The 10 July issue of The New Light of Myanmar newspaper said while attending the Asia-Europe Forum on Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue held at St.Petersburg in the Russian Federation,Konstantin Shuvalov, Ambassador at-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation invited Venerable Sitagu Sayadaw Dr. Ashin Nyanissara of Myanmar to the Republic of Kamykia (part of the Russian Federation), the only Buddhist region in Europe. I must admit that Ive never heard of the place, so I looked up on the Internet. Here it is....(for those like me who have never heard of the place) Religion By the beginning of 1990s Kalmykia was perhaps the only republic in Russia where there were absolutely no religious organizations. There were only two orthodox churches sheltered in the unadapted shabby premises. The title-making people of the republic, Kalmyks worshipping Buddhism, by that time had neither a player house nor a temple. Several generations of Kalmyk people including those who went through the torments of Siberian exile of 1943-1956 grew up with no spiritual orientation and did not have any chance to explore their ethnic cultural roots. By 1940 all the Buddhist temples in Kalmykia were closed or destroyed and all the priesthood subjected to opression. Attempts of the people to restore at least a piece of the past tradition and build a prayer house after returning from the exile did not have success. No wonder that soon after the authorities closed all the ethnic schools and classes gradually destroying the system of ethnic cultural upbringing and education and, as a consequence the people started to lose their spirituality and mother language. Liberalization of state policies towards religion in general and Buddhism in particular that started in the late 1980s and early 1990s could not guarantee its irreversibility and these doubts slowed down the return of religion to the life of the modern society. Buddhist temple Syakusn Sume Only in 1988 the first Buddhist community was organized in Elista. The population showed interest to Buddhism as religion, the number of people taking part in the devotions grew. Gradually the idea of positive role of religion in the social life came to mass media. It was viewed as one of the effective means for drawing the society from the state of the spiritual crisis. This position came to people who considered themselves unbelieving. The ideological vacuum that emerged after the collapse of the communist ideology was favorable for the growth of popularity of the religious views. In spite of some revival in the religious life there were no cardinal changes. These changes in the religious life of Kalmykia started in 1993. The existing republics and federal legislation allowed to take efficient measures to realize the right of the citizens for religious freedom. Positive attitude of authorities towards religion had a very positive response. Rural settlements, cities began organization of religious communities, build Buddhist temples, Orthodox churches, send students to the Buddhist monasteries in India and Buryatia. All this work was not spontaneous but organized by the state. The Presidents decree entrusted this work to the Department of Religion formerly reorganized into the Ministry of Culture, Ethnic Policy and Religion. The ministry runs a Counsel of Religious Affairs that includes heads of religious confessions and discusses everyday problems of religious life in the republic. At the present time there are 79 registered religious organizations in the republic and approximately 20 religious groups. The law guarantees free functioning not only of Buddhist, Orthodox, Muslim confessions, but also Catholic and Protestant. Indeed the construction of the Buddhist Temple Syakusn Sume, one of the main temples of Geden Sheddup Choykorling became a nation-wide event. The building was finished in the short terms, 1 year. The state has allotted 2.5 billion rubles to the construction, approximately 1.3 billion rubles was donated personally by the President of the republic. The new temples (khuruls) we built in Lagan, Tsagan Aman, Iki Chonos, Baga Chonos, Tsekerta, Yashkul, Arshan Zelmen. Construction of khuruls is practically finished in Bolshoy Tsaryn and Ulan Khol. The president sponsored the construction of Orthodox church in Priyutnoye. In the present time there are Orthodox religious communities in all the regions of the republic. As it is visible from these instances the authorities in spite of the existing difficulties find the opportunities for the development of the material basis of religious organizations. The development of the material basis of the Buddhist and Orthodox confessions will continue despite of all the economic difficulties and the state intends to play the leading role in it. Buddhist teaching The basic elements of traditional religions are taught in schools within the framework of the optional course History of the homeland in the historical and informative aspect. All this comes in conformity with the federal and republics laws on religious affairs. A large importance for the mass media belongs to the religious and enlightenment programs. Such TV and radio programs as Clear light , The middle path , Conversations on religion became regular. In whole these programs are popular among the religious people of the republic. Kalmykia is the region where the title-making ethnic group, Kalmyks, belong to the group of Mongolian speaking people. Unfortunately the appearance of cities and rural settlements does not show the ethnic Eastern color. Even the capital of the republic, Elista, does not differ in its exterior from the cities of, for instance, central Russia. The authorities have carried out much work to give the capital an Eastern ethnic look. In 1997 a rotunda with a statue of Buddha was built in the city center. It became customary for the townspeople to visit this place, offer a prayer before Buddha, lay on flowers to its foundation. Two wonderful arches build in the city center became already its symbols. More and more of such monuments appear in Elista. Revival of the traditional faiths is not the objective in itself. Everything that is done in the spiritual sphere has a certain aim, give the growing generation love for homeland, national traditions, rites, language.
Posted on: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 07:43:54 +0000