world. There are several existing schools of Buddhism. And depending on which school a person who professes this faith belongs to, he has special views of the world and life. However, the difference in principles and knowledge is small. The center of this religion is always good, love and the way to get rid of suffering. Most of all the representatives of this religion in our country profess the teachings of the Gelug school. There are also very many representatives of the Karma Kagyu school in the Russian Federation.

In the central part of Russia, the teachings of Mahayana are widespread. The number of followers of Zen in the country is much smaller. In the main, Zen Buddhism on Russian territory is represented by the Korean school Kwan Um.

On the territory of Altai, Kalmykia, Buryatia, Tibetan Buddhism is widespread. There are many followers of the Tibetan school in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the southern part of the Russian Federation (Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar Territory). It is believed that more than 1% of the population professes this religion in our country. Among the adherents there are so-called ethnic Buddhists. These are the people who were born on the territory of the republics, where Buddhism in Russia has long historical roots and is the main religion. Also in our country there are a lot of young Buddhists who came to this faith thanks to the study and acceptance of Eastern culture. Nowadays, many destroyed Buddhist temples have been restored. In addition to Elista, Buryatia, Tuva, Buddhist datsan can be found in the Sverdlovsk region. In St. Petersburg there are several temples, there is a prayer place in Irkutsk.

In January 2003 in Russia there were 218 Buddhist organizations. Kalmykia Buddhists Association operates in Kalmykia; in Tuva - Kamba Lama of Tuva Office. In the republic of Buryatia there are two Buddhist monasteries (datsans), which have survived from more than 40 monasteries and 150 churches.

Basic Buddhism Ideas

The basis of this religion is the love of man, of all living things and the world as a whole. You can come to this love and harmony through self-knowledge and contemplation.

The four noble truths are:

(1) The world is full of suffering

(2) All sufferings have a cause, and ‘Tanha’ or desire, ignorance and attachment are the cause of suffering

(3) The suffering can be avoided by destroying the cause and

(4) Suffering can be ended by knowing and practising the right path and that right path is the eightfold path

The Buddha laid great emphasis on the law of Karma. He taught that the present is determined by the actions of man in the past birth and the condition of a man in this life depends upon his earlier actions The Buddha’s teachings made it clear that we are born repeatedly to reap the fruits of Karma.

He propagated that if an individual does not commit sins he/she is not born again. The law of Karma is thus an essential element of his teachings. The Buddha preached that the ultimate goal in man’s life is Nirvana or freedom from rebirth. Nirvana is possible only when we rid ourselves of desires and thereby end suffering. Therefore, for the Buddha, the annihilation of desire is the core issue. Normal, simple and virtuous life in this world can lead to salvation, and not sacrifices and prayers.

In the Buddhist teachings there is an octal path to salvation. These are eight points, observing which you can gain knowledge and take the path of liberation.

The Buddha’s eightfold path consists of:

(1) Knowing the right view, i.e., the world is full of sorrow because of desire and by ending desire, life can be liberated.

(2) Right aims, i.e., not to love the pleasures of life but to love humanity and to strive for the increase of happiness in others.

(3) Right speech, i.e., speaking truth alone.

(4) Right action, i.e., doing action without selfish motive.

(5) Right livelihood, i.e., man should obtain his livelihood by right means only.

(6) Right effort, i.e., one should have control over his thoughts and should destroy desire and attachment.

(7) Right-mindedness, i.e., knowing the impermanence of the body, and

(8) Right concentration, i.e., observance of meditation that will unravel the truth.

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