Buddhism in Russia. Peoples of Russia professing Buddhism

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

The religious space of the Russian Federation is quite diverse. Occupying an exceptionally large territory and uniting a huge number of peoples and ethnic groups under its political jurisdiction, our country is a platform where various traditions and religions of the west and east, north and south meet. Christianity and Islam are two world religions widespread in our state. Together with them, the third one, which is practiced by many peoples of Russia, is represented - Buddhism. We will talk further about where this religion is widespread in our country.

Buddhism in Russia

Buddhism is a unique religion unlike any other. Within themselves, various Buddhist currents and schools also differ significantly. Owing to its origin to the religious genius of India, Buddhism has practically lost its weight in its homeland. Today, the traditional countries professing the Buddhist teachings are Korea, Japan, China, Nepal and others, among which Tibet stands out in particular. Today, Buddhism in Russia is represented by almost all major Buddhist denominations. Among them arevarious schools of Mahayana, Vajrayana, Theravada, Zen, Chan and many other traditional and not very associations. However, most people who practice Buddhism in Russia are adherents of the Tibetan religious tradition.

Buddhist ethnography of Russia

We propose to answer the question: what peoples of Russia profess Buddhism today?

Thanks to political events and intercultural contacts, Buddhism first took root among the Kalmyks and Tuvans. This happened in the 16th century, when the territories of these republics, together with the peoples inhabiting them, were part of the Mongolian state of Altan Khan. A century later, Buddhism penetrated the Buryats, where it successfully competed with the traditional religion of all Siberian nomads - shamanism, or otherwise Tengrism.

Buddhism in Buryatia

Buryatia is a Russian republic whose borders start from the eastern shores of Lake Baikal. Being annexed to the Russian Empire, it proved to be resistant to Russification and avoided Christianization. On the other hand, close cultural, trade and political ties with Mongolia, and through it with Tibet, made the Buddhist teaching popular among the Buryats. The first stone datsans were erected here in the 18th century.

Although among the Buddhist peoples the Buryats are the last to adopt this religion, today it is they who represent the Buddhist majority and represent Buddhism in Russia. The administrative center of Russian Buddhists is located in Buryatia - the Traditional Buddhist Sangha of Russia, as well as the main shrines and religiousstructures. The most important of them is the Ivolginsky Datsan, the residence of the Bandido Khambo Lama, the spiritual leader of a significant part of Russian Buddhists.

Along with Buddhism, traditional shamanism, or the so-called black faith, is quite common among the Buryats.

Buddhism in Tuva

Tuva is a republic that was admitted to Russia at the beginning of the 20th century, namely, in 1911. Tuvans today profess the same form of teaching as the Buryats, the Mahayana tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. However, this was not always the case: the first centers of Buddhist teaching, mainly in the form of Hinayana, appeared on the territory of Tuva as early as the 2nd century AD, during the time of the Turkic Khaganate. Subsequently, the Tuvan tribes were subordinate to the Uighurs, who conquered the lands of Tuva from the Turks. The Uighurs professed the Manichaean religion, but were also influenced by Buddhism. Having developed a written language, Uighur scholars began to actively translate Buddhist texts from Chinese and Sogdian languages. Over time, translators focused on Tibetan treatises, which determined the further predominance of the Tibetan tradition. This trend was reinforced in the 13th century by the influence of Mongolian teachers who adopted the Buddhist tradition from the Tibetan lamas.

The first monasteries were built in Tuva in 1772 and 1773. Although the Buddhist community in Tuva mainly adheres to the Gelug lineage, which implies a monastic clergy, local traditions sanction the married institution of the lama, which is its unique feature. As in Buryatia,On religious grounds, Tuvans are divided into two camps - shamanists and Buddhists.

Buddhism in Kalmykia

Kalmykia is the only European region with a predominantly Buddhist population. Representing hereditary Western Mongolian tribes, the Kalmyks' genealogy goes back to the Oirats, who joined the sacraments of the Buddhist religion in the 13th century due to entering the empire of Genghis Khan. However, at that time Buddhism was the religion of only the political elite of the Oirats. The popularization of the same doctrine among the common population occurs only in the XVI-XVII centuries. And, as in the case of Buryatia and Tuva, Kalmyk Buddhism also adheres to Tibetan religious traditions. This connection between Tibet and Kalmykia was especially strengthened after the recognition at the beginning of the 17th century in the Oirat boy of the rebirth of the third Dalai Lama.

The spread of Buddhism among the Oirats also contributed to the formation of a separate Kalmyk ethnic group. The latter included Oirat tribes who adopted Buddhism and settled to the west within the Russian state. At the same time, obeying the Russian emperor, the Kalmyks formed their own administration - the Kalmyk Khanate. The latter lasted until 1771, when it was abolished by decree of Empress Catherine II. Later, Kalmyk Buddhism developed, acquired national features and, like the Buryat and Tuva sangkhas, waged a religious struggle against shamanism.

Buddhism in the USSR

After the October Revolution, Buddhism in Russia was subject to the then fashionable spiritual trend -renovationism. The synthesis of dharma and Marxism was intended to reorganize the Buddhist communities. As part of this movement in Moscow in the 20s. even the All-Russian Buddhist Council took place. However, then the policy of the party changed, and mass repressions began against religious organizations. Monasteries were closed, churches were destroyed, and the clergy were persecuted. Before the post-war "thaw", the peoples of Russia who profess Buddhism lost more than 150 monasteries. In Buryatia, out of 15 thousand lamas by 1948, less than 600 people remained. As for Tuva and Kalmykia, there were only a few dozen surviving clergy out of 8,000 in both regions.

The peoples of Russia who practice Buddhism today

Before Perestroika, the Buddhist body coordinating the activities of Buddhist organizations was the USSR Central Spiritual Administration of Buddhists. In the early 1990s, it was renamed the TsDUB of Russia. Now this body is called the Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia and includes the Buddhist communities of Buryatia. The religious associations of Tuva and Kalmykia remain independent. However, not everyone recognizes the authority of the BTSR in Buryatia and beyond its borders. As a result of political and ideological differences, Buddhist society has experienced a number of splits and, in addition to the main associations, has several independent associations and independent communities.

In any case, Buddhism in Russia is represented, as before, by three main regions - Buryatia, Tuva and Kalmykia.

Other BuddhistRussian communities

The traditional peoples of Russia who practice Buddhism are not the only bearers of Buddhist culture and tradition today. Recently, this religion has been noticeably popularized among young people and the intelligentsia. In large cities, various religious centers continue to open. Among them, in addition to the traditional schools of Tibetan Buddhism, there are representations of Korean, Chinese and Japanese Zen Buddhism, Theravada and Dzogchen traditions. Russia has been visited by many spiritual teachers over the past few years. In turn, representatives of Buddhist monasticism and the clergy also appeared among our compatriots.

Conclusion

The fashion for Buddhism in Russia is not unique, and in this sense, our country shares the pan-European charm of the East. Often, while gaining in quantity, domestic Buddophilia loses in quality, which is fraught with the spread of a superficial, marginal version of Buddhism in Russia.

At the same time, Buddhism is a religion in Russia as traditional as Christianity and Islam. Therefore, its status and future prospects are of great importance for the successful development of Russian culture.