Not everyone knows that Buddhism is one of the religions widespread in our country. But there are not only believers, but also special institutions for them. In this regard, the question arises of what the Buddhist temple is called. Traditionally they are called datsans. Especially a lot of them are in the Trans-Baikal Territory. Not only about how Buddhist temples are called, but also about their features will be discussed in the article.
General Description
Studying how Buddhist temples are called, you need to turn to the encyclopedia. She speaks of them as datsans. These are monasteries, temples, as well as monasteries-universities of the Buryat believers. In the Tibetan tradition, a datsan is a separate “faculty” in a monastery.
Currently, Buddhist temples are located throughout Russia. The largest number of them is in the Trans-Baikal Territory and Buryatia. Many of them are monuments of history and architecture. So,for example, the datsan Gunzechoinei, located in St. Petersburg, is an object of cultural heritage of federal significance, which is under the protection of the state.
Architectural styles
Considering the question of what the Buddhist temple is called, one should talk about their architecture. Most datsans are built according to a certain principle, which gives them their own style. It should be noted that the monasteries in Buryatia and Tibet outwardly differ from each other, since the latter are built according to a different principle. There are three styles in total - Chinese, Tibetan and Mongolian (yurt shape).
Tibetan style - these are walls built with an inclination, a stepped volume, pyramidality and tiering, as well as a gradual decrease in the array vertically. Such datsans are crowned with a massive frieze, which has a bright red color.
Most of them differ in their style because they were built with the participation of Russian craftsmen who were previously involved in the construction of Orthodox churches. In this regard, the influence of Russian temple architecture was somewhat reflected in the Buryat datsans.
Description of the temple
The building in most cases has a cruciform shape in its plan. The main, square hall had extensions, one of which housed the altar (northern part), vestibule (southern part). The so-called priruba were built from the eastern and western parts of the world and were used for auxiliary purposes.
The most striking and ornate main façadelocated on the south side. A distinctive feature of the datsans of Buryatia is the vestibule. It has a practical purpose, namely, it serves as a kind of room that cuts off cold air. In Tibetan and Mongolian temples, the entrance to the building is carried out directly from the street.
A roof is being built over each outbuilding (volume). Initially, its edges had straight endings, but later the corners began to be raised. The perimeter of the building is most often encircled by a gallery located on columns, along which a ritual detour is carried out. The northern part of the sanctuary has no windows or doors.
New architecture
Today, the temples of Buddhists in Russia are somewhat different from those that were built at the dawn of the emergence of this religion in the territory of the Russian Empire. This is due to the fact that at the end of the 19th century the architecture of such structures changed somewhat. In the new datsans, the building plan was close to a square shape, the building itself was erected in the form of a stepped pyramid with colonnades and galleries on the upper tiers (floors).
The roof had upturned corners (Chinese type) and bright polychromy (multicolor coloring), they became a hallmark of the new temples. The interiors of the building used expensive decoration according to the Tibetan principle. Also, the new datsans are distinguished by a large number of columns encircling the gallery. The architecture of the temple itself is a symbol of the divine body of the Buddha.
Building in St. Petersburg
Studying the question of how the temple is called by Buddhists, one should tell about the datsan located in the northern capital of Russia. It was built in 1909designed by architects G. V. Baranovsky and N. M. Berezovsky according to the canons of Tibetan temple architecture. This datsan is one of the most expensive in Europe, as it was built from crushed granite.
Currently, the temple is active, while it belongs to the monuments of cultural heritage. There are many Buddhist relics in the datsan, which are available for viewing to everyone. There are guided tours that tell in detail the whole history of this building. The design, of course, is a wonderful architectural decoration of St. Petersburg.
Having found out that a Buddhist temple is called a datsan, it must be said that at present their number in Russia is several thousand. They are visited not only by believers, but also by ordinary tourists, whose number is in the tens of thousands. They admire their magnificent architecture and interesting history. Many of the datsans are real works of art and temple architecture.
It should be noted that the Buddhist clergy is recognized by the Russian authorities and in some cases receives assistance from them. As of January 1, 2011, there were 9 active dugans for Buddhists and 6 prayer rooms in the FSIN system. The first of these are small temples dedicated to one of the Buddhist religious characters.
