When we become miters, we confirm that Buddhist Community "Triratna" is the environment in which we want to practice the Dharma, at least for the foreseeable future. In the first three sessions of this part of the course we will explore what this means by looking at the place Buddhist Community "Triratna" in the broader context of Buddhist history and Buddhist schools, looking at the style of practice within Buddhist Community "Triratna"(and why it is so), as well as considering some distinctive features, which highlight Buddhist Community "Triratna" among other Buddhist schools you may have encountered.
The last four sessions of this part focus on the rituals and practices of worship. We will consider the purpose of the ritual and study in detail the main worship practices used in Buddhist Community "Triratna". In this, the first session of this part of the course, we will briefly explore the history of the various schools and styles of Buddhism, which will help us see Buddhist Community "Triratna" in a broader context.
(Text specially written by Vadanaya).
Buddhism is an ancient tradition, and even before its recent spread to the West, it had taken root over vast areas of the earth's surface: from Iran in the West to Japan in the East, from cold Siberia in Russia in the north to the lush tropical island of Java, located approximately the same southern latitudes as Northern Australia. As a result, Buddhism now exists in a number of forms, each of which has been significantly influenced by the characteristics of the culture in which it developed. On the surface, these schools may look very different and may even appear to offer different paths. This can be confusing to a Westerner who wants to get a general understanding of Buddhism rather than simply accept one of these schools on the surface as "real" Buddhism. In this session we will attempt to provide the basis for such a view by briefly summarizing the history of Buddhism and highlighting where some of the major schools represented in the West stand.
Buddha was born near the modern India-Nepal border, probably sometime between 560 and 480 BC. He died eighty years later. After his death, his teachings were passed on both by oral tradition and by example and practice. Nothing seems to have been written down until at least three hundred years after the Buddha's death, by which time various approaches to the practice had already developed, so we cannot be entirely sure what "original Buddhism" was.
However, we can probably be quite sure of a few things. We can be quite sure that the Buddha advised radical withdrawal from "worldly" concerns and the abandonment of all possessions and family ties as the most beneficial way of life for achieving spiritual liberation. Consequently, many of the Buddha's early disciples lived as homeless beggars, sleeping and meditating under trees and eating whatever was given to them. We can also be sure that the Buddha taught other styles of practice to householders whose responsibilities did not allow them to live in this way, and early scriptures mention that some of these "lay" students actually achieved Insight.
We can be reasonably sure, from the example of the Buddha, his most advanced disciples, and the oldest parts of his oldest writings, that the Buddha taught that the spiritual life should be lived - these were the words he inspired his followers - "for the benefit of the many." In other words, he taught that spiritual life is not about seeking personal liberation, it is about helping in the spiritual evolution of the entire human race. Therefore, he and his early disciples considered the spread of the Dharma and the creation of the Sangha integral part of your practice. We can also be sure that he taught that we need to work hard at our own liberation if we want to benefit others—until we are no longer part of the problem, we cannot be part of the solution. In his early writings, he recommended a variety of practices to help achieve liberation that suited the needs and temperament of the individual or group he was addressing.
As a minimum basis, he recommends a life that does not harm anyone, is full of generosity, and is morally correct. He advised people to develop warm loving heart to other creatures. He advised spiritual friendship as a necessary foundation for spiritual growth. He taught that developing clear awareness of the body, our thoughts and our feelings is an integral part of spiritual growth. He taught that we need to learn to focus on our mind in meditation in order to learn to see things as they really are. Buddhists in Triratna are likely to recognize many of the practices taught in the early Sangha—for example, we are likely to recognize the Five Precepts, mindful breathing, and metta bhavana.
During the Buddha's lifetime and for many years after his death, he had a core of followers living as "forest hermits", sleeping outdoors most of the year, meditating under trees, begging for food and renouncing the slightest possession. During the monsoon period, these forest hermits would hold a monsoon retreat, gathering in huts or shelters to meditate and study the Dharma together. Over time, more and more hermits chose to continue this relatively comfortable sedentary lifestyle, until many lived all year in buildings donated by wealthy lay disciples, perhaps near the palaces of generous patrons, where food, clothing, and medicine were easily obtained. Thus a permanent monastic order gradually developed, which is now an important part of many schools of Buddhism - almost certainly long after the death of the Buddha.
Thus three directions developed in the early Sangha. There were forest hermits - uncompromising, poorly organized, perhaps a little wild, a little possessed magical powers. Then there were the sedentary monasteries, in need of a higher degree of organization, with greater capacity to spread the Dharma to the wider community, but also more dependent on the encouragement of wealthy donors and in greater danger of becoming comfortable and respected and thus losing their spiritual edge . Finally, there were the “lay people” who combined spiritual practice with the time-consuming tasks of supporting a family and earning a living. All three were necessary parts of a joint venture dedicated to raising the spiritual level of the human race.
In the first centuries of our era, a new movement developed within Indian Buddhism, calling itself Mahayana - “Great Vehicle” or “Great Path”. The origins of the Mahayana are complex and obscure, but by the time the great Mahayana sutras, such as the Vimalakirti-nirdesha and the White Lotus Sutra (these sutras were first translated into Chinese in the second and third centuries CE), were written down, respectively, and therefore existed in India before this time), it certainly emerged as a self-conscious movement, critical of what its followers felt was the decline of the more traditional schools, which they called the "Hinayana" or "Little Vehicle" . Most schools of Buddhism existing in the world today belong to the Mahayana or its offshoot, the Vajrayana. The only exception is the Theravada school in Southeast Asia.
Mahayana sutras such as The White Lotus and Vimalakirti-nirdesha criticized followers of the so-called Hinayana for viewing spiritual life as a selfish quest for personal liberation rather than a contribution to the overall spiritual evolution of all beings. They caricatured what they saw as a narrow-minded obsession with monastic rules, and portrayed the so-called Hinanists as so attached to the particular details of practice that they had lost vision common goal which these practices are intended to serve—they have taken the means for the end.
These Mahayana sutras re-emphasized the importance of developing a warm, compassionate attitude towards all living beings. They more explicitly emphasized selfless actions for the benefit of others. They presented a new version of the Buddhist spiritual ideal, which they distinguished from the old ideal of the arhat or arahant - literally "worthy" - which in the eyes of some began to indicate a cold, negative detachment. The spiritual ideal for Mahayana Buddhism was not the one who has freed himself from this world and lives in a state of bliss, but the one who has looked beyond the world we know, but has decided to work in the world and for the benefit of the world out of a deep sense of unity with other beings.
This spiritual ideal was called Bodhisattva in Sanskrit. The Bodhisattva ideal served a dual purpose for Mahayana Buddhists, since it both emphasized the selfless, compassionate aspect of Enlightenment that they felt the Hinayana Buddhists had lost, and because it was a goal to which all Buddhists could strive, regardless of whether they lived they became monastics, and therefore the opportunity to lead a life devoted to spirituality became available to more people.
Many Mahayana sutras portray the Buddha as an archetype of Enlightenment who can be contacted in meditation, or even as a universal force, rather than as a being limited by history. Some expand this archetypal approach to include a number of different figures of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas associated with various aspects of the Enlightened Mind. Some of them present us with a magnificent vision of a magical, multidimensional universe in which we can become one with the cosmic forces working for the benefit of the Enlightenment of all beings. Such sutras may seem to us like magnificent spiritual fiction—a big difference from the usually rather mundane suttas of the Pali Canon.
Mahayana sutras, such as the White Lotus Sutra, constantly remind us that all the teachings and practices of Buddhism are “skillful means”, ways to help people various types and spiritual levels to achieve Enlightenment that they cannot currently comprehend or imagine. Primarily because they viewed all teachings as skillful means, Mahayana Buddhists often seemed to see nothing wrong with developing new teachings and practices to suit different temperaments, lifestyles, and cultures, as long as they felt they were in keeping with the spirit , if not the letter of the Buddha's teachings. This allowed us to become more flexible and adapt to changing historical circumstances and new cultures, allowing us to develop forms of practice that suited a much wider range of people.
This penchant for innovation in Mahayana Buddhism is largely responsible for the great variety of different schools, philosophies and practices that we see in Buddhism today. Depending on our temperament, we may see this diversity as both an advantage and a disadvantage, but most likely, both are true. On the one hand, Mahayana Buddhism has probably helped many more people move towards Enlightenment than would have been possible if it had strictly adhered to the practices, customs and attitudes of the so-called Hinayana. On the other hand, some forms of Mahayana can hardly be considered Buddhism at all, and their practices no longer have anything in common with those taught by the historical Buddha.
From about 500 AD, a third branch of Buddhism, growing out of the Mahayana, arose in India. This was Vajrayana, the "Diamond Vehicle", sometimes called Tantric Buddhism. Vajrayana uses a series of symbols and rituals to connect with a person's subconscious energies and harness them to their fullest potential. Tantric Buddhism is an "esoteric" tradition, in the sense that it depends on direct initiation and a close relationship between student and guru teacher. Tibetan Buddhism has always emphasized, at least in the past, that Vajrayana is an advanced form of practice, for those who have already achieved a high degree of renunciation and have developed a compassionate, altruistic motivation in their practice. For others, it was said that Vajrayana methods could be useless or even dangerous.
Vajrayana Buddhism evolved from Mahayana and uses magical rituals, mantras and visualization practices to follow the goal of Mahayana Buddhism - Enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings. Perhaps as a reaction to the lofty cosmic perspectives and metaphysical speculations of the Mahayana, the Vajrayana emphasizes direct experience. It therefore developed a new understanding of the "Three Refuges" in which the guru is seen as the embodiment of the Buddha, the particular Buddha or bodhisattva into whose visualization practice the initiation has been given is seen as the Dharma, and the dakini - the challenging, inspiring "celestial dancer" - as the symbol of the Sangha. .
The Vajrayana literature is vast. Most of it consists of instructions for elaborate rituals and meditations. This vast array of tantric practices appears to have developed organically, gradually, but in Tibet they were later codified into various "classes" of tantras, which were theorized to represent increasingly advanced stages of practice through which the student must pass.
In addition to Tibetan Buddhism, in which the Vajrayana element is very strong, the main tantric school that has survived to this day is also the Shingon school in Japan.
By about 1300 AD. Buddhism virtually died out in the country of its birth, partly due to several Muslim invasions, during which monasteries and universities were destroyed and many monks were martyred. But long before it disappeared from India, Buddhism had already spread in all directions far beyond the Indian subcontinent. It is the schools that survive outside India that now make up the diverse traditions that we call Buddhism.
The Theravada school of Southeast Asia is the only extant school that traces its origins to the sthaviras, or “elders,” the predominant tradition in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia and Laos. The image of a calm, majestic monk in a saffron robe is an important part of many people's ideas about Buddhism.
The Theravādins base much of their teachings on the Pali Canon, a group of scriptures in the Pali language written down sometime around the first century CE. By this time these teachings had already passed through several centuries of oral transmission and were in many cases, no doubt, distorted. However, parts of the Pali Canon are still probably the closest of any source available to us to the actual words of the historical Buddha himself. Some knowledge of the most important suttas (or sermons) of the Pali Canon is necessary for anyone who wants to have a general understanding of Buddhist tradition.
Theravada is a conservative tradition: the name “Theravada” means “path of the elders.” B Theravada Uddists place great emphasis on the historical authenticity of their teachings. They tend to reject the scriptures of the Mahayana schools as not based on the words of the Buddha and to be wary of any innovations. Theravada Buddhism places a very strong emphasis on monastic life - in the Theravada tradition, the word "Sangha" refers only to monks.
For those who are able to lead the monastic life, Theravada offers clear, rational, down-to-earth practices emphasizing mindfulness, renunciation, detachment from worldly concerns, and insight into the transitory and unsatisfying nature of all worldly pleasures. Many of the core practices and teachings used in Triratna have their origins primarily in the Theravada tradition - which is not surprising since Sangharakshita, the movement's founder, was himself a Theravada monk for many years.
The Theravada tradition, however, is criticized by Sangharakshita and other writers for emphasizing strict adherence to the letter of the teachings at the expense of the spirit of the Buddha's message, for seeing minor monastic rules as an end in themselves, and for undervaluing the role of warm, positive emotions in the spiritual life and instead sees the goal in cool, analytical insight. It is pointed out that the Buddha in the Pali Canon often emphasized the importance of metta, compassion and fellow-joy, but the Theravada approach may ignore these aspects of their own canon or downplay them as important only on the "lower" lay path.
Chan or Zen Buddhism first emerged as a distinct school in China, and its initial popularity can be attributed to a desire to return to basics at a time when some forms of Mahayana Buddhism were mired in verbal metaphysical manipulation or unrealistic flights of fancy about the spiritual life. Chan in Chinese and Zen in Japanese are corruptions of the Sanskrit word dhyana, which means meditation or meditative states. Therefore, Zen Buddhism means Buddhism that emphasizes the importance of meditation.
In its traditional form, Chan (Zen) combined long hours of meditation with a difficult monastic regime of daily work, lack of comfort and personal space, very simple food and a stern, serious style of teaching. Chan and Zen practice also included prayers, rituals, worship practices, and Dharma talks. Taken together, this set was a complete frontal attack on the ego's attempts to live according to its likes and dislikes, forcing the practitioner to let go of self-obsession - or else become very unhappy.
Two different forms of Zen have developed, called Rinzai and Soto in Japan. In Rinzai Zen, the practitioner meditates on unsolvable riddles called koans to create a long, intense sense of searching for an answer to a question that, over time, can lead to a breakthrough of insight. Some of these koans have become famous in Western Buddhist circles, such as what is the sound of one hand clapping?
Soto Zen places great emphasis on what is usually described as formless, "just sitting" meditation. However, new meditation practitioners usually begin with counting the breath, and even experienced Zen meditation practitioners use the breath and body as an anchor to anchor the practice in the direct experience of physical reality, so by all accounts Soto's formless Zen meditation has much in common with how a practitioner Triratne can use mindful breathing in a meditation retreat when strict use of the four stages is no longer necessary.
Japanese Zen was the first Mahayana school to gain popularity in the West. Many Westerners have been impressed by the art and poetry inspired by the Zen tradition, which exudes the scent of the deep tranquility of meditation and an appreciation for the unfolding beauty of nature. Inspired by Zen in the 1960s and later, Western intellectuals who would never have dreamed of submitting themselves to the harsh discipline of a Zen monastery felt moved to write books about Zen, and an image of it emerged that was based more on projections than on facts. But times changed, and as popular enthusiasm for Zen waned, the number of Zen practitioners in the West increased. Japanese Zen now takes the place of one of several forms of Mahayana Buddhism represented in the West.
Like Zen, Pure Land Buddhism appears to have originated as a distinct movement in China and reached its full flowering in Japan, where it is generally recognized as the most popular form of Buddhism. Pure Land Buddhism appears to have begun with an emphasis on devotion to, awareness of, and meditation on the archetypal Buddhas. It therefore differs only slightly in this emphasis from other forms of Mahayana practice, which often include such practices. However, the focus of inspiration in Pure Land Buddhism was the rebirth in the “Pure Land” of one of the Buddhas – most often Amitabha. These Pure Lands were often taken quite literally, as heaven-like dimensions into which we could be reborn. However, many practitioners had a more complex view of the Pure Land, seeing it as a metaphor for the Enlightened state, or even as a metaphor for the wondrous reality behind our present existence, which is usually hidden from us by the defilements of the mind.
Buddhism Pure Land Buddhism emphasizes faith as the main driving force of our spiritual advancement. This emphasis on faith reaches its most extreme forms in the Japanese True Pure Land school. In this school we are encouraged to surrender ourselves completely to Amida, the Buddha of Infinite Light, and to be confident that we are already “embraced and will never let go.”en" with the compassion of the Absolute. The only formalinternship at this school– repeating “Refuge to Buddha Amida” (“Namo amida butsu” in Japanese) – not as a way of maintaining the awareness of the Buddha or awakening his qualities, but simply as an expression of our gratitude for his favor and for the fact that we are already destined for Enlightenment.
Pure Land Buddhism has not yet achieved much popularity in the West except among immigrants from Asia. For most of us, faith is not our strongest point, and those who are more intellectually minded tend to overlook the faith-centered approach. However, this may turn out to be a mistake. Sangharakshita pointed out that a successful practitioner's "total surrender" to the "True Pure Land" is equivalent to pure egolessness and that such faith can be a form of wisdom. At its best, Pure Land teachings are insightful and spiritually sophisticated.
Nichiren Buddhism is the creation of a 13th century Japanese teacher. Nichiren, which became one of the most widespread forms of Buddhism in the West. Like other forms of Japanese Buddhism, it offers a very simplified style of practice, which may be part of the reason for its popularity. His main practice is the devotional repetition of the phrase “Take Refuge to the Lotus Sutra.” Nichiren revered the White Lotus Sutra as the absolute truth of Buddhism, and in his school the text is revered as the Truth itself. Nichiren's Buddhism has been criticized as it appears to have little moral content, and practitioners can be inspired by the idea of repetition as a kind of prayer even for rather mundane, material purposes, which has often been derided as "chanting on a Porsche". This is probably an example of Mahayana "skillful means", but it leads some writers to question whether Nichiren's Buddhism is actually Buddhism.
Tibetan Buddhism is a rich blend of classical Mahayana and Vajrayana with elements of indigenous shamanism. At its best it preserves in a pure, still accessible form the style of Mahayana Buddhism practiced in India before the great monastic universities were destroyed by the Muslim invasions. At its worst it degenerates into idolatry and black magic. Tibetan Buddhism includes a huge variety of teachings developed over 1,500 years in India, and as a result it is so rich, varied and even vague that it is impossible to describe it clearly in a few paragraphs.
Many Tibetan lamas describe their Buddhism as including three "Yanas", the so-called Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana, as a sequence of spiritual development. According to this ideal scheme, the student first takes refuge in the Three Jewels, then gets rid of illusions about samsara and practices renunciation - which is comparable to the goal of the Hinayana. The student then develops a compassionate attitude toward all beings, experiences the generation of bodhichitta, and develops the experience of shunyata, or “emptiness,” which in unity embraces the Mahayana. Based on refuge, renunciation, bodhichitta, and the experience of shunyata, the student then begins Vajrayana practice under the guidance of a guru, using visualizations and mantras to connect with archetypal forms. The student then works his way through a succession of supposedly more and more advanced forms of tantric practice—the Nyingma school numbers seven, making a total of nine “yanas” that the student must undergo.
The problem with this ideal scheme is that in practice the earlier stages are skimmed over even though they represent very profound spiritual achievements.(One might even wonder why, if bodhichitta has arisen and there is a direct experience of shunyata, the naked reality underlying all phenomena, we should bother ourselves with working with mantras and visualization practices.) In fact, this scheme is, of course, not so much an actual path as an attempt to make sense of all the various historical developments of Buddhism that the Tibetans inherited, by viewing them as successively more and more advanced stages of practice.
1. What would you most like to be - a forest hermit, a settled monk or a lay practitioner? What might be the strengths and dangers of each lifestyle?
2. Temperamentally, which yana attracts you the most? Which school of Buddhism appeals to you the most and least?
3. How much various styles Buddhism you came across while reading? Have you had any difficulty seeing how different approaches work together?
4. Do you have direct experience with traditional Asian styles of Buddhism? If yes, tell the group about it.
5. What might be the dangers of thinking that all teachings are “skillful means”? What could be the threat if we view the teaching as absolute truth?
6. Do you think the three “yanas” represent successively more and more advanced stages of practice? Why or why not?
Instructions
One of the most sacred rites in the world is taking refuge, which is akin to Christian baptism. First, the teacher must mentally prepare the person for action and give a blessing, otherwise difficulties are expected. Taking refuge is the awareness of the three jewels: Buddha as the ideal of goodness and great Teacher, Dharma as the practice of transformation, and Sangha as the unity of all living things. This ritual does not do anything, it only enlightens a person and guides him on the path of searching for truth. The initiate makes special bows, offerings, and takes Buddhist vows.
The most important holiday of Buddhism is Vesak, which requires special actions. Vesak is the day of birth, enlightenment and death of Gautama Buddha. On this day, temples are decorated with lanterns, oil lamps are placed, and cards are sent to friends. Buddhists visit monasteries, make their offerings, listen to chants and meditate throughout the night.
Buddhist New Year, or Tsagan Sar, requires certain actions. Prayer services and solemn services take place in churches. On the eve of the holiday, the Gutor ritual takes place, i.e. purification, during which Buddhists throw out everything bad and unnecessary from home and life. Lay people are advised to stay up all night until 6 a.m. and attend prayer, at the end of which the abbot wishes everyone a Happy New Year. The first day of the year should be spent with the family. After the end of the festive meal, the remains of food with various rags and unnecessary little things are placed in a red bowl, where a figurine of a person made from dough is also placed. This cup serves as a ransom for evil forces that must leave the home and family life. Then the cup is taken to a vacant lot and left there. You need to leave this place very quickly, and under no circumstances turn around, otherwise the evil forces will return.
Also in Buddhism, great importance is attached to rituals associated with human burial. Even before death, clergy teach a person how to face death with dignity and what its signs are. According to teaching, before death a person must lie on his right side, put his hand under his head and think about the beautiful and bright. Gradually, a person’s lips become dry, breathing and all processes slow down. Thus, the living thing dies and becomes nothing.
It is important for the relatives of the deceased to record all the data related to death: the cause of death, time, who was nearby, etc., and astrologers should, based on this data, do everything necessary for burial. For the first three days, the dead cannot be moved or touched, so as not to frighten away his soul. On the day of burial, special prayers are read, the burial site is consecrated, otherwise failures await the relatives of the deceased. Women are prohibited from visiting the cemetery. Alcoholic beverages must not be consumed during the funeral.
The ritual side of Buddhism is diverse; in its many schools and directions, the emphasis is on various elements of the Buddhist cult. The actual cult practice, obligatory for all believers, in Buddhism did not receive such detail and regularity as in other religions. More precisely, the practice of monastic asceticism in Buddhism, as it were, supplants worship and aims the monk at direct contact with the supernatural. On the other hand, the religious cult of lay followers of Buddhism is so blurred and harmoniously merged with earlier religious and cult layers, especially Hindu ones, that it loses other important properties of the cult - detail, stability. True, the degree of regularity of the Buddhist cult very much depends on the Sangha: in those countries and regions where the Sangha is numerous and influential, the cult is orderly; where the Sangha is weak, non-Buddhist religious components become very prominent in the cult.
The religious life of believers comes down to visiting “holy” places - the birth, enlightenment, death of Buddha, stupas with some relic, or a local temple. It is significant that most Buddhist temples are dedicated to general Hindu or local deities, to which historical figures are sometimes associated (in Mongolia, for example, they worship Genghis Khan). The central place in Buddhist sanctuaries, as a rule, is occupied by a multi-meter statue of Buddha made of wood, stone, precious metals inlaid with precious stones. Most often, Buddha is depicted in the lotus position, although more than 40 of his favorite poses are known, each of which carries a deep religious meaning that is understandable only to a believer.
The most common religious practices of Buddhism are worship and offering. When Buddhists enter a temple or room where there is a Buddha statue, they can approach it, kneel down and bow three times, touching their forehead to the ground, which symbolizes the Buddhist "three treasures". As a rule, offerings to a Buddha statue are made of three kinds - in the form of candles, which symbolize the light of the teaching in the darkness of human ignorance, flowers, indicating the variability of the world, and aromas, which represent the spread of the teaching. But it is quite acceptable to simply place food in front of the statue, which symbolizes mercy.
Solemn services are carried out according to the traditional lunar calendar every month on the days of the new and full moon. Believers come to these services with offerings to Buddha and gifts for the monks. These days, they very often also take special vows - to lead a more ascetic life for a certain period of time (abstain from eating meat, give up jewelry and entertainment, sex life, etc.).
The cult practice of lay followers of Tibetan Buddhism, which has become widespread in our country, is distinguished by a certain originality. It implies the participation of the laity in ordinary daily and solemn services in monasteries and annual major holidays (great khurals) organized there. Any monastery (datsan, khural) is a complex architectural complex of religious, utility, and educational buildings, surrounded by a whitewashed fence. In some monasteries there lived at times 6, 8 and even 10 thousand monks. Along the monastery fence there are so-called prayer wheels (khurde), which are cylinders filled with volumes of sacred literature, mounted on a vertical axis. Illiterate believers actively use them to perform prayer. One mechanical rotation of the cylinder is equivalent to reading all the prayers contained in it.
The inside of any Lamaist temple is filled, or even overflowing, with paintings and sculptures of religious content. In front of the images of deities there is a sacrificial table covered with fabric with sacred ritual objects. There is a separate platform for the llamas, located between the rows of columns supporting the roof. During daily services (often twice or thrice a day), lamas sit on it on silk cushions (the higher the rank of the lama, the higher the platform and the more pillows under it), reading the text of the book distributed to them page by page. All the lamas read their pages at the same time. Sometimes, interrupting the reading, the lamas begin to sing, accompanying religious hymns with the sounds of various ritual instruments.
Lay believers, as a rule, are not present at divine services. They wait near the temple for the end of the prayer service to lay prostrations in front of the images of deities and leave them modest offerings.
A special layer of the Buddhist cult includes the observance of ethical precepts, daily sacrifices before the home altar, ritual fortune-telling for various everyday occasions, and the performance of life cycle rituals, especially funerals. The rituals accompanying death and burial are especially important, since their failure to observe them, even in individual details, will inevitably lead to new deaths in the family. They are based on the doctrine of bardo, the intermediate state between reincarnations. Particularly important for the future life is the state in which “la”, a kind of vital force of the deceased, is present for 49 days after death. After death, the La Saints go to heaven along a five-color rainbow. The laity of ordinary lay people must be taken out of the body by a monk-lama. Usually, a monk invited for this purpose sits at the head of the deceased and reads to him the “Book of the Dead” (Bardo Thodol), which describes in detail the wanderings of the soul in the intervals between new reincarnations. Next, the lama is obliged to remove the soul from the body with the help of special rituals, and then send it to heaven.
Buddhist holidays are celebrated according to the lunar calendar and are not as numerous as in other religions. The thing is that the three most significant events in the life of the Buddha - birth, enlightenment and immersion in nirvana - occurred on the same day of the May full moon. This day is considered the main holiday in Buddhism, and it is celebrated in April-May with grandiose carnival processions and daily readings of sacred texts dedicated to the life and rebirths of Buddha. In February-March, the holiday of Buddha revealing the basic principles of his teaching to people is celebrated. In June-July, a festival occurs that marks the beginning of the monsoon season in India. According to legend, Buddha ascended in his meditative contemplation to the seventh heaven and there preached his teachings to the gods and to his mother, who received a favorable rebirth as a result of her premature death. Therefore, it is believed that the monks, who are forbidden to leave the walls of the monastery on this day, strive to repeat the spiritual feat of the Buddha. It is the rainy season that is considered especially favorable for taking temporary monastic vows. On these days, monks receive especially many gifts; they are also given clothes that they will use throughout the next year. As a matter of fact, the monastic community selects the fabric in advance, and then within a day they need to sew monastic clothes from it. The finished outfit is given to the laity so that they have another opportunity to make an offering to the monks. Such an elaborate ceremony should encourage monks to set a spiritual example for their lay followers, and their lay followers to demonstrate their charity.
The end of the rainy season is celebrated in October-November with magnificent processions around pagodas (stupas) with the recitation of sutras, which marks the successful return of the Buddha to Earth. In many Buddhist countries, it is a common custom to remove Buddha statues from their pedestals and carry them around the streets. Streets, houses, monasteries, stupas, sacred trees are illuminated with oil lamps, candles and colored light bulbs, which symbolizes the enlightenment brought into the world.
In the regions where Tibetan Buddhism spreads, the birthday of Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelugpa school, is celebrated. There are also a significant number of holidays and rituals that are celebrated in Buddhist countries and have a traditional flavor in each of them.
Buddhism in Russia
The first evidence of the existence of Buddhism in the territory modern Russia date back to the 8th century AD. e. and are associated with the state of Bohai, which in 698-926. occupied part of today's Primorye and Amur region. The Bohai people, whose culture was greatly influenced by neighboring China, Korea and Manchuria, professed Mahayana Buddhism.
Buddhism began to spread within the Russian state about four hundred years ago. The traditional areas where Buddhism is practiced are Buryatia, Tyva, Kalmykia, Chita and Irkutsk regions, and the peoples belonging to Buddhism are Kalmyks, Buryats, and Tuvans.
Kalmyks are the only people in Europe who profess Buddhism. Historically, the Kalmyks are the western branch of the Mongolian ethnic group of the Oirats (Dzungars), who inhabited the north-west of modern China. At the end of the 16th century, due to depletion of pastures and military pressure from China, part of the Oirats moved to the South Siberian steppes and received the name Kalmyks (“Kalmak” - separated). Moving west, they began to trade with the Russians. In 1608, Kalmyk ambassadors were received in Moscow by Vasily Shuisky and received the right to roam the uninhabited outskirts of the Russian state. In the 60-70s of the 17th century, the Kalmyk Khanate was created, located in the lower reaches of the Yaik and Volga, and became part of Russia on the condition of serving the “white king” - the sovereign of Moscow.
During the same period, there was a massive spread of Buddhism among the Kalmyks, who became acquainted with it in the 13th century. Kalmyk taishi (princes) ordain one of their sons as a lama (monk). In 1640, a congress was held in the area of Tarbagatai (Northern Kazakhstan), at which a general Oirat code of laws was adopted - the “Great Code”, according to which Buddhism of the Gelug school became the state religion in all Oirat uluses. The translation of Buddhist literature into the Kalmyk language began, and the legal status of the Buddhist clergy and monasteries (khuruls) was determined. For a long time, the Volga Kalmyks had only prayer tents - sume, of which there were 11 by the end of the 17th century. A spiritual connection with Tibet was maintained; The Dalai Lamas asserted the power of the Khan.
The Russian leadership did not interfere with the practice of Buddhism, but encouraged the transition to Orthodoxy, in particular, exempting Buddhist feudal lords from taxes and dependence. In 1724, Khan Baksaday Dorzhi (Peter Taishin), who received a camp church as a gift from Peter I, was baptized. In 1737, by decree of Anna Ioanovna in the name of Princess Anna Taishina (widow of Peter Taishin), a city was created for the settlement of baptized Kalmyks, named Stavropol-on-Volga. But, despite the measures taken by the government, most Kalmyks were reluctant to change their faith and way of life, remaining Buddhists and nomads.
In the second half of the 18th century, the Russian government began to limit the independence of the Kalmyk Khanate, and in 1771 liquidated it. After this, three quarters of the Kalmyk population, led by Khan Ubashi, decided to return back to Dzungaria, but a significant part died on the way. There are about fifty thousand Kalmyks left in Russia. The Khan's power was abolished, as was the power of a single spiritual leader appointed by the Dalai Lama. Instead of him, each Kalmyk ulus elected its own supreme lama. But in 1803, the Russian government approved the “Lama of the Kalmyk people” - the spiritual head of all Astrakhan Kalmyks with a residence near Astrakhan and a salary from the treasury. The Astrakhan Governor-General elected this position from among the submitted candidates, and approved it by the Senate. The lama was in charge of all issues of spiritual life and partly civil ones relating to family relations. At the turn of the 18th–19th centuries, stationary khuruls appeared. By the 30s of the 19th century, the number of khuruls in the Kalmyk steppe reached 105, and the number of lamas - about 5 thousand. In 1836, the Russian government limited the number of khuruls and the staff of the Kalmyk clergy, receiving funds from the treasury, to 76 khuruls and 2,650 lamas. The monks who were not included in the staff could continue to exist, but without privileges and maintenance.
In connection with the departure of the majority of the Kalmyk population to Dzungaria and the severance of ties with the spiritual centers of Mongolia and Tibet, already from the end of the 18th century, signs of transformation of religious life began to appear. Along with the centralization of spiritual power and an increase in the number of monks, the conscious perception of the foundations of the Buddhist faith was replaced by ritualism and superstition. Specific features of traditional Kalmyk Buddhism also emerge: the close connection of monasteries and clergy with clan communities (khuruls, as a rule, were “assigned” to specific clans); the presence among the Kalmyks not only of representatives of the Gelug-pa school, but also of other traditions.
The Buryats are the largest Russian ethnic group, historically professing Buddhism. In Buryatia, as elsewhere, the Buddhist cult interacted with traditional cult systems, transforming under the influence of local archaic beliefs: the veneration of the spirits of the earth, mountains, rivers and trees, the cult of holy places. The Buryat ethnic group took shape in the 17th-18th centuries on the basis of the northern branch of the Eastern Mongols, after they became part of the Russian state. The active spread of Buddhism among the Buryats dates back to the same period. But the Russian government, accepting the Buryats as its citizenship, pledged “not to force them into the Orthodox faith,” although voluntary Christianization was encouraged. As a result, some Buryats remain faithful to traditional shamanism, while others accept Buddhism and Orthodoxy.
The connections between the Buryats and Mongolian and Tibetan Buddhists were especially strong during this period. In 1712, fleeing the Manchu occupation, one hundred Mongolian and fifty Tibetan lamas arrived in the settlements of the Selengian Buryats. The spiritual head of the Buryat lamas was considered the highest Buddhist hierarch of Mongolia, Jebtsung-damba-hutukhtu, located in the city of Urga (modern Ulaanbaatar), who initiated lamas and approved hierarchical titles, but at the same time was under the control of the Chinese government, relations with which were sometimes tense. With the signing of the Treaty of Kyakhta in 1727, which demarcated the Russian-Chinese border, the Russian authorities began to prevent Mongol lamas from entering Russian territory. This decision laid the foundation for an autonomous Buryat Buddhist organization, but since this ban was not strictly observed, permanent ties between Buryat Buddhism and the spiritual centers of Mongolia and Tibet were preserved.
Having decided to formalize Buddhism legally, the Russian government in 1741 issued a decree, according to which one hundred and fifty lamas of eleven mobile datsans were sworn in in Transbaikalia. In the same year, by decree of Empress Elizabeth, the “Lamai religion” was officially recognized in the Russian Empire. Lamas were exempt from paying taxes and received the right to preach Buddhism to “nomadic foreigners,” Buryats and Evenks. In the middle of the 18th century in Transbaikalia, instead of mobile datsans-yurts, they began to build stationary wooden ones. The center of Transbaikal Buddhism until 1809 was the Tsongol datsan, and then the Gusinoozersky datsan. In 1764, its abbot Damba Dorzhi Zayaev received from the Russian government the title of “Chief Bandido-Khambo Lama (“learned abbot”) of all Buddhists living on the southern side of Lake Baikal.” Thus, at the turn of the 18th – 19th centuries, Buddhists in Russia (Kalmyks and Buryats), on the initiative of the government, received independent organization, financial and political support of the clergy. Buddhism in Russia receives the status of a “permitted” religion, along with Protestantism, Catholicism, and Islam, which implies the possibility of preaching in a certain ethno-confessional environment. The Buddhist clergy, in response to this situation, declares all Russian autocrats - “white kings”, starting with Empress Catherine II, the earthly incarnation of the merciful goddess Tsagan-Dara-ehe (“White Tara”). In 1796, there were 16 datsans and 700 lamas in Transbaikalia. By the middle of the 19th century, their number reached 34, and the number of lamas was five and a half thousand. On average, there was one lama per 20 thousand people, but in some tribal communities the ratio of monks to the male population was one to two, and such lamas differed little in lifestyle from the rest of the population. The rapid growth in the number of lamas is, first of all, the result of a custom according to which in Buryat families one of the sons was dedicated to lama. But the Russian authorities were alarmed by this situation, as it led to a reduction in tax revenues. In 1853, it was decided to reduce the number of datsans and the number of lamas. The “Regulations on the Lamai clergy of Eastern Siberia” provided for a staffing table for 34 datsans and 285 lamas receiving land and monetary support (500 dessiatines for the Bandido-hambo lama; 30–60 dessiatines (depending on the degree of dedication) for the lama; 15 tithes per student). Lamas who were not included in the state had to return to their villages. The creation of new datsans was prohibited, and the construction of new temples (“idols”) was permitted only with the permission of the governor general. But, despite this order, the number of datsans and lamas still increased.
The third people on the territory of Russia who traditionally profess Buddhism are the Tuvans. This is the only Turkic-speaking ethnic group, although heavily Mongolized, that adopted the world's oldest religion. The first Buddhist missionaries appeared in the Sayan Mountains in the first centuries of our era, which, in particular, is confirmed by rock paintings on the territory of modern Khakassia. Then, in the 6th century. The elite of Turkic society begins to accept Buddhism. However, the widespread penetration of Buddhism into these territories was associated with the power of the Mongols, who adopted Tibetan Buddhism (Lamaism). The mass introduction of the ancestors of Tuvans to the fundamentals of Buddhism occurred in the 16th–17th centuries. The first mobile monasteries (khuree) appeared in Tandy-Uriankhai (then name of Tyva) in the 20s of the 18th century, and in 1753 Buddhism was recognized as a state religion along with shamanism.
From 1757 to 1911, Tandy-Uriankhai was subordinate to the Manchu rulers of China, who were never able to establish their direct dominance here. This made it possible to preserve the cultural and ethnic identity of the Tuvans; in addition, ties with the Buddhist spiritual centers of Mongolia and Tibet were strengthened. As a result of long coexistence with shamanism, Tuvan Buddhism adopted its traditions: the cult of ovaa - the spirit masters of the area; cult of eerens - family guardians. Along with lamas, shamans often took part in Buddhist ceremonies, and in khuree there was a special category of clergy - burkhan boo (“shaman lamas”). In the 70s of the 18th century, stationary khurees began to be built on the territory of Tyva. The Mongolian hierarch Jebtsun-damba-hutukhta in Urga was considered the highest spiritual head of Tuvan Buddhists, and all Tuvan lamas were subordinate to the abbot of the Lower Chaadan khuree (daa-lama).
The period at the turn of the 19th – 20th centuries was the time of the flourishing of Buddhism and the intensification of religious life, which largely coincides with the trends observed in both Orthodox Christianity and Islam on the territory of the Russian Empire. During this period, a movement for the renewal of Buddhism arose among the Kalmyks. Beginning in 1906, the communities of the Kalmyk uluses themselves began to elect chief lamas, and in 1917, 28 large and 64 small (mobile) khuruls operated in Kalmykia, they were served by about two thousand lamas, and two academies operated. This period can be called the heyday of the Buddhist culture of Transbaikalia. Higher philosophical schools operated in Gusinoozersky, Tsugolsky, Aginsky datsans.
The history of Russian Buddhism is connected with the name of the Buryat Agvan Dorzhiev (1853-1938), an outstanding religious figure, founder of a Buddhist temple in St. Petersburg. He was the closest confidant of the young Dalai Lama XIII (1876-1933). Since 1908, Dorzhiev lived for a long time in Russia, fulfilling the mission of the unofficial representative of the Dalai Lama to the Russian government. At the initiative of Dorzhiev, the 13th Dalai Lama turned to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs with a request to open a Buddhist temple in St. Petersburg, which, following foreign policy arguments and the desire to strengthen the loyalty of the Buryats and Kalmyks, was granted. At that time, the Buddhist community of St. Petersburg was extremely small: only 184 people - Kalmyk, Buryat and Mongolian merchants, as well as diplomatic workers from China, Japan, and Siam. Worship took place there in 1913 and it became the first Buddhist temple in Europe.
In Tyva in 1912, after the fall of the Qing Empire as a result of the Xinhai Revolution, pro-Russian sentiments prevailed. Kurultai with the participation of the highest lamas addressed Russian government with a request to accept Tandy-Uriankhai into Russia, and in June 1914, Tyva (under the name Uriankhai Territory) became part of Russia. The capital became the city of Belotsarsk, now Kyzyl. One of the conditions for entry was the preservation of Lamaism. The Russian administration did not interfere in the spiritual affairs of the territory.
The events of 1917 became a turning point in the history of the country and the fate of religions on its territory. Buddhism was no exception. After the February Revolution of 1917, the Petrograd Buddhist Temple became the center of the national life of the Buryats and Kalmyks, but after the October Revolution, difficult times came for it. Fleeing persecution, the lamas who served there left the city. The temple housed military units and was completely looted. In the summer of 1918, Dorzhiev was arrested.
After February 1917, active renovation processes took place in the Kalmyk religious environment, as a result of which it was planned to significantly increase the number of khuruls and introduce the teaching of Buddhist doctrine in secular Kalmyk schools. But during Civil War many khuruls were destroyed, part of the clergy emigrated. In Buryatia, the renovation movement is also intensifying, which proclaims the ideas of election and collegiality of spiritual power, national liberation and cooperation with Soviet power (flags with a hammer and sickle began to fly over the datsans). During the Civil War, this idea, supported by part of the Buddhist clergy, came into confrontation with the actions of one of the leaders of the white movement, ataman of the Transbaikal Cossacks G. Semenov, who had Buryat roots. The leaders of the renovation movement, fearing reprisals, fled Transbaikalia. During the same period, the third, so-called “Balagat” movement, led by the ascetic lama Lubsan-Sandan Tsydenov, took shape. In 1919, he proclaimed the creation of the state “Kodunay erhij balgasan”, which is considered theocratic, since it was headed by a clergyman. Tsydenov preached leaving the official datsans, which distorted the true teaching. The leadership of the Balagat movement was persecuted by both whites and reds. Over the course of three years, Tsydenov was arrested several times. From prison, he appointed as his successor an eight-year-old boy, Bidia Dandaron, whom he considered to be the reincarnation of one of the Tibetan lamas. The revolution again confronted Tuva with the choice of a further path of development. In 1921, the People's Republic of Tannu-Tuva, which was in allied relations with Soviet Russia, was proclaimed at the All-Tuvin Constituent Khural.
The end of the Civil War and the establishment of Soviet power became a new, although not long-lasting, stage in the religious life of Russian Buddhists. In order to maintain support from the population of the national borderlands, their beliefs are not persecuted. But at the same time, the Soviet leadership is trying to strengthen the split between “traditionalists” and “renovationists” that emerged at the beginning of the twentieth century, supporting the latter. Moreover, the idea of reorganizing life on communist principles found sympathy in the ranks of the renovationists. Agvan Dorzhiev, who was released from prison on Lenin’s orders and became the head of the Buddhist renewal movement, directly stated “Buddhism is Marxism.” He was appointed representative of the Dalai Lama's government in Soviet Russia, which was supposed to be used to “export the world revolution.” Thanks to his efforts, the Petrograd Buddhist Temple became the seat of the Tibetan diplomatic mission, which made it possible to resume worship there and make it the center of all-Union Buddhism and Buddhology.
In 1920, the Kalmykskaya Autonomous region as part of Soviet Russia, in which there were 35 khuruls with 1 thousand clergy. Several Buddhist councils took place in Transbaikalia (1922, 1925, 1928), at which attempts were made to reorganize the confessional life of Buddhists in Buryatia. The authorities supported the initiatives of the renovationists in confrontation with the traditionalists. In 1923 there were 43 datsans in Buryatia. In the independent Tuvan People's Republic (renamed in 1927), despite its pro-Soviet nature, the first ten years of its existence were favorable to Buddhism. By the end of the 1920s, the number of khurees in Tyva reached 28, and the number of lamas - 3.5 thousand.
But from the second half of the 1920s in the USSR, ideological pressure on religions increased, and after this, persecution of its representatives began, which turned into mass repressions by the beginning of the 1930s. In 1926, by decree of the state leadership of the Buryat-Mongolian Autonomous Republic, the property of datsans was nationalized and religious schools were closed. Religious buildings were destroyed, works of Buddhist art were plundered and destroyed, books and manuscripts were confiscated, and lamas and novices were massacred. By November 1938, more than 1,800, and according to other sources, more than 15,000 representatives of the Buddhist clergy were arrested. The last datsan was closed at the end of 1930. By the early 1940s, the Kalmyk Buddhist organization was completely destroyed. Under pressure from the Soviet leadership on the authorities of the Tuvan People's Republic, the persecution of Buddhism also began. The Leningrad Buddhist Temple was closed in 1935. The lamas and other people who lived at the temple (Buryat educators, Russian orientalists) were arrested and shot in 1937. Dorzhiev left Leningrad in January 1937 and arrived in Buryatia, his homeland, where in November of the same year he was arrested and died in a prison hospital in Irkutsk. Since 1938, the building of the Leningrad Buddhist Temple has been used by the state as a physical training base. Thus, by the beginning of the 1940s, on the territory of the USSR and the Tuvan Republic under its control, there was not a single Buddhist monastery or temple left, not one allowed by the Lama authorities (although some of the representatives of the Buddhist clergy who remained at large secretly carried out rituals).
During the Great Patriotic War The difficult situation with religious life among Buddhist peoples is only getting worse. From August 1942 to January 1943, a large territory of Kalmykia was occupied by fascist troops, who allowed the practice of worship. Several houses of worship were opened. But some lamas refused to cooperate with the Germans, while others, on the contrary, not only resumed religious activities, but even emigrated with the occupying forces. On December 28, 1943, for collaboration with the Germans, the Kalmyks were declared enemies of the people, and the Kalmyk Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was liquidated. The population was deported to the eastern regions of the USSR, where persecution of former clergy continued. With dispersed settlement, it became impossible for believers to turn to them. If possible, the family took away religious objects with them, but the bulk of the temple things were irretrievably lost. Buddhism among the Kalmyks continued to be preserved only at the everyday level, within the framework of family traditions. The Tuvan People's Republic was incorporated into the USSR in 1944, and the processes taking place in it became even more interconnected with the all-Union ones.
In the post-war period, the legalization of religions and a softening of policies in relations between the Soviet state and the religions existing in the country are planned. But this process only partially affected Buddhism. In 1945, the freed lamas turned to Stalin with a request for permission to open some datsans in Buryatia, to which consent was given; two were opened - the Ivolginsky and Aginsky monasteries. In 1946, with the consent of the authorities and on the initiative of believers and a group of lamas, a meeting of the clergy was held in Ulan-Ud, at which the Regulations on the Buddhist clergy in the USSR were adopted, containing the basic principles of cooperation between the Buddhist sangha and the Soviet state. This document emphasized the patriotic motives of the Buddhist clergy and their loyalty to the socialist system. The Central Spiritual Administration of Buddhists of the USSR (CDUB) was recreated, headed by the Chairman of the Bandido Hambo Lama P. Dorji. This structure, like other centralized religious organizations in the USSR, was involved in the propaganda of the Soviet foreign policy. Thus, the Buddhist organization was restored, but under the strict control of the authorities and only in Buryatia. There were still no Buddhist communities in Tyva and Kalmykia. In addition, due to ideological pressure, many Buryat believers were afraid to visit datsans.
Khrushchev’s policy towards religions cannot be called a “thaw”; ideological pressure and anti-religious propaganda are only intensifying. Therefore, the already difficult situation of Buddhism among the peoples who traditionally profess it does not change in any way. True, in 1957 the Kalmyks were rehabilitated and the Kalmyk Autonomous Republic was restored, but religious life was still unofficial, underground.
Since the mid-1960s, interest in Buddhism has been observed in the circles of the intelligentsia in Leningrad and Moscow. Small groups of Russian (European) youth and intellectuals interested in Buddhism form here. In 1968, the building of the Leningrad Church was declared an architectural monument of local significance. In the same year, the USSR was visited by Lama B. Rimpoche, who secretly met with representatives of Moscow, Leningrad, and Baltic Buddhist groups, thereby establishing their connection with world Buddhism. The above-mentioned B. Dandaron was rightfully considered the spiritual mentor of these groups. By that time, having spent 20 years in the camps, becoming a researcher and a lama, he formulated teachings at the intersection of traditional Tibetan Buddhism, European philosophy and science, which made him popular in this environment. But this causes concern to the authorities, and in 1972, in the so-called “Dandaron case,” he was accused of creating a sect, sentenced to 5 years and died in a camp, and a number of his followers were sent to compulsory psychiatric treatment. But secret, although very small communities of Buddhists continue to exist in the future.
Since the second half of the 1980s, under the influence of socio-political processes, religious life in the country has been intensifying. Buddhism was no exception. In 1988, the Leningrad Society of Buddhists was created, which two years later sought to transfer the temple into the hands of believers and transform it into a datsan. The temple community unites both Buddhists and Kalmyks, as well as Russian Buddhists, which subsequently leads to contradictions and splits. The monopoly existence of the Gelug school is being replaced by many Tibetan traditions, common to which remains the recognition of the high authority of the Dalai Lama and sympathy for the freedom of Tibet.
One such tradition can be called Karma Kagyu. The first Buddhist center of the Karma Kagyu school was registered in Leningrad in 1991. The religious association includes more than forty communities and one and a half thousand believers. The practice in many centers in Russia, the CIS countries and the West is led by the Danish Lama Ole Nydahl.
During perestroika, the revival of Buddhism began in Buryatia, which became a center for the spread of Buddhism among other Siberian peoples. At the beginning of 1990, twelve datsans began to operate. By the end of the 20th century, 90 percent of the Buryat population called themselves Buddhists. Since 1992, the Central Spiritual Administration of Buddhists in Ulan-Ude received the status of an all-Russian Buddhist structure. In 1991, at a conference of Buddhists of Kalmykia and the Astrakhan region, the Association of Buddhists of Kalmykia was created, independent of the Central Spiritual Administration of Buddhists in Ulan-Ude. Kalmyk lamas began to study in Mongolia and India. By the end of the 20th century, 14 khurals and prayer houses operated in Kalmykia. In the Republic of Tuva in 1993, there were nine Buddhist communities.
The Spiritual Council of Buddhist Ministers, held in Buryatia in 1996, adopted a new charter, in which the Central Spiritual Administration of Buddhists of Russia was renamed the Traditional Buddhist Sangha of Russia. The head of this organization was Bandido Hambo Lama Damba Ayusheev. The activities of this new organization are associated with the restoration of traditional Buddhism (participation in rituals, astrological assistance, Tibetan medicine, prayers), its assessment as the original religion of the Buryats, and the eradication of shamanistic traditions. The centralized organization of the Sangha is based on the subordination of datsans (Buddhist monasteries) to it. Hambo Lama took a firm position regarding the preaching of Buddhism only from the Gelug school, and the Sangha should treat the rest, such as Zen Buddhism or Karma Kagyu, “as the Orthodox treat the Pentecostals.” Ayushev expresses hopes that the Traditional Sangha will unite all Russian Buddhists belonging to the Gelug school, but Kalmykia and Tyva are creating their own centralized organizations, and dissatisfaction with the authoritarianism of the Hambo Lama has led to splits among Buddhists in Buryatia itself.
Thus, in modern Buddhism in Russia there are two main types of Buddhist organizations. The first is the communities of the traditional school of Tibetan Buddhism Gelug, distributed primarily in the territories inhabited by Kalmyks, Buryats, and Tuvans. It is quite conservative, and involves many years of training in a monastery with strict discipline. The majority of believers are the rural population, involved in Buddhist practice, rituals and services that are held in Buddhist monasteries (datsans, khuruls, khurees). In their minds, religious and everyday faith largely prevails; as a rule, they do little to study Buddhist philosophy.
The second is the various communities and groups that consider themselves to be schools of Buddhism that do not belong to the Gelug school, and sometimes are not even associated with the Tibetan form of Buddhism. In scientific literature it is called “global Buddhism” and is associated with the European development of the spiritual culture of the East. Currently, it represents a certain intellectual and spiritual source of a philosophical and religious nature, accessible to everyone, which, in fact, confirms the status of Buddhism as a world religion. It is becoming increasingly secular and transnational. His followers tend to come from a variety of nationalities. But they often have a higher level of education and are more interested in the philosophy of Buddhism and various Buddhist practices. Currently, there are already more than 200 Buddhist communities, groups and organizations in Russia.
Researchers believe that the total number of Buddhists in Russia of all nationalities, schools and directions is about a million people, which is less than one percent of the country's population. Despite this, Buddhism is recognized by the 1997 “Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations” as one of the traditional religions for modern Russia, playing a significant role in the history of its peoples, the development of culture and spirituality.
Brief summary
Buddhism is the oldest of the world's religions, which arose in India in the middle of the 1st millennium BC.
The founder, Siddhardha Gautama, a prince from the Shakya family, who achieved enlightenment and became Buddha, laid the foundations of the religion.
The culture and philosophy of the East have long occupied the minds of Europeans with their special attitude towards life, living beings and the world as a whole, but Buddhism was especially alluring: this religion became the third most popular, after Christianity and Islam. Buddhist holidays and rituals have always been distinguished by their colorfulness, pomp and special, specific rituals, rooted in ancient times. They are based on the teachings of the great saint Buddha Gotama (Gautama).
The founder of this religious teaching was Buddha Shakyamuni (Siddhartha Gautama), a real person who achieved Enlightenment on the 49th day of meditation. It is worth noting that Buddha is not a name, but rather a designation for a specific state of consciousness: literally it means “enlightened, awakened.”
It was Siddhartha who became the founder of one of the most powerful and influential religions on earth, although in fact Buddhism is more of a science than a belief in the divine. Buddha formulated four truths, on the basis of which the teaching grew - “Four Diamond (Noble) Truths”:
Buddhism is divided into several main and many small schools, between which there are minor, but still differences in views on their teaching:
Chinese Buddhism and Zen are also considered offshoots of Buddhism, but they emphasize the achievements of the later masters rather than Gotama Buddha himself.
The Eastern mentality is significantly different from the European one, and even more so the religious one: “a holiday means we relax and go for a walk” - this is not about Buddhists. On the contrary, on these days they zealously observe various restrictions, austerities and vows, perform various rituals, because they know that the energy of holidays is special and can strengthen the effect of actions hundreds of times: both positive and negative.
Another feature is that the Buddhist chronology follows the lunar calendar, and since the lunar month is shorter than the solar month, almost all holiday dates are moving, that is, sliding according to numbers (Christian Easter is also a moving holiday). Also, many dates begin counting from a certain event, the birthday of Buddha, for example. Therefore, astrologers are constantly busy calculating future celebrations, memorable events and important events.
Regardless of belonging to different movements of Buddhism, most of the holidays are common, which means they are celebrated simultaneously in all regions and schools. The following list of holidays in Buddhism includes events that are important to all adherents of this movement.
In addition to the main ones, the birthday of the Dalai Lama is celebrated - the only fixed holiday, as well as many less pompous, but also important events for Buddhist communities.
One of the main Buddhist holidays has several names that designate this day in different schools of Buddhism - birthday, day of passing into Paranirvana and day of achieving Enlightenment. Almost all schools of this teaching are confident that these three most important events in the life of the Buddha occurred on the same day, only in different years. Vesak, Donchod-Khural, Saga Deva, Visakha Puja - all these names mean the same thing. For a whole week, followers of the Buddha celebrate Vesak, telling the world about the life of their guru, lighting lanterns made of paper in his honor, which are a symbol of the enlightenment to which the Teacher leads.
In monasteries and temples, solemn prayer services, processions and all-night prayers are read, mantras are chanted and thousands of candles are lit around the sacred stupas. The monks tell everyone interesting stories from the life of Buddha Shakyamuni and his faithful disciples, and guests can take part in general meditation or make an offering to the monastery, showing their commitment to the Dhamma.
The most important holiday in Buddhism is Asalha (Asala, Asalha Puja, Chokhor Duchen), the day when the Buddha first delivered his sermon on the Noble Truths to his first five disciples, with whom he later founded the first community for monks (Sangha). In honor of such an outstanding holiday in Buddhism, every year on this day the monks read “Dharma Chakra Pravartana” - one of the sutras, and also give instructions on how to correctly follow the teachings of the Buddha. Many spend this Buddhist religious holiday in meditation, hoping to achieve Enlightenment on such a day. significant date, as happened with Kaundinya (one of Gautama's first disciples).
This is what Buddhists call the “Buddha Tooth Festival,” which is especially revered in Sri Lanka, although it is not religious in nature. The origins of this celebration lie in the legend that after the cremation of Buddha Gautama, one of his disciples noticed the Buddha’s tooth in the ashes, miraculously preserved. This relic was placed in a Buddhist temple in India, but in the 4th century it was transported to the island of Sri Lanka in order to preserve the valuable artifact for subsequent generations. A special temple was built in which the Buddha’s tooth is kept to this day.
The celebration lasts two weeks. Colorful processions go through the streets: dressed up elephants and dancing people in the best outfits; on one of the elephants there is a casket with a relic, which is carried through all the streets. Buddhists sing songs and set off fireworks to glorify their great guru.
In India, this holiday is also called the Elephant Procession, and it has more secular and social significance than religious. The underlying story is about how the Buddha once compared a wild, untrained elephant and a domesticated one tamed by people: in order for the wild elephant to understand where it should go, it is harnessed to the same harness as the trained one. So it is with a person: in order to comprehend the Teaching of the Eightfold Path, one should tie oneself to someone who has already been trained, that is, who has achieved Enlightenment.
How is the Buddhist festival of elephants held, reminding followers of the teachings of this sermon of Gautama? A massive procession of decorated elephants moves through the streets of the city to the sounds of musical instruments, ritual chants and enthusiastic greetings from residents: more than 100 animals of all ages take part in this action, even babies two weeks old.
Many religious rituals are distinguished by specific beliefs and convictions (as for a European person), sometimes a little strange, but at the same time having a mystical background to everything that happens on Earth. That is why Buddhists try in every possible way with their good deeds to influence karma, not only their own, but that of all humanity.
1. Maengyn Zasal: once every nine years, Buddhists perform this ritual to get rid of “ unpleasant consequences ninth year,” which, according to legend, falls on the 18th, 27th, 36th, etc. year of a person’s life. During these years, a person is especially vulnerable, which is why the Mengyn ritual is performed: a person collects nine “special” stones and gives them to the lama, who reads special prayers over them, blows his beneficial breath and tells the person to throw them out in a special way. different directions. Buddhists believe that in this way a person is protected from misfortunes for nine whole years, so they try to spend it in the first month of the New Year.
2. Tchaptuy: Ritual bathing for those prone to illness or misfortune. It is believed that if this happens to a person, his vital energy is too polluted, and it needs to be cleansed with a special ritual. In a closed room over a special vessel, the mantra is read in a huge number of repetitions (from 100,000 to 1,000,000 times). Buddhists believe that then a deity descends into the water in the vessel and gives it healing powers, which removes negativity from a person.
3. Mandal Shiva, or Four-part offering of the mandala to Tara - the goddess who removes any obstacles on the path. Often used at the birth of a child, marriage or an important start of a new business, building a house, for example. During the ritual, the goddess Green Tara is offered fragrant water, flowers, beneficial food and incense, as well as lamps. Then a special mandala of 37 elements is presented and the corresponding mantras are chanted.
4. Chasum (Gyabshi ritual) - this is the name of the pagan offering to various subtle entities (devas, nagas, asuras, pretas) that negatively affect human life and the planet as a whole. Moreover, these creatures are so grumpy and capricious that the time of offerings must be carefully selected so as not to incur even greater anger on the person. It is especially important to carry out this ritual for those whose work involves mining metals or cutting down forests - any intervention in nature puts the pest at risk, so they try in every possible way to appease higher beings. Turning to the Buddha, the supplicants read prayers and offer lamps, food and lud-tormas - these are human figures made of dough, as well as tsatsa - relief images of Buddhist stupas, the Buddha himself, made of plaster or clay. Each variant of the offering should be equal to 100 units, the total is 400 - that’s why the Gyabshi ritual is called “four hundred”.
This holiday in Buddhism symbolizes the beginning of the New Year, which in the Buddhist tradition falls in spring. An interesting fact is that in different countries For those who profess Buddhism, the New Year holiday may fall on different dates, because they live according to the lunar calendar, which does not coincide with the solar one, so astrologers calculate all holidays and important dates in advance, notifying the people.
Three days before the onset of Saagalgan, monks in temples hold a special prayer service - Dharmapalam, which is dedicated to ten deities guarding the teachings of Buddha, lamps are lit, and the bells are struck 108 times. Particularly revered is the goddess Sri Devi, who, according to popular belief, travels around all possessions three times on New Year's Eve, checking whether people are ready, whether their houses are clean enough, whether their pets are in need, and whether their children are happy. Buddhists firmly believe that if you stay up until six in the morning that night and chant mantras and prayers dedicated to the goddess, then luck will be on their side in the coming year. It is very important that on New Year's Eve there is milk, sour cream, cottage cheese, and butter on the table. It was also recommended to spend the first day of Saalagalgan with family.
There is an interesting tradition of launching the “Wind Horse of Luck” - this is an image on fabric, symbolizing the well-being of a person or family. This symbol must be consecrated in the temple and then tied to a house or a nearby tree so that it sways in the wind. It is believed that the “Wind Luck Horse” is a powerful amulet for the family against failures, illnesses and sorrows of any kind.
In some provinces of the south, adherents of Theravada schools put new monastic robes on Buddha statues, which they then give to the monks for use: it is believed that such actions increase a person’s good karma. In Laos, on this day, people try to buy live fish and release them into the wild, thus also improving karma through compassion for a living creature.
Bun Kathin is another festival in Buddhism that motivates lay people to do good deeds and thus “accumulate” good karma. “Kathina” is the name given to the special pattern used to cut out clothes for monks. The holiday involves giving to bhikkhus (monks) new clothes, for this purpose the donor or his family invites the monk to the house for a festive dinner, before which they read special prayer. After the meal, they go to the temple to present gifts. They are accompanied by lay people with songs, dances and playing local musical instruments. Before entering the temple, the entire procession walks around it three times, always counterclockwise, and only then everyone goes inside and sits down for the ceremony: the elders in front, and the young ones behind.
An important point: the robe for the monk must be made 24 hours before the holiday, that is, the person must have time to make threads from cotton, weave the fabric on a loom, cut out the robe and then paint it in the traditional orange color, which means not sleeping or eating during these days, paying tribute to the members of the Sangha (monastic community) with such an act. It is interesting that at the moment of donation, the abbot of the holy place asks all those gathered whether (the name of the monk is called) the gift is worthy, and if all those present confirm three times with the word “sadhu,” only then the bhikhu receives his gift, blessing the manufacturer. This blessing is considered very valuable, so hundreds of people try to make a gift for bhikkhus on the eve of the Buddhist holiday of Kathin.
Buddha's Teachings arose in the middle of the 1st millennium BC new era in India. Nevertheless, for many centuries Buddhism has organically manifested itself on the territory of Russia. Significantly influenced the culture and customs of Central Asia and Siberia, assimilating elements of Brahmanism, Taoism, etc. In the Buryat-Mongol culture, it is closely associated with shamanism, the basic principles of which, such as the desire for harmony with oneself and the surrounding world (nature), did not interfere at all, and, even more, they painted ancient customs and culture with new bright colors. The life of Buddha became known in Ancient Rus' from the text “The Tale of Varlaam and Joasaph.” Prince Joasaph, whose prototype was Buddha, became a Christian saint (his memory is celebrated by the Russian Orthodox Church on November 19). In the XIX - early XX centuries. Russia has become one of the largest centers for the study of Buddhism. At that time, sources were published and archaeological excavations monuments of Buddhism in the Middle and Central Asia. On the territory of the Russian Federation, Buddhism is widespread in Buryatia, Tuva and Kalmykia (in the latter it is the state religion). One of the classical schools of Buddhism is most widely represented - the Tibetan “school of virtue” (Geluk, Yellow Caps). The founder of Buddhism is real historical figure. Siddhartha Gautama was born and lived in Northern India. Researchers believe that the years of his life are 566-473. BC. Other Name- Shakyamuni - is directly related to the place of birth and family relationships of the future Buddha. He was born in the Shakya country, a small provincial state dominated by the Shakya clan. Siddhartha's father was a rajan - a member of the ruling assembly, consisting of representatives of the military aristocracy. It is worth noting that the later Buddhist tradition considers him a rajah (king), and Siddhartha a prince, but in the country of the Shakyas, government was built on a republican type.
The life path of the prosperous Siddhartha Gautama, who grew up in bliss, changed after he secretly left the palace, where he was looked after and protected from “extra information,” and saw the torment of the sick, the ugliness of old age and the appearance of a motionless corpse. He realized that nothing is permanent, and happiness cannot be eternal. Siddhartha decided to look for a way to get rid of suffering. After various experiments and searches for truth that did not bring the desired result, he plunged into a state of deep concentration, sitting under sacred tree. On the forty-ninth day, Siddhartha's consciousness became completely enlightened, and he achieved Buddhahood. He realized that in no sphere of the cosmos it is possible to achieve stability - eternal bliss, because there is nothing eternal in the nature of living beings, and faith in the reality of the “I” - the eternal soul, which acquires new births over time, is baseless and meaningless. He also discovered the highest absolute knowledge that eliminates the causes of suffering, and Shakyamuni Buddha decided to convey this truth to living beings. It is worth noting that the very concept of “Buddha” means “enlightened” and, accordingly, is not the name of a specific deity. The word "Buddha" itself can be used in the plural and can also be written with a small letter. There is also the concept of “siddhi” - the extraordinary abilities of Buddhist monks and lamas. This concept is the memory of the first Buddha - Siddhartha.
At the center of Buddhism as a philosophical system is the doctrine of " four noble truths ": there is suffering, its cause, the state of liberation and the path to it. During the development of Buddhism, the cult of Buddha and bodhisattvas (“enlightened ones”, mentors), rituals that accompany the knowledge of the Dharma (Teachings) gradually developed, and Sanghas (monastic communities) appeared. One of the most important prayers - well wishes, which are a kind of expression of the desire to “take Refuge”, sounds like this: “Namo Buddha, Namo Dharma, Namo Sangha” - “I take Refuge in the Buddha, I take Refuge in the Teaching, I take Refuge in the Community.” . Today in Russia, in accordance with the law on freedom of conscience and religion, there is the so-called Traditional Sangha of Russia. The head of this organization is Pandido Khambo Lama Damba Ayushev - he is a member of the confessional religious council under the President of the Russian Federation. But, given the confusion brought by the age of atheism into the administrative structure of Buddhist monasteries and communities, many Buddhists do not recognize the existing Sangha as truly traditional. The laws of the Russian Federation allow the official registration of any traditional Buddhist communities, and therefore today there are a sufficient number of sanghas, many of which are truly true to the historical traditions and culture of Buddhism. Buddhist philosophy reveals the principles of existence (the cause-and-effect relationship that exists regardless of our knowledge of it), and all its efforts are aimed at ensuring that man lives in this world consciously, in harmony with nature, the cosmos, individuals and humanity as a whole . For every deed done - both good and bad, people are fully responsible; every factual moment that seems to be reality is a kind of shadow of past achievements or consequences awaiting in the future. Today's Buddhist scholars often say that the era of Buddhism as a religion, and of all religions in general, is in the past - the future belongs to scientists and their achievements. But one way or another, a correct view of oneself and one’s actions, harmony with oneself and the world around us - a harmless existence - these are the goals of every Buddhist. The festive holiday is also aimed at achieving the same goals. culture Buddhism.
To a person with a “Western” mentality, images of protectors and deities in frightening forms may seem strange. At the same time, it is worth understanding that, according to Eastern logic, the more terrible the face of the defender, the more likely it is that the defender is able to defeat evil or sin. As for the thangkas, which depict Buddhas and bodhisattvas, there is extremely rarely a sad facial expression - most often the faces are smiling and calm. To understand the meaning of Buddhist holidays You should also move away from the usual attitude - “today is a holiday, and therefore we need to rejoice and relax.” IN holidays Strict restrictions are placed on people's behavior. A person should monitor himself even more carefully, since it is believed that on these days the power of all actions, physical and mental, increases 1000 times. The consequences of committed negative actions increase 1000 times, but the merits of performing good deeds also increase by the same number of times. During major Buddhist holidays, you can come closest to the essence of the teaching, to Nature and the Absolute. The celebration of each date is, first of all, strictly practical. character and is aimed at creating a clean space in the temple, in the homes of Buddhists, in their souls and bodies. This is achieved by performing rituals, reciting mantras, extracting sounds from various musical instruments, using symbolic colors and religious objects. All ritual practice has the power and property of a quantum field influence on the people participating in the holiday, cleansing and restoring their subtle structure. On such days, it is customary to visit the temple and make offerings to the Buddhas, the Teacher and the Community. However, you can take part in the celebration while at home. To do this, you need to have knowledge about the inner meaning of the holiday, mentally tune in accordingly and thus join the unified field of the holiday, which embraces everyone interested in it. The results of such interaction will be even higher than a meaningless and inactive presence at the ceremony. The Buddhist ritual tradition uses a lunar calendar. Due to the fact that the lunar calendar is almost a month shorter than the solar calendar, the dates of holidays, as a rule, shift within one and a half to two months, and are calculated in advance using astrological tables. In some Buddhist countries there are discrepancies in the payment systems. Additionally, in the Buddhist tradition, the first month of the year is the first month of spring. Most holidays fall on the full moon (15th day of the lunar month).
The main holidays of Buddhists are:
Also noted Birthday of the 14th Dalai Lama, but it is not a canonical holiday. At the same time, this holiday is fixed - the Dalai Lama was born on July 6th. In the Buddhist lunar calendar there are also days for special prayers - Otosho, Lamchig Ningbo and Mandal Shiva days, which are held every eighth, fifteenth and thirtieth lunar day of the month, respectively. There are also days for special veneration of certain deities, for example, Balzhinim - the master of splendor and happiness, or Lusa - the master of water. For each day of the calendar, astrologers have calculated the combination and consequences of the day - days are marked for cutting hair, taking medicine, having a safe journey or successfully completing litigation. We should also not forget that almost all peoples who profess Buddhism elevate such events as the transition from one age group to another, the construction of a new house, weddings, funerals and others to the rank of holidays and special rituals.
Holiday dates for 2015.
