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Buddhism in Russia
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Buddhism in Russia
Buddhism is considered to be one of Russia's traditional religions and is legally a part of Russian historical heritage. Historically, Buddhism was incorporated into Siberia in the early 17th century. Besides the historical monastic traditions of the Buryats, the Kalmyks (Kalmykia the latter being the only Buddhist-majority republic in Europe), the Tuvans, and a part of the Evenki people (in Buryatia), the religion of Buddhism is now spreading all over Russia, with many ethnic Russian converts.
The main form of Buddhism in Russia is Vajrayana, namely the Gelukpa school of Tibetan Buddhism, informally known as the "yellow hat" tradition, with other Tibetan and non-Tibetan schools as minorities. Although Tibetan Buddhism is most often associated with Tibet, it spread into Mongolia. Via Mongolia, Buddhism spread into Siberia before spreading to the rest of Russia.
In the early 20th century, the famous Datsan Gunzechoinei in Saint Petersburg was the northernmost Buddhist temple in Russia.
The first evidence of the existence of Buddhism in the territory of modern Russia (more specifically Siberia, the region nearest East Asia) belongs to the 8th century AD and is associated with the state of Balhae; in 698–926, the area occupied part of today's Primorye and Amur. There are also traces of Buddhism during the Jurchen Jin Empire (1115–1234). In the 15th century, during the Chinese Ming dynasty, in the lower reaches of the Amur, "several Buddhist temples were built on the Tyr rock: the Yongning-si temple in honor of the bodhisattva Guan-yin (1413), etc. However, Buddhist preaching did not meet with the support of the Amur residents. The temples were soon destroyed. The Mohe, a people whose culture was greatly influenced by neighboring China, Korea and Manchuria, practiced a form of Mahayana Buddhism. It initially spread into those constituent regions of Russia that are geographically or culturally adjacent to Mongolia (the area known as the Mongolian Steppe) or are inhabited by Mongolian and other ethnic groups: Buryatia, Zabaykalsky Krai, Tuva, and Kalmykia. The last of these was the only Buddhist region in Europe, located to the north of the Caucasus. Indigenous peoples who are associated with Buddhism are the Buryats, the Kalmyks, the Tuvans, and a part of the Evenki people (in Buryatia).
The Tuvans were first exposed to Buddhism during the 13th and 14th centuries, when Tuva entered into the composition of the Mongol Empire. The earliest Buddhist temples uncovered by archaeologists in the territory of Tuva date to the 13th and 14th centuries.
At the beginning of the 17th century, Tibetan Buddhism penetrated northward from Mongolia to reach the Buryat population of Transbaikalia (the area just east of Lake Baikal). Initially, Buddhism disseminated primarily among the Khalka Mongols (the Selenga and Zede Buryats). At the end of the 17th to the beginning of the 18th centuries, it spread throughout the Transbaikal region.
There is a theory that the Oirat Mongols—the ancestors of the Kalmyks—in contrast to the other Mongol groups, came in contact with Buddhism even earlier—as early as the 9th century through neighboring Turkic peoples. Some Kalmyks accepted Russian citizenship in 1609. Sources date the year of adoption of Buddhism by Kalmyks to 1615, when a congress of Oirat princes decided to accept Buddhism and send a large group of young people to study in Tibet. Kalmyks brought Buddhism as their main religion to Russia, becoming the first Buddhist community in Europe. In the autonomous Kalmyk Khanate, Buddhism became the state religion. It kept close ties with Buddhist centers in Tibet and Mongolia until the end of the 18th century. The Tibetan Dalai Lama even appointed the Kalmyk khans.
The 1727 Treaty of Kyakhta that delineated the border between Russia and China also officially acknowledged the presence of Buddhism in Russian-controlled lands for the first time.
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Buddhism in Russia
Buddhism is considered to be one of Russia's traditional religions and is legally a part of Russian historical heritage. Historically, Buddhism was incorporated into Siberia in the early 17th century. Besides the historical monastic traditions of the Buryats, the Kalmyks (Kalmykia the latter being the only Buddhist-majority republic in Europe), the Tuvans, and a part of the Evenki people (in Buryatia), the religion of Buddhism is now spreading all over Russia, with many ethnic Russian converts.
The main form of Buddhism in Russia is Vajrayana, namely the Gelukpa school of Tibetan Buddhism, informally known as the "yellow hat" tradition, with other Tibetan and non-Tibetan schools as minorities. Although Tibetan Buddhism is most often associated with Tibet, it spread into Mongolia. Via Mongolia, Buddhism spread into Siberia before spreading to the rest of Russia.
In the early 20th century, the famous Datsan Gunzechoinei in Saint Petersburg was the northernmost Buddhist temple in Russia.
The first evidence of the existence of Buddhism in the territory of modern Russia (more specifically Siberia, the region nearest East Asia) belongs to the 8th century AD and is associated with the state of Balhae; in 698–926, the area occupied part of today's Primorye and Amur. There are also traces of Buddhism during the Jurchen Jin Empire (1115–1234). In the 15th century, during the Chinese Ming dynasty, in the lower reaches of the Amur, "several Buddhist temples were built on the Tyr rock: the Yongning-si temple in honor of the bodhisattva Guan-yin (1413), etc. However, Buddhist preaching did not meet with the support of the Amur residents. The temples were soon destroyed. The Mohe, a people whose culture was greatly influenced by neighboring China, Korea and Manchuria, practiced a form of Mahayana Buddhism. It initially spread into those constituent regions of Russia that are geographically or culturally adjacent to Mongolia (the area known as the Mongolian Steppe) or are inhabited by Mongolian and other ethnic groups: Buryatia, Zabaykalsky Krai, Tuva, and Kalmykia. The last of these was the only Buddhist region in Europe, located to the north of the Caucasus. Indigenous peoples who are associated with Buddhism are the Buryats, the Kalmyks, the Tuvans, and a part of the Evenki people (in Buryatia).
The Tuvans were first exposed to Buddhism during the 13th and 14th centuries, when Tuva entered into the composition of the Mongol Empire. The earliest Buddhist temples uncovered by archaeologists in the territory of Tuva date to the 13th and 14th centuries.
At the beginning of the 17th century, Tibetan Buddhism penetrated northward from Mongolia to reach the Buryat population of Transbaikalia (the area just east of Lake Baikal). Initially, Buddhism disseminated primarily among the Khalka Mongols (the Selenga and Zede Buryats). At the end of the 17th to the beginning of the 18th centuries, it spread throughout the Transbaikal region.
There is a theory that the Oirat Mongols—the ancestors of the Kalmyks—in contrast to the other Mongol groups, came in contact with Buddhism even earlier—as early as the 9th century through neighboring Turkic peoples. Some Kalmyks accepted Russian citizenship in 1609. Sources date the year of adoption of Buddhism by Kalmyks to 1615, when a congress of Oirat princes decided to accept Buddhism and send a large group of young people to study in Tibet. Kalmyks brought Buddhism as their main religion to Russia, becoming the first Buddhist community in Europe. In the autonomous Kalmyk Khanate, Buddhism became the state religion. It kept close ties with Buddhist centers in Tibet and Mongolia until the end of the 18th century. The Tibetan Dalai Lama even appointed the Kalmyk khans.
The 1727 Treaty of Kyakhta that delineated the border between Russia and China also officially acknowledged the presence of Buddhism in Russian-controlled lands for the first time.
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