The founder of Buddhism and the geography of its spread.
Biographies founder of Buddhism were compiled several centuries later and report that he was born into the royal family of the Shakya tribe in the foothills of the Himalayas (the town of Lumbini in the south of modern Nepal) and received the name Siddhartha (Pali Siddhattha, lit.: Achieving the goal, Successful) Gautama (from the Shakya family). His father's name was Shuddhodana (in Pali - Suddhodana, lit. ʼʼHaving riceʼʼ), his mother was Mayan (Illusion). The prince lived in the palaces of the Shakya capital Kapilavastu (in Pali - Kapilavatghu) until he was 29 years old, managed to marry princess Yashodhara ("Keeper of Glory"), and they had a son, Rahula ("Grasp on the fly"). On the streets of the capital, Siddhartha met an old man, a leper, a funeral procession and a hermit. These four meetings had a huge impact on the prince, who lived without worries and worries. He decides to renounce the right to reign, leaves his family and becomes a hermit under his family name Gautama . Gautama spent six years in the abodes of ascetics, studying spiritual sciences and asceticism, he surpassed his teachers in knowledge and abilities, after which he began his own search for liberation, the pinnacle of which was Enlightenment (bodhi).
With the acquisition of the gift of Enlightenment, he realized that existence is suffering , a beginningless series of births and deaths of every being, but one can get rid of it; he remembered all his previous births as bodhisattvas (a being striving for Enlightenment), became Omniscient and knew that he had achieved liberation (moksha) from the chain of births (samsara), that exists in this world only from compassion (karuna) to beings, preaching the truths revealed to him and Middle Way salvation, lying between the extremes of pleasure and self-torture, which moves unwillingly into a world of peace, nirvana (lit.: ʼʼnon-breathingʼʼ). It was after Enlightenment that Shakyamuni became Buddha , Enlightened.
This event took place near the town of Gaya (in the modern Indian state of Bihar). For the next 45 years of his life, Buddha preached the Law established by him in the state of Enlightenment, Dharma . All these years, Buddha and his disciples walked (almost in a circle) through the cities of six states in the middle reaches of the Ganges Valley. He delivered his first sermon in Sarnath near Varanasi, and his last in Kushinagar. The places of birth, Enlightenment, first and last sermons are the four shrines most revered by all Buddhists of the world. Buddha did not leave behind a successor, but declared as such the Law, which everyone has the right to follow according to their own understanding. Already in the early texts of the Law, the doctrine of the Buddha was formed, according to which Buddhas are a special type of beings, different from people, gods, supergods, etc. There were already at least six Buddhas before Shakyamuni (one of the Pali monuments has 24 Buddhas), and a Buddha is expected after him Maitreya (ʼʼHe who is Loveʼʼ).
In the centuries following the Buddha's death, his teachings spread widely in India. The king of the Mauryan Empire Ashoka (268 - 231 BC) declared himself the patron and defender of Buddhism. From that time on, Buddhism began to spread to neighboring countries. The Buddha's teaching began to take on some harmonious theoretical outlines. The dogma of the “three jewels” spread ( Buddha was considered the first jewel, the second was his teaching and the third was the religious community preserving and strengthening the teaching), ideas about the forms and means of transmitting sacred knowledge were formed (among which preference was given to transmission from teacher to student), a system of views on issues of asceticism and spiritual help took shape, and the figure of the bodhisattva came to the fore - the enlightened one, who, however, is in no hurry to taste the quiet bliss of nirvana and out of compassion helps people who, like all other living beings, are in a world of suffering, achieve salvation, which perhaps few of them will be able to achieve on their own.
The highest flowering of Buddhist culture in India dates back to the first centuries of our era. Around the 7th century, Buddhism was almost completely absorbed by the Hindu religious-cultural complex, becoming part of it, and by the 13th century, Buddhism as an independent faith in India had completely disappeared. At the same time, Buddhism had a significant impact on the formation of Hindu cult organization and practice, and Buddha in Hinduism became the incarnation of the deity Brahma.
Buddhism reached its greatest flowering after its spread in the countries adjacent to India. As a result of its interaction with local religious and cultural-ideological traditions, regional forms of Buddhism emerged. Having gone beyond the borders of India, Buddhism established its status as a world religion, and at the same time a process of involution began to occur in it: unique national forms of Buddhism appeared, associated with its interaction with traditional cults widespread in any eastern country: Thai, Chinese, Japanese , Tibetan, Mongolian, Buryat variants, etc.
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forms of Buddhism. Having formed as a religious and philosophical doctrine in India, Buddhism created a huge canonical and commentary literature, rich and varied religious practices, and religious institutions.
In most states in which Buddhism became widespread, during certain periods of history it was the state religion and contributed to the formation of socio-political and economic institutions. Being a world religion, Buddhism, as it integrated into the culture of the countries of its spread, itself became part of the culture, national psychology, and way of life of the peoples who profess it. All this allows us to consider Buddhism as a religious-philosophical and sociocultural complex, makes it possible to approach it as a religion, and as a philosophy, and as a psychology (Buddhism, first of all, is focused on change in human consciousness ).
In 1996 ᴦ. worldwide, according to a very rough estimate, there were 325 million Buddhists (which accounted for 6% of the planet's population). It should be noted, however, that this number does not include Chinese professing Buddhism, since the interweaving of the three basic faiths - Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism - among these people is so close that it is very difficult to determine the number of supporters of individual religions.
The vast majority of all Buddhists - about 322 million out of 325 million, ᴛ.ᴇ. 99% is concentrated in Asia. At the same time, 1.6 million supporters of Buddhism live in Europe (including all of Russia, including its Siberian-Far Eastern part) and 1.5 million in America.
The main areas of distribution of Buddhism are Southeast Asia (more precisely, its mainland). East and Central Asia and, to a lesser extent, South Asia.
In Southeast Asia, the Buddhist religion predominates in all countries of Indochina (excluding the Malay Peninsula): Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam. There are many Buddhists in Singapore.
In the countries of East and Central Asia (China, Mongolia, Korea, Japan), Buddhism is very influential throughout, although other religions are also common there.
In South Asia, Buddhism is the main religion in only two relatively small countries - Sri Lanka and Bhutan. In such huge countries as India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, as well as in Nepal, Buddhism is practiced by a relatively small minority of the population. In Russia, part of the residents of Kalmykia, Tuva, Buryatia, as well as the Aginsky Buryat Autonomous Okrug of the Chita Region adhere to Buddhism.
Today, Buddhism continues to explore new spaces, confirming its status as a world religion. He expanded his geography - his followers can be found in the countries of North, Central and South America, Europe, Australia, Africa, and in non-traditional regions of Russia.
The founder of Buddhism and the geography of its spread. - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Founder of Buddhism and geography of distribution." 2017, 2018.
Although there was never a missionary movement in Buddhism, the teachings of the Buddha spread widely throughout Hindustan, and from there throughout Asia. In each new culture, the methods and styles of Buddhism changed in accordance with the local mentality, but the basic principles of wisdom and compassion remained the same. However, Buddhism never developed a common hierarchy of religious authority with a single head. In each country where Buddhism penetrated, its own forms of Buddhism, its own religious structure and spiritual leader appeared. Currently, the most famous and respected Buddhist leader in the world is His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet.
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There are two main branches of Buddhism: the Hinayana, or Moderate Vehicle (Little Vehicle), which emphasizes the importance of personal liberation, and the Mahayana, or Extensive Vehicle (Great Vehicle), which strives to become fully enlightened Buddhas in order to best help others. Each of these branches of Buddhism had numerous movements. However, three main forms currently survive: one Hinayana form known as Theravada, common in Southeast Asia, and two Mahayana forms represented by the Tibetan and Chinese traditions.
- In the 3rd century BC. e. The Theravada tradition spread from India to Sri Lanka and Burma (Myanmar), and from there to the rest of Southeast Asia (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, South Vietnam).
- Other forms of Hinayana penetrated into what is now Pakistan, Afghanistan, eastern and coastal Iran, and Central Asia. From Central Asia in the 2nd century AD. e. these Buddhist traditions spread to China. Later these Hinayana forms were combined with some of the Mahayana teachings that also came along the same route from India. Thus, Mahayana eventually became the predominant Buddhist tradition in China and much of Central Asia. The Chinese form of Mahayana later spread to Korea, Japan and North Vietnam.
- The Tibetan Mahayana tradition arose in the 7th century and inherited Indian Buddhism, including all its historical development. From Tibet it spread throughout the Himalayan region, as well as to Mongolia, Central Asia and some regions of Russia (Buryatia, Kalmykia and Tyva).
In addition, in the 2nd century AD. e. Indian forms of Mahayana Buddhism came to South Vietnam, Kabmoju, Malaysia, the islands of Sumatra and Java, along the trade route from India to South China. Now they no longer exist.
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The spread of Buddhism throughout most of Asia was peaceful and occurred in several ways. Buddha Shakyamuni set an example. Primarily a teacher, he traveled to neighboring kingdoms to share his insights with those who were receptive and interested. Moreover, he instructed his monks to go into the world and explain its teachings. Buddha did not ask people to condemn their own religion, reject it and convert to a new one, because he did not seek to found his own religion. He was only trying to help people overcome the misery and suffering they had created for themselves due to lack of understanding. Then generations of the Buddha's followers were inspired by his example and shared with others those methods from his teachings that they themselves found useful. So his teaching, which is now called Buddhism, spread everywhere.
Sometimes this process happened naturally. For example, when Buddhist traders settled in new places or simply visited them, some of the local residents showed a natural interest in the beliefs of the foreigners. Islam entered Indonesia and Malaysia in the same way. Also, during the period from the 2nd century BC. e. to 2nd century AD e. Buddhism spread in the oasis countries of Central Asia located along the Silk Road. As local rulers and people learned more about this Indian religion, they began to invite monks as advisers and teachers from the regions where the traders came from, and thus eventually adopted the Buddhist faith. Another natural process was the slow cultural absorption of the victorious peoples after they conquered new territories. This happened to the Greeks, who for centuries after the 2nd century BC. e. assimilated into the Gandhara Buddhist community, located in what is now central Pakistan.
However, most often the spread was primarily due to the influence of a powerful ruler who personally accepted and supported Buddhism. For example, in the middle of the 3rd century BC. e. Buddhism spread throughout northern India thanks to the personal support of King Ashoka. This great founder of the empire did not force his subjects to accept the Buddhist faith. However, he placed iron pillars throughout the country, on which were carved his decrees encouraging people to lead an ethical lifestyle, and he himself followed these principles. Thus, he inspired the people to accept the teachings of the Buddha.
In addition, King Ashoka actively promoted the spread of Buddhism outside his kingdom by sending envoys to distant lands. In some cases, he did this in response to invitations from foreign rulers such as King Tishya of Sri Lanka. On other occasions, on his own initiative, he sent monks as diplomatic representatives. However, these monks did not pressure others to convert to Buddhism, but simply made the Buddha's teachings accessible, allowing people to choose for themselves. This is confirmed by the fact that Buddhism soon took root in areas such as southern India and southern Burma, while there is no evidence of its direct influence on other areas, such as the Greek colonies in Central Asia.
Other religious rulers, such as the 16th-century Mongol ruler Altan Khan, invited Buddhist teachers to their domains and proclaimed Buddhism as the state religion to unite the people and strengthen their power. At the same time, they could prohibit some practices of local non-Buddhist religions and even persecute those who followed them. However, there were mainly political motives behind such heavy-handed measures. Such ambitious rulers never forced their subjects to adopt Buddhist forms of faith or worship, because such an approach is not characteristic of the Buddhist religion.
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If Buddha Shakyamuni told people not to follow his teachings out of blind faith, but to test them carefully first, how much less should people agree to the teachings of the Buddha when forced by a zealous missionary or by decree of a ruler. For example, when at the beginning of the 17th century AD. e. Neiji Toin tried to bribe the Eastern Mongolian nomads by offering them livestock for every verse of Buddhist texts they memorized, the people complained to the supreme authorities. As a result, the intrusive teacher was punished and expelled.
According to the leading expert in the field of religious statistics, D. B. Barrett, there were 325 million Buddhists in the world in 1996 (6% of the world population). These statistics did not take into account people who adhered to both Buddhism and other religions. According to other estimates, there are about 500 million Buddhists in the modern world. According to Barrett, 322 million Buddhists lived in Asia (9% of the population of this part of the world), in America - 1.5 million, Europe - 1.6 million, Australia and Oceania - 200 thousand, Africa - 38 thousand. In Japan there are 72 million Buddhists, Thailand - 52 million, Myanmar - 37 million, Vietnam - 35 million, China - 34 million, Sri Lanka - 12 million, Republic of Korea - 12 million, Cambodia - 7 million, India - 6 million (according to other sources - 10 million), Laos - 2.4 million, Nepal - 1.3 million, Malaysia - 1.2 million (according to other sources - 3 million), Bangladesh - 0. 7 million, Mongolia - 0.6 million, Bhutan - 0.4 million, DPRK - 0.4 million. In China, 307 million people are also considered adherents of the Chinese national religion, which is a synthesis of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and traditional folk beliefs [Peoples and religions of the world, 2000].
Countries and territories where Buddhism spreads
Mahayana Buddhists make up the majority of the population in countries such as Mongolia and Bhutan. They are representatives of three peoples of Russia - Buryats, Kalmyks and Tuvans. It should be noted that they live in the same territory as Russians who adhere to Orthodoxy. If we consider the national composition of Kalmykia, Buryatia and Tuva, then only in the latter the titular nation makes up the majority of the population. In the Republic of Korea and Vietnam, along with Mahayana Buddhists, there are Christians, Confucians, and representatives of traditional folk beliefs (Vietnam). For two reasons, it is difficult to say what the percentage of Buddhists is in China. Firstly, over the centuries, a unique synthesis of Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism has been formed in this country. Many people professed and profess these religions at the same time.
They sought answers to their questions and participated in religious ceremonies depending on the situations in which they found themselves. Thus, issues of ethics, human relationships in the family or with the state were “supervised” by Confucianism; relationship between man and nature - Taoism; Buddhism provided assistance in working on oneself, understanding one’s inner world, and getting rid of suffering.
Secondly, a significant part of the Chinese population considers themselves atheists, while others adhere to traditional folk beliefs. Therefore, different monographs and statistical publications provide completely different information about the religious structure of the Chinese population. Moreover, data on how many, for example, Confucians there are in China, often differ by an order of magnitude.
Until the middle of the 20th century. Tibetan Buddhism developed uniquely in Tibet. After its capture by China, in a number of cities (the capital is Lhasa), the majority of the population began to be Chinese, and the Tibetans were subjected to repression and many of them were forced to flee Tibet.
Hinayana Buddhists make up the majority of the population of Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia (see map on flyleaf). Buddhists make up part of the population of Singapore (about 30%), Malaysia, and a small part of Indonesia (1%) and India (less than 1%). In India, Buddhist pieces stand out. Sikkim, located between Nepal and Bhutan, as well as Ladakh (Jammu and Kashmir), the Lahaul and Spiti valleys (Himachal Pradesh). It is interesting that the religion, which once originated in India, almost completely disappeared from it in the Middle Ages. Buddhism in India received new impetus for development only in the 20th century.
In recent decades, Buddhism has begun to gain popularity in the West due to the enormous humanism and tolerance inherent in it. He is attracted by his great philosophy, which is capable of adapting to life in the realities of the early 21st century. Many people look for and find answers to pressing questions in it.
As we have already noted, Buddhists make up the majority or a significant part of the population in a number of countries and regions of Foreign Asia, and there are quite a few of them in Russia. For convenience of description, we will characterize this territory as a whole, not forgetting that the following information on China and Japan also concerns pilgrimages and excursion trips to places of Taoism, Confucianism and Shintoism. Malaysia and Indonesia appear in Chapter 4; Buryatia, Tuva, and Kalmykia are mentioned above in the context of the whole of Russia; Sikkim is generally included in the description of the territory of the spread of Hinduism.
Buddhists live in the east and southeast of Asia, including the Korean and Indochina peninsulas, the Japanese islands, the largest of which are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku. In South Asia, Buddhists live in most of the island of Ceylon (Sri Lanka).
In China there are the Kun-Lun, Greater Khingan, Tien Shan (partially in the CIS) mountain ranges, etc. The Tibetan Plateau occupies a large area - 2 million km2. It is a combination of flat and slightly hilly plains with a height of 4000 - 5000 m and ridges - 6000 - 7000 m. There are mountains in Japan (the famous Mount Fuji - 3776 m), in Indochina, and the Korean Peninsula. In eastern China there is the famous Great Chinese Plain, which stretches more than 1000 km south of Beijing. This is one of the most densely populated areas on Earth. Plains and lowlands also exist in the south of Myanmar and Vietnam, and in large parts of Thailand and Cambodia.
This territory is located in the temperate, subtropical and subequatorial zones, as well as in a mountain climate. Temperate zone - the north of the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese Islands and northeast China (northeast of Beijing). In the conventionally eastern sector there are monsoon regions - humid, rather cool summers and cold winters. In the conventionally western sector (Mongolia, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region - China) there are dry, hot summers (not in all of Mongolia) and relatively cold winters. The subtropical climate zone occupies the center and east of China, the south of the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese Islands. The Tibet plateau has a special climate. In Eastern China, in the subtropical zone, the Great Chinese Plain is located. Here the monsoon regions have hot, rainy summers and relatively cold, dry winters.
Southeast China, Hindustan, and most of Sri Lanka are located in the subequatorial climate zone with hot, humid summers and relatively dry winters. The hottest time of the year is spring, when the air temperature during the day can exceed +40 °C.
The southwest of Sri Lanka occupies the equatorial belt. The entire year is characterized by heavy rainfall and constantly high air temperatures (above +25 °C). As for natural zones, in the territory where Buddhism spreads there are equatorial forests (Sri Lanka), semi-deserts, and deserts (Gobi Desert).
The temperature regime of this area is interesting. Temperatures vary greatly between north and south, plains and mountains, seasons of the year and different parts of the day. Average monthly temperatures in January vary from -16 to -24 °C and even in some places to -32 °C in the north and center of Mongolia and the extreme northeast of China to temperatures close to zero in the area between the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, above +16 °C in Indochina and above +24 °C in the south of Indochina and southwest Sri Lanka. The Tibetan Plateau is characterized by a dry, harsh climate with average January temperatures of 0...-20°C and July temperatures of +5...+15°C. Average July temperatures do not differ as much between the north and south of the Buddhist territories as January temperatures, ranging from +16...+24 °C in the north to above +32 °C in the south. And only Tibet is cooler in summer.
The important waterways of Eastern China are the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers. During summer rain floods, they sometimes break through the dams located along their banks, flooding lowland areas and leading to death. The Salween, Mekong, and Irrawaddy rivers flow south through Indochina.
In East Asia, Buddhism is practiced by the Koreans, Japanese, Khal-Ha-Mongols, representing the Altai language family (which also includes Buryats and Kalmyks living in Russia), the Chinese, and Tibetans of the Sino-Tibetan family. The Chinese make up 94% of the population in the most populous country in the world - China (almost 1.25 billion people). Japan is a single-ethnic country, almost all of whose inhabitants are Japanese. Tibetans live in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, as well as in exile in India and Nepal. As experts note, Tibetans are forced to follow the path of the American Indians - they are subject to discrimination and repression by the Chinese. In Japan, the population is practically stagnant. China has managed to curb its high birth rate thanks to effective demographic policies.
In South Asia, Buddhism is practiced by the Sinhalese of the Indo-European family (Sri Lanka), Nepalese, and Bhutanese. Sri Lanka experienced armed conflict that escalated into civil war between the Sinhalese, who make up 74% of the population, and the Tamils (24%). The Tamil organization Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) sought independence for the territory in the north of the island where the Tamils live. In the winter of 2002, the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE achieved a ceasefire, and a political dialogue began between them.
In Southeast Asia, the predominantly Buddhist peoples are the Myanmar and others from the Sino-Tibetan family, the Siamese, the Lao-Paratai family, the Viet, and the Khmer from the Afro-Asian family. Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia are characterized by high birth rates, and the last two are characterized by high mortality, especially infant mortality. Thailand is a fairly developed country economically. Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia are among the poorest countries in the world.
Japan is one of the seven leading industrial powers in the world. The standard of living of the population in Japan is high. The tourism industry in this country is well developed. China's economy is developing rapidly. At the same time, there is a gap in the development of urban and rural, coastal and inland China. According to the WTO, in 1999 China was among the top five countries in the world in terms of tourist arrivals. Together with Hong Kong, 21 million people visited China. Quite good hotels have begun to appear in Tibet, but the level of service in them still leaves much to be desired. Hotels may not have hot water. The roads in Tibet are not of very good quality.
Thailand and Singapore belong to the Newly Industrialized Countries (NICs). In Thailand, cultural and educational trips to the north and relaxation on the beaches of the south of the country are practiced. Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Mongolia are also making efforts to develop tourism, but they have a small market share in East and Southeast Asia, and indeed in the entire Asia-Pacific region.
Japan ranks second in the world after the United States in terms of hotel capacity - 1.65 million hotel rooms. In China there are 0.5 million, in Thailand - between 0.15 and 0.23 million. China and Singapore are among the leaders in the growth rate of hotel rooms in the world.
RELIGIOUS OBJECTS OF BUDDHISM
In the territory where Buddhism spreads, there are numerous religious sites of Buddhism - monasteries, temples, stupas. Some of them are active places of worship, and accordingly they are visited by pilgrims and sightseers, others are historical and architectural monuments that attract the interest of sightseers, but they are also visited by pilgrims. All national forms of Buddhism - Tibetan Buddhism, Japanese Buddhism, Burmese Buddhism, Thai Buddhism, etc., their directions have their own features not only in religious philosophy and in the peculiarities of cult practice, but also in the traditions of pilgrimage, in the creation of those objects that arouse the aspirations of pilgrims and the interest of tourists. There are religious sites of Buddhism: temples, monasteries (datsans, khuruls) in Russia.
Features and history of pilgrimages in Buddhism
The tradition of Buddhist pilgrimage dates back to the lifetime of the Buddha himself. According to the Tripitaka canon (Mahaparinir-vana-sutra), the Buddha commanded his followers to visit the places where he was born (Lumbini), received Enlightenment (Bodhgaya), delivered his first sermon (Sarnath) and left this world (Kushinagara).
It is known that in the V, VI and VIII centuries. Pilgrimages of Chinese Buddhist monks to India took place. The monks followed two routes. The first is northern - along the Great Silk Road through the territories of modern Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Indian states. Jammu and Kashmir. The second route is southern - through the South China Sea, the Bay of Bengal with a landing on the east coast of India. One of the travelers, Xuan Zang, passed Hindustan and Sri Lanka from north to south in 629-645. It is known from history that in the XI-XIII centuries. Muslim conquerors destroyed Buddhist monasteries, temples and universities in the north of modern India. It is interesting that it is precisely according to the texts remaining after these pilgrimages that in the 19th century. Many Buddhist places were re-recognized.
After his passing into Nirvana, the body of the Buddha was cremated, the remains were divided into eight parts and placed in stupas17. Also in a number of places there were the remains of Buddhist saints located in monasteries, stupas, and chaityas18. Pilgrimages in Buddhism began with the worship of the remains of Buddha. Thus, the history of pilgrimages in Buddhism goes back thousands of years. Pilgrimages are found in both the Mahayana and Theravada traditions.
Pilgrimage in Buddhism consists of visiting holy shrines to obtain spiritual results, worship and pay respect to higher powers. Pilgrimages in Buddhism were at first an imitation of Hindu pilgrimages, but later they acquired their own individual characteristics. In Sanskrit and Pali, the pilgrim was designated as pravrajya, or pabajya. These concepts denote a withdrawal from worldly affairs. The Dhammapada says that a pilgrim is one who has renounced the world. In Buddhist literature, detachment from the worldly is necessary in order for a person to achieve the rank and status of a member of the Buddhist sangha. However, the wanderings of ascetics were not aimless and consisted of visiting holy places. The ascetic habits of Buddhist monks and a wandering lifestyle without a permanent residence contributed to the propaganda of Buddhism. Monks were supposed to stay in one place only during the rainy season and wander during other seasons. Thus, wandering became an integral part of the canons and duties of Buddhist monks. Later Mahayana and Theravada Buddhist literature also speaks of pilgrimages. Buddha Charita calls pilgrimage places ladders leading to heaven. In Buddhism, sacred rivers and tirthas are revered (tirthas will be discussed in Chapter 6). The construction of a chaitya is considered a pious act.
Classification of holy places of Buddhism in India and Nepal
The Buddhist holy places of India and Nepal can be divided into five categories.
1. Holy places associated with important stages of the life of Gautama Buddha: Lumbini (birth), Bodhgaya (Enlightenment), Sarnath (first sermon) and Kushinagara (departure for Mahaparinirvana).
2. Holy places that Gautama Buddha visited or where he spent part of his life. These are Kapilavastu (Tilaurakot), Rajgir, Nalanda, Sankasya, Shravasti, Vaishali, Pataliputra (Patna), Kaushambi.
3. Holy places associated with prominent saints and masters of Buddhism.
4. Holy places associated with Buddhism as a religion, its history and culture.
5. Holy places where Buddhist life continues - viharas and monasteries.
Objects of the first two categories predominate in India. In Nepal - only Kapilavastu and Lumbini. Holy places of the third category are found in both India and Nepal; there are many of the fourth category in India, less in Nepal. The caves of Ajanta, Ellora, Karla, Kanheri (India) are associated with Buddhist art and architecture, Sanchi (stupa) - with history, art and architecture. Places in the fourth category are also associated with Buddhist saints and enlightened masters. For example, Sanchi contains the remains of two famous disciples of the Buddha, Shari-putra and Maudgalyayana. In the Buddhist caves of India, monks meditated and preached Buddhism until the 10th century, the period of the arrival of Muslim conquerors. A few places with caves where Buddhist monks meditated in Nepal are Vajrajogni, Nagarjun Hill. There are no works of art or sculpture. Only a few Buddha images were placed in them.
Buddhist pilgrimage centers in India and Nepal
Pilgrimage places of the “life path” of Buddha. There are 8 centers for the veneration of Shakyamuni Buddha, 4 of which are the main ones: Lumbini (Nepal, near the border with India), Bodhgaya (Bihar), Sarnath (near the city of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh), Kushinagara (near the city of Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh). Uttar Pradesh) (India) (see Fig. 5); 4 others - Vaishali, Shravasti, Rajgir and Sankasya (Sankissa) (India). Many pilgrims visit all 8 places. A definite difference between these places is that in some of them, especially in Bodh Gaya and Lumbini, many Buddhist monasteries and stupas have been built by Buddhists from different countries of the world. Publishing and educational activities are also carried out there. On the other hand, Vaishali and Sankasya are currently of interest to tourists interested in the history of Buddhism and Indian as well as world culture, although they are also visited by pilgrims. It is important to take these features into account when developing tours in practice.
On the territory of the modern town of Lumbini in 543 BC. e. Siddhartha Gautama, who later became Buddha (the Awakened One), was born in the garden of Rummindeya. In nearby Kapilavastu, pilgrims and sightseers visit the ruins of the royal palace where Siddhartha lived until he was 29 years old. The temple of Buddha's mother, Queen Mayadevi, the pond in which she took baths before the birth of her son, and the spring in which the child took his first bath have also been preserved here. Lumbini has more than 20 Buddhist monasteries from around the world.
Bodhgaya (Bihar) is located 12 km from the famous center of Hindu pilgrimages, Gaya. In Bodh Gaya, the Buddha came to a wonderful state of Enlightenment. The center of attraction for pilgrims is the Mahabodhi Mandir, a temple located on the site where Buddha gained Enlightenment. This temple is jointly managed by Buddhists and Hindus, as Hindus consider Buddha to be the ninth avatar (incarnation) of the god Vishnu. A fig tree grows near the western wall; it is considered to be the offspring of the tree under which Buddha sat in meditation. Here is Vajrasana, a stone slab marking the place where Buddha sat. To the north of the temple stretches the stone path of Chanca Romana. It was laid out in the 1st century. BC e. and denotes the place where Buddha walked while in a meditative state. On the southern side of the temple there is a pond overgrown with lotuses. In the middle of the pond there is a statue of Buddha guarded by a cobra. Both Gaya also houses an archaeological museum.
From October to March, a large number of Tibetan pilgrims from Dharamsala come to Bodhgaya. The Dalai Lama gives lectures here. Bodh Gaya has monasteries built by people from Tibet, Myanmar, Thailand, Japan, China, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, Vietnam, Korea, Taiwan and Bangladesh. Thai Bodhi Kham Monastery was built by representatives of the tribal communities of the Indian states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. Tourists who come on an excursion to Bodhgaya are interested in seeing people from different (including Western) countries, architectural styles, features of ceremonies, and meditations. Bodhgaya has a 25m high Great Buddha statue built in the Japanese Kamakura style in 1989.
Sarnath is located in Uttar Pradesh is 6 km north of one of the main centers of Hindu pilgrimages - Varanasi. At Sarnath, the Buddha made the first turning of the wheel of Dharma by delivering his first sermon on the Four Noble Truths to his first disciples. Here are the remains of an ancient deer park - Mrigadava, the Buddhist stupa of Dhamekh.
In Rajgir (Bihar), located 90 km northeast of Gaya, Buddha spent five rainy seasons. Here he made the second turn of the wheel of the Law, revealing the doctrine of emptiness. The Vvnuvana bamboo grove was once presented to Buddha by the king of the state of Magadha, whose capital was Rajgir (Rajagriha). The grove contains a Thai Buddhist temple and the Karanda Tank pool, where Buddha took his baths. An important place for pilgrims and excursions to Buddhist sites is the Sap-taparni cave, which hosted the first Buddhist council. Rajgir also houses the Jarasandhaki-Baithak Monastery, a large Japanese temple of the Nipponzan Myuhoji Order, and a Burmese temple. The most sacred place in Rajgir is the Grid-hrakuta hill. From Madzacucci there is a cable car to the top of the Ratna Giri hill, on which the Vishwa Shanti (Peace of Peace) stupa was built by Japanese Buddhists. On each side of the stupa, four golden statues are erected, reminiscent of the birth of Enlightenment, the teachings and the departure of the Buddha into parinirvana.
12 km north of Rajgir are the ruins of Nalanda, the largest university in India, destroyed by Muslims in 1199. Buddha and Mahavira read their sermons in this place. Tourists visiting the places of Buddha's life come on an excursion to Nalanda. During excavations in Nalanda, 6 temples (chaityas) and 11 monasteries (viharas) were discovered. In the viharas, visitors can see the remains of student cells, lecture halls, bathrooms, kitchens, libraries, warehouses and wells. Not far from the ruins there is a museum containing Hindu and Buddhist sculpture, as well as a monument in the shape of a Chinese temple. This structure was built in memory of the Chinese pilgrim Xuan Zang, who studied in Nalanda in the 7th century.
In Vaishali (Bihar), located 40 km north of the capital of the state. Patna, Buddha gave sermons. Here he made the third turn of the wheel of Dharma, telling the teaching about the nature of Buddha, and also read his last sermon and predicted his imminent departure from this world. Nataputta Vardhamana (Mahavira), the founder of Jainism, was born here. The second Buddhist council also took place in Vaishali. To date, only the column of King Ashoka and the ruins of Buddhist stupas have survived. In Shravasti (Uttar Pradesh), Buddha spent 25 rainy seasons. As a result of excavations, the remains of ancient monasteries and stupas and columns of Ashoka were discovered there. One of the stupas marks the place where Buddha sat. There is also a well from which Buddha drew water.
Sankasya (Sankissa) (Uttar Pradesh) is located at the place where Buddha descended from the Tushita sky, where he taught his mother Queen Maya during the monsoon season. Now, on the spot where Buddha descended to earth, there is a Hindu temple, and next to it is a modern Sri Lankan temple.
Kushinagara (Uttar Pradesh) attracts pilgrims and sightseers because Buddha left his body here at the age of 80. Pilgrims venerate the statue of the dying Buddha and visit the Mahaparinirvana Temple.
Other holy places of Buddhism in India. It makes sense to say a few words about the Buddhist historical heritage of India, especially since these sites are also visited by pilgrims. A few kilometers north of the capital of the state. Madhya Pradesh Bhopal in Sanchi there is a Buddhist stupa. It is the oldest surviving Buddhist structure in India. The stupa in Sanchi was built on the site of an older one in the 2nd -1st centuries. BC. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In pcs. Maharashtra is home to the Ajanta and Ellora temples. The Buddhist temples of Ajanta contain wonderful paintings. The 29 caves of Ajanta are carved into the rocks of the gorge hanging over the river flowing below. 5 caves are chaityas, the rest are viharas19. Caves 8; 9, 10, 12 and 13 are early Buddhist. They are simpler and more ascetic. They do not depict the image of Buddha, but instead have a symbol, such as the wheel of the Law. The remaining caves (from the 5th century AD) are Mahayana. Cave 1 (Mahayana Vihara) is the most beautiful, with murals depicting scenes from Buddha's past lives. There are a total of 34 cave temples in Ellora, of which 12 are Buddhist, 2 Jain and 20 Hindu. Emora is famous for its sculpture. The cave temples of Ellora, created later than in Ajanta, differ from them in size and more complex layout. Perhaps the main temple of Ellora is the Hindu temple of Kailashanatha.
There are two other important historical centers of Buddhism in Maharashtra: the Karla and Kanheri caves (see Fig. 5). Karla Caves (114 km from Mumbai) is a famous monument of Buddhist culture. There is a large chaitya and several viharas, some of which are in ruins. The steps to climb 150 m to the caves were made by Buddhists in ancient times. The most interesting structures of Kanheri (32 km north of Mumbai) are two chaityas.
Amaravati, 30 km west of Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh, was once an important center of Theravada Buddhism. The Amaravati School of Art greatly influenced the art and architecture of Ceylon, Thailand and possibly Sumatra. Here are the remains of a stupa built about 2000 years ago. A museum has been built nearby. In Nagarjunakonda lived Nagarjuna, one of the most famous Mahayana monks, who led the sangha for 60 years. At one time it was an international center of Buddhism. Now Nagarjunakonda (149 km southeast of Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh) is an island off the right bank of the Krishna River. 9 monuments were restored to their original form. At the top of the hill there are 14 fragments of former structures located in two groups. There is also a museum here.
Centers of Tibetan Buddhism in India. In a number of places in India there are settlements and monasteries of Tibetans20. They are located in pcs. Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir (Ladakh to be precise), Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal, Orissa and Sikkim. Dev Ramsala (Himachal Pradesh) attracts pilgrims - Buddhists, Tibetans and others. Here is the residence of the 14th Dalai Lama, the head of the Buddhists of Tibet and the head of the Tibetan government in exile. Pilgrims from different countries of the world, including Russia, strive to meet with the Dalai Lama, who is a great spiritual authority. The residence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama is located opposite the Tsuglagkhang Temple. Every year in March, the Dalai Lama gives a course of lectures. At this time, Dha Ramsala and its surroundings are crowded with pilgrims and other visitors. Namgyal Monastery is home to 180 monks representing various schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Nechung Monastery houses the State Oracle of Tibet. The Oracle plays a key role in finding the incarnations of each Dalai Lama. The Dolma Ling Nunnery is engaged in charitable activities: more than 350 Tibetan nuns who fled persecution and violence in Tibet are educated and have the opportunity to live here.
Other monasteries in the state include Tashijong of the Drukpa Kagyu order, Sherab Ling, famous for the trail built here by pilgrims and students of Western countries since the 70s. XX century, Cho Ling, the Nyingma order and the monastery of the Sakya order. In the town of Rewalsar, called Tso Pema by the Tibetans, a small lake is surrounded by caves. The great Guru Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) practiced and performed miracles here. Lamas meditate in this place. The town of Manali is home to a Tibetan community and has Tibetan monasteries, including the monastery of Abo Rinpoche of the Kagyu Order.
In Ladakh (Jammu and Kashmir) there are the oldest active Tibetan monasteries (almost all the monasteries in Tibet itself were destroyed by the Chinese). Hemis, Lamayuru, Phyang and Thikse are important monasteries. However, these monasteries are quite remote, with minimal amenities, and usually receive relatively few tourists.
Monasteries visited by a large number of foreign pilgrims and students coming for meditation courses are located in West Bengal near Darjeeling. Tourists, excursionists and pilgrims are interested in visiting a small Buddhist town. Sikkim. To enter Sikkim you must obtain permission from the Indian authorities. Among Tibetan monasteries, Pemayangtse of the Nyingma order is important. The 17th Gualwa Karmapa, the head of the Kagyu order, lives in exile at the Rumtek Monastery.
Karnataka, despite the fact that this state is located in southern India, quite far from Tibet, has Tibetan settlements and monasteries. The Drepung and Sera monasteries of the Gelug order were built in Mundgod. The author himself witnessed how a large number of monks (at least 200) gathered in the Sera monastery on a large platform in front of one of the temples. They broke into small groups of several people and began to have lively debates on religious topics. The monastery of the head of the Nyingma order, Penora Rinpoche Namdroling, is located in Karnataka.
After China's occupation of Tibet and repressions against its people, representatives of the Bon religion also began to leave Tibet. The Bon religion existed even before the arrival of Buddhism in Tibet. There are now Bon centers in exile. In India in pcs. Himachal Pradesh, south of the capital Shimla in the town of Solana, there is one Bon center in exile. And the main lama, Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche, is located in the Bon monastery, located in the Kathmandu Valley (Nepal) near the capital of the country - Kathmandu.
Buddhist holy places in Nepal. Buddhist holy places in Nepal can be geographically divided into those located in:
1) flat areas (lowlands);
2) foothills (midlands);
3) mountainous regions of the country (highlands).
The first include:
Lumbini;
Tilaurakot (Kapilavastu);
Holy places in the vicinity of Kapilavastu;
Ramagrama.
Lumbini and Kapilavastu have already been discussed above. The Ramagrama stupa is located near Nawalparasi.
The second includes religious objects of Buddhism in:
Kathmandu is the capital of the country;
Bhaktapur;
Kathmandu Valley, including Theravada monasteries.
In the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu, 6.5 km west of the city center, there is the famous Swayambhunath stupa, 15 m high. This is one of the oldest religious buildings in Nepal, also revered by Hindus. Swayambhunath Stupa is a complex of temples, images of Buddhas and bodhisattvas, etc. From a religious point of view, walking up to the stupa is a great merit. In the center of the stupa there is a hemisphere called garbha, symbolizing the creation of the manifested world. On the garbha there is a quad Ratna gilded ram. On the four sides of the toran there are pairs of eyes symbolizing Adi Buddha. Even higher are golden circles (churamani) decreasing in size. At the top of the structure there is a spire. In Kathmandu in the 16th century. The Kathesimbu stupa was built, which is a copy of the Swayambhunath stupa. Tibetans call her “little Swayambhu.” Nath." Buddhists, along with Hindus, revere the Pashupts complex. tinath.
Bodhnath Stupa is also called Kasha Chaitya or Kasha Stupa. This Tibetan building complex is one of the oldest and largest Tibetan temples in the world. Bodhnath is a point of attraction for Tibetan pilgrims. It is believed to contain the remains of the eminent Tibetan Lama Kasha, who died here during a pilgrimage. Gompas (monasteries) were built near the stupa. Kathmandu also has the stupas of Vasubandhu, Kashyapa, Mahabuddha, Chabahil (Charumati) (impressively beautiful), Manjushri Temple, Jana Bahal Temple, Mahankal Temple, Kimdol Vihara, Marusathal Vihara (Kasthamandar), Itumbahal complex with several chaityas, etc.
The Jamacho Stupa is located on Nagarjun Hill, 7 km from Kathmandu. This hill is so named because the cave of the famous Buddhist saint Nagarjuna is located here. There are several other natural caves on the hill.
The center of Buddhism in Nepal is the city of Patan (5 km southeast of Kathmandu on the other side of the Bagmati River). There are a large number of Buddhist structures and monuments with carvings and sculptures made of clay, stone, wood and metal. While Nepal as a whole is predominantly Hindu, 2/3 of Patan's population is Buddhist. There are monasteries here, including destroyed ones.
The outstanding buildings of Patan are the stupas of King Ashoka - Central, Western, Northern and Eastern. The Mahabuddha Temple was built in the Hindu style (with a shikhara tower), although it is Buddhist. This temple is also called the Temple of a Thousand Buddhas. Here, on every brick there is an image of Buddha. The temples of Matsyendranath, Minanath, vihara Kwa Bahal and others were also built in Patan. The monasteries are Chakra Bahal, Naugal Bahal and Hay Bahal.
The city of Bhaktapur is located in the Kathmandu Valley, 15 km east of Kathmandu city at an altitude of 1400 m. There are many Buddhist temples in the city. In Kirtipur, 10-12 km from Kathmandu, a stupa was built by King Asho-Kha. In the Kathmandu Valley there are 3 thousand temples, both Hindu and Buddhist.
Some pilgrimage centers in Tibet
This is primarily the capital of Tibet Lhasa, the second city of Tibet - Shigatse, the sacred Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar. Tibetans have an established tradition of pilgrimages.
There is a wonderful film about Tibet, made by a group of orientalist scientist S.V. Dudko (see Chapter 8). It shows how an entire village from eastern Tibet went on a pilgrimage to Western Tibet to Lake Manasarovar and Mount Kailash. It was necessary to cover a distance of 2500 km. People fit in the truck. In fact, representatives of four generations of residents of this village went to this pilgrimage - from infants to old people. At one point the road was too bad and the truck could get stuck. People went out and walked 2 km barefoot on the ground, while it was snowing. Strong pilgrims carried the weaker ones on their backs.
Lhasa is home to the Potala Palace, the former residence of the Dalai Lama. In Lhasa there are three rings (circles), along which Buddhist-Tibetans of Lhasa and arriving pilgrims circumambulate the holy places. The small circle runs through the courtyard of the main temple of Lhasa - Jokhang, the middle circle - around the Jokhang temple and includes the Lhasa quarter, as well as the market. Therefore, on both sides of part of this circle there are trading stalls and pilgrims walk straight through the market. A large ring encircles the city within its old boundaries, including the Potala.
Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar are close to each other. Interestingly, Kailash is a sacred mountain for representatives of four religions - Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and the ancient Tibetan religion Bon. Moreover, if Buddhists and Hindus walk around Kailash clockwise (in the direction of the sun), then followers of the Bon religion go counterclockwise. Around Kailash, pilgrims follow an outer and inner circle. It is customary to enter the inner circle if the pilgrim has walked around the outer circle at least 12 times. There are 4 Tibetan Buddhist monasteries on the outer circle, and 2 on the inner circle. The outer circle is a path around the entire Mount Kailash, about 55 km long. It is located at an altitude of 4800 - 5600 m.
Tibetans walk around Kailash in the outer circle in about 30 hours. They get up three hours before dawn, walk all day and go to bed after midnight. It is also practiced to go around Kailash with prostrations (that is, when pilgrims lie down on the ground, worshiping this sacred mountain), but it will take 1 - 2 weeks. Pilgrims perform prostration by stretching out on the ground to their full height and extending their folded palms forward. Then they stand up, take a step to the place where their palms lay during the Last Prostration, and make a new prostration. They can also make radial strikes towards Mount Kailash between strikes along the perimeter of the route. Pilgrims are allowed to spend the night in monasteries; they can be given shelter in tent camps. But a pilgrim can camp for the night right on the ground, or more precisely, on the rocks. For his food, the pilgrim carries barley flour in a bag behind his back, which he mixes with water. It turns out tsampa. In the bag behind his back, the pilgrim has only the essentials. He puts wooden planks (pads) on his palms so as not to rub his hands during prostrations. The fact is that when a pilgrim from a position of support on five points (knees, elbows and chin on the ground) stretches out to his full height on the ground, he slides his hands along surfaces. It is not difficult to imagine what a difficult task such a pilgrimage is even for seasoned Tibetans.
S.V. Dudko, in a private conversation, told the author that at least on those days when tourists from his group were circumnavigating Kailash, they saw pilgrims every day making prostrations. Foreign tourists can circumnavigate the outer circle of Kailash in 2-3 days; they are less prepared for such treks than Tibetans. We should not forget that this route is carried out at high altitude.
Shigatse, the second largest city in Tibet, is located on the Kathmandu-Lhasa highway, which is called the “Friendship Highway”. Here tourists visit the monastery of Tashi Lungpo Panchen Lama.
Since the late 80s. XX century The gradual restoration of some of the Tibetan monasteries began with the help and donations of the Tibetan diaspora.
Tibetan culture, religious traditions, and spiritual wealth are of interest all over the world. In October 2004, a presentation of the Tibetan House and the festival “Tibet: Traditions, Art, Philosophy” took place in Moscow. Famous Hollywood actor Richard Gere presented his personal exhibition under the symbolic title “Pilgrim”. At the exhibition, R. Gere presented his photographs reflecting the real and very difficult life of the Tibetans, as the actor himself said: “These photographs are my journey, spiritual and physical, through the numerous Tibetan settlements of the Himalayan region, from Zanskar to Tibet.” For R. Gere, pilgrimage is not only “visiting holy places, but also simply moving, searching, even if you yourself don’t know what you are looking for. We are all pilgrims and pilgrims in this and future lives...”
Centers of Buddhism in Japan
One of the most revered places in Japan is the city of Nara. At one time, Nara was the capital of the Japanese state. Nowadays, about 3 million pilgrims visit Nara a year. Here, on an area of 525 hectares, there are several Buddhist and Shinto temples and shrines. One of them is the Todaizi Buddhist Temple. The name of the temple translates as “Great Eastern Temple”. Pilgrims worship the Dainichi Buddha statue (Daibutsu), which is the largest Buddha statue in Japan and one of the Largest in the world. The Buddha statue itself is 22 m high with a pedestal. The height of the Buddha figure is 16m.
This statue is a miracle of foundry art. In the 8th century AD its production required 437 tons of bronze, 150 kg of gold, 7 tons of wax, 70 kg of mercury and several thousand tons of charcoal. According to legend, when casting the unique statue, all reserves of bronze in Japan were used up.
The temple hall in which the statue is located is called Daibutsu-den - Hall of the Great Buddha. Todaizi Temple is active. A service is performed daily in front of the statue. Monks and pilgrims read Buddhist sutras in front of the statue.
There are pilgrimage routes in Japan. One of them includes visiting 33 Buddhist temples, the other - 88. The route to 88 temples is 1,500 km long and includes the territory of the island of Shikoku.
Centers of Buddhism in Sri Lanka
There are several centers of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Let's talk about Kandy first. This city is located in the center of the country. In the center of the city, on the shore of an artificial pond, there is a Buddhist temple, Dalada Maligawa, in a reliquary - several caskets contain a shrine - a tooth of Buddha. Early in the morning, at noon and after sunset, temple visitors linger in the Hall of the Vision of Heavenly Bliss to gaze at the reliquaries located in the inner sanctum.
At the Dalada Maligawa temple, a festival of the new rice harvest, Ahitsahal, is held. Rice is brought from the rice field, boiled in water from the temple well, brought to the sacred relic in order to consecrate it, and then distributed to pilgrims and beggars. In August, a two-week festival-carnival, Esala Perahera, is held. The holiday reaches its climax on the August full moon. During the festival, the relic is carried out of the temple on a palanquin and placed on the back of an elephant. This “royal” elephant is followed in the festive procession by 100 more elephants. Participants in the celebration are dressed in traditional Sinhala costumes. The holiday is also accompanied by carnivals, theatrical performances and folk festivals.
Not far from Matara stands the Weherekhena Temple. The temple is interesting because it has an underground Sacred Hall, the walls and ceiling of which are covered with images from the life of Buddha Shakyamuni from the moment of his birth until his departure to nirvana.
Issurumuniya Temple is located in Anuradhapura. The statue of the reclining Buddha is revered by pilgrims in this Temple. The sacred Bodhi tree grows here (a young tree from Bodhgaya was brought here at one time). This tree is very old. The branches of the tree lie on iron supports; the tree itself is surrounded by a low fence and decorated with flags with prayers. Anuradhapura is visited by pilgrims.
Buddhist religious centers in Myanmar
Myanmar is interesting because it has preserved its original folk traditions and culture. This country has a very large number of Buddhist stupas (pagodas). Some of them were destroyed as a result of wars and natural disasters or abandoned, others continue to attract pilgrims and sightseers. It should be noted that the difficult internal political situation in this country greatly hinders the development of inbound tourism. However, very rich cultural and historical resources can contribute to the future development of inbound tourism, including its religious component.
There are many religious centers in Myanmar. Let's name some of them. The capital of the country, Yangon, is home to the famous Shu-edagon Stupa. The stupa is one of the largest architectural ensembles in Southeast Asia. Northeast of Yangon is the pilgrimage center of Pegu. Pilgrims venerate the sculpture of the reclining Buddha - the largest in the whole country. Its length is 55 m, height - 15. In Pegu there is also the Shuemaudau Pagoda with a height of 115 m.
In the north of the country is its former capital - Bagan. Bagan has both “large” and “small” temples and pagodas. The “big ones” are Shweizigon, Mingalazedi, Shweisando. The Shweizigong Pagoda ensemble is the largest among the buildings of Pagan. The Shweizigon sanctuary contains relics of Buddhism - the frontal bone of Buddha and his tooth. The Shweisando reliquary contains the hair of Buddha. The snow-white Mahabodhi Stupa was erected in Pagan. It was once built according to the drawings of the temple of the same name in India. The snow-white Ananda Temple houses statues of four Buddhas. Gautama Buddha faces west. In front of him stand two stone sculptures - a kneeling man (King Tiluin May) and a thin ascetic old man (Monk Shin Arahan).
In the center of the country is the city of Mandalay. It is famous for the fact that in 1871 the fifth Buddhist council was held here. It is interesting that between this council and the fourth, held in Sri Lanka, about 1900 years passed. This council lasted five months. During it, the sacred texts of Buddhism were compared. After this event, the unique Kutodo Pagoda was built. Here, a kind of “book” of Buddhism is made in stone - 729 marble slabs with the sacred texts of Buddhism and the names of the Burmese kings devoted to this religion engraved on them. Marble “pages” surround the central stupa in long rows. In Mandalay, a large Peyaji temple was built for the four-meter bronze statue of Buddha Mahamyamuni. In the same city, at the top of Mandalay Hill, there is a sculpture of a standing Buddha.
S Rameshova captivatingly describes her journey to this statue. The slopes of the hill itself were strewn with clay shards. The jugs that were brought as a gift to Buddha turned into them. The jars are broken so that they cannot be used again. There is also a sculptural representation of the theme of the meetings that prompted Siddhartha to leave the royal palace in search of truth. This is an old man, a leper and a dead man. All three figures are painted. A sick man's ribs are protruding, an old, feeble man is dressed in rags, and the body of the deceased is being torn apart by vultures.
According to legend, Buddha himself read his sermons from the top of Mandalay Hill. Pilgrims venerate here the sacred footprint of Buddha - a depression in the rock, lined with gold plates and fenced with a lattice. Gifts from visitors - flowers, ribbons, pieces of bright fabrics - hang on the lattice [Rameshova, 1987].
In Myanmar in the 50s. XX century The Peace Pagoda was built to commemorate the 2500th anniversary of the Buddha's passing into Mahaparinirvana.
Religious sites of Buddhism in other Asian countries
There are more than 18 thousand Buddhist temples and monasteries in Thailand. Of these, more than 400 are located in the capital Bangkok. These are the Temple of the Dawn with a tower 104 m high, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the Po Temple, etc. In the north of the country, in Wat Phrathat Suthep near Chiang Mai, there is a famous monastery and temple complex. In the Republic of Korea - Enjusa Monastery near Suwon (Gyeonggi Province). There is a Buddhist temple in the capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, and the Genden Monastery in the vicinity of Ulaanbaatar. In Vietnam, a country known for its diversity of religions and religious tolerance of its citizens, there are the Buddhist pagodas of Mot Kot (in Hanoi), Saloy and Vinh Nghiem in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). There are a large number of Buddhist monasteries and temples in Laos. The capital of the country, Vientiane, is even called the “city of a thousand temples.” Among the temples in the city are Phra Keo, Sisaket, etc. The That Luang complex is also located here. The central stupa of the complex is Lokashulamani - the Spire of the Universe. It contains the walled hair of Buddha. Every year on the 30th day of the 12th lunar month (usually in November), traditional celebrations are held in the square in front of That Lu-ang. The main element of the holiday is the game of tikha. In the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, there is the Phnom Monastery and the Silver Pagoda. In the north-west of the country there is the famous Angkor Wat complex, covering an area of 260 km2. Along with the Angkor Wat temple, the complex includes about 200 temples. The appearance of Angkor Wat symbolizes Mount Meru - the center of the Universe in Indian mythology and Buddhism. Angkor Wat is associated with the worship of the Hindu God Vishnu. Experts note that Angkor Wat is also important for Buddhists. In Georgetown (Malaysia), tourists are attracted by the Pagoda of 10,000 Buddhas. The Borobudur temple complex is located on the island of Java in Indonesia. Borobudur is the largest monumental structure in the southern hemisphere and the third largest temple complex in the Buddhist and Hindu world after Angkor Wat and Shuedagoun. Borobudur is sometimes called the "stone encyclopedia of Buddhism". The temple complex is built on five square and three circular terraces, decreasing in size towards the top. On the topmost terrace there is a large stupa 8 m high. It symbolizes the sacred Mount Meru. In total, the complex contains 500 stupas and 1,500 sculptures, reliefs and Buddhist symbols.
Pilgrims follow these eight terraces along a path of about 5 km in a clockwise direction. This path symbolizes the spiritual advancement of a person from lower to higher planes of existence and levels of development of consciousness. Pilgrims walk past statues of seated Buddhas in niches along the edges of balustrades and on circular terraces. People come to the stupa, located at the very top (the height of the complex is 34 m), as if to the highest level of comprehension.
In China (we have already talked about Tibet, which is part of this country) there are also Buddhist temples and stupas. The most famous are the temples of Baimasy (Luoyang), Datsiensi (Xi'an), Lingyingsi (Hangzhou). In Shanghai there are the Chenghuangmiaon Yufesi Temples with the famous jade statue of standing Buddha, decorated with precious stones, Longhua Pagoda. Famous Buddhist monasteries are Taersi (Qinghai), Utasy (Inner Mongolia), Yonghegong (Beijing) and, of course, Shaolin (Henan Province). Shaolin Monastery is known for its serious practices of qigong, martial arts, etc. The founder of the Chan school in China, the Indian monk Bodhidharma (Damo), spent part of his life here. Currently, serious, in-depth practical seminars continue in Shaolin, for example, qigong under the guidance of master Xuyi Mintang, which is attended by spiritual pilgrims from many countries of the world, including Russia. Shaolin is also a famous sightseeing site and is visited by tourists from all over the world. In Henan Province, the man-made grottoes of the Dragon Gate are a unique center of excursions and pilgrimages. Over the course of several centuries, more than 100 thousand stone sculptures, drawings and high reliefs were built.
Buddhist religious sites in modern Russia
In Russia since the late 80s. XX century The revival of Buddhism continues, primarily among representatives of such peoples as the Buryats, Tuvans and Kalmyks. In recent years, more than 20 datsans have been restored in Buryatia, and new ones have been built. These are Baldan-Braybun, Gusinoozersky, Tamchinsky, Murochinsky.
In Kalmykia, in Elista, a prayer house opened in 1989. By the end of 1995 there were already several of them, including among the Kalmyks of the Astrakhan region. In 1992, in Elista, the construction of the main temple (Shakyusen Syumyo) of the Geden Sheddup Choikorling Buddhist complex began and was completed in 1996. Inside is a gilded Buddha statue. A Buddhist stupa of Enlightenment was built in Elista. Inside it is a large prayer wheel. On the interior walls there are paintings on religious themes. A monument to Buddha was erected in Elista.
In the regional center of Iki-Burul, the only monastery (khurul) of the Nyingma order in Russia was founded - Padma Tsogye Dorji Ling.
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Although there was never a missionary movement in Buddhism, the teachings of the Buddha spread widely throughout Hindustan, and from there throughout Asia. In each new culture, the methods and styles of Buddhism changed in accordance with the local mentality, but the basic principles of wisdom and compassion remained the same. However, Buddhism never developed a common hierarchy of religious authorities with a single supreme head. Each country into which Buddhism penetrated developed its own form, religious structure and spiritual leader. Currently, the most famous and respected Buddhist leader in the world is His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet.
There are two main branches of Buddhism: Hinayana, or the Moderate Vehicle (Lesser Vehicle), which focuses on personal liberation, and Mahayana, or the Vast Vehicle (Great Vehicle), which focuses on achieving the state of a fully enlightened Buddha in order to best help others. Each of these branches of Buddhism has its own sects. There are currently three main forms extant: one Hinayana form known as Theravada, common in Southeast Asia, and two forms of Mahayana represented by the Tibetan and Chinese traditions.
In the 3rd century BC. e. The Theravada tradition spread from India to Sri Lanka and Burma, and from there to Yunnan Province in Southwestern China, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, South Vietnam and Indonesia. (add. 1) Soon groups of Indian traders practicing Buddhism could be found on the shores of the Arabian Peninsula and even in Alexandria in Egypt. Other forms of Hinayana have since spread into modern-day Pakistan, Kashmir, Afghanistan, eastern and coastal Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. In those days it was the territory of the ancient states of Gandhara, Bactria, Parthia and Sogdiana. From here in the 2nd century AD. these forms of Buddhism spread to East Turkestan (Xinjiang) and further to China, and at the end of the 17th century to Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Later these Hinayana forms were combined with some of the Mahayana teachings also coming from India. Thus, Mahayana eventually became the predominant form of Buddhism in much of Central Asia.
The Chinese form of Mahayana later spread to Korea, Japan and North Vietnam. Beginning around the 5th century, another early wave of Mahayana, mixed with Saivite forms of Hinduism, spread from India to Nepal, Indonesia, Malaysia and parts of Southeast Asia. The Tibetan Mahayana tradition, which, originating in the 7th century, absorbed the entire historical development of Indian Buddhism, spread throughout the Himalayan region, as well as to Mongolia, East Turkestan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, northern Inner China, Manchuria, Siberia and Kalmykia, located on the coast of the Caspian Sea in the European part of Russia.(lit.1)
How did Buddhism spread?
The spread of Buddhism throughout most of Asia was peaceful and occurred in several ways. Buddha Shakyamuni set an example. Primarily a teacher, he traveled to neighboring kingdoms to share his insights with those who were receptive and interested. Moreover, he instructed his monks to go around the world and explain its teachings. He did not ask others to condemn or abandon their own religion and convert to a new one, since he did not seek to found his own religion. He was only trying to help others overcome the misery and suffering they had created due to their lack of understanding. Later generations of followers were inspired by the example of the Buddha and shared with others those of his methods that they themselves found useful in their lives. In this way, what is now called “Buddhism” spread everywhere.
Sometimes this process developed naturally. For example, when Buddhist traders settled in new places or simply visited them, some of the local residents showed a natural interest in the beliefs of foreigners, as happened with the penetration of Islam into Indonesia and Malaysia. This process of spreading Buddhism occurred over two centuries before and after our era in countries located along the Silk Road. As local rulers and people learned more about this Indian religion, they began to invite monks as advisers and teachers from the regions where the traders came from, and thus eventually adopted the Buddhist faith. Another natural method was the slow cultural absorption of the conquered people, as in the case of the Greeks, whose assimilation into the Buddhist community of Gandhara, located in what is now central Pakistan, took place over the centuries after the 2nd century BC. However, most often the spread was mainly due to the influence of a powerful ruler who personally accepted and supported Buddhism. In the mid-3rd century BC, for example, Buddhism spread throughout northern India thanks to the personal support of King Ashoka. This great founder of the empire did not force his subjects to adopt the Buddhist faith. But his decrees, carved on iron columns installed throughout the country (Appendix 2), encouraged his subjects to lead an ethical lifestyle. The king himself followed these principles and thereby inspired others to adopt the teachings of the Buddha.
In addition, King Ashoka actively promoted the spread of Buddhism outside his kingdom by sending missions to remote areas. In some cases, he did this in response to invitations from foreign rulers such as King Tishya of Sri Lanka. On other occasions, on his own initiative, he sent monks as diplomatic representatives. However, these monks did not pressure others to convert to Buddhism, but simply made the Buddha's teachings accessible, allowing people to choose for themselves. This is supported by the fact that Buddhism soon took root in areas such as South India and southern Burma, while there is no evidence of any immediate effect on other areas, such as the Greek colonies in Central Asia.
Other religious rulers, such as the 16th-century Mongol ruler Altan Khan, invited Buddhist teachers to their domains and proclaimed Buddhism as the state religion to unite their people and strengthen their power. At the same time, they could prohibit some practices of non-Buddhists, local religions, and even persecute those who follow them. However, such heavy-handed measures had mainly political motives. Such ambitious rulers never forced their subjects to adopt Buddhist forms of faith or worship because such an approach is not characteristic of the Buddhist religion.
Even if Shakyamuni Buddha told people not to follow his teachings out of blind faith, but to test them carefully first, how much less should people agree to the teachings of the Buddha under the compulsion of a zealous missionary or the decree of a ruler. So, for example, when Neiji Toin at the beginning of the 17th century AD. tried to bribe the Eastern Mongolian nomads to follow Buddhism by offering them livestock for every verse they learned, the people complained to the supreme authorities. As a result, this intrusive teacher was punished and expelled. (lit. 11)
The specificity of Buddhism is that it contains the features of a world religion, both an open system, and the features of national religions - closed systems, which are commonly said to be “absorbed only with mother’s milk.” This is due to history; two processes took place in parallel in Buddhism:
- -distribution in different countries of great traditions (Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana), common to Buddhists all over the world, on the one hand,
- -and the emergence of national forms of everyday religiosity, dictated by specific living conditions and cultural realities, on the other.
State and national forms of Buddhism often became one of the most important factors in the ethnic self-identification of the people, as happened among the Thais, Newars, Kalmyks, Buryats and, to a lesser extent, Tuvinians. In multi-ethnic countries, for example, in Russia, Buddhism appears in all its diversity of traditions and schools as a world religion.
It is about this property of Buddhism to clothe the Great Traditions in a variety of national cultural forms without losing the essence of the Teachings, the Tibetans say that the Teachings of the Buddha are like a diamond, when it lies on a red background, it becomes red, when on a blue background it turns blue, while the background remains a background , and the diamond is still the same diamond.
But make no mistake.
There is a certain stereotype of Buddhism as an absolutely conflict-free and pacifist religion - a stereotype created by Western liberals in contrast to the Abrahamic religions, whose history, on the contrary, is replete with examples of legitimation of violence and “party” bias. There is also a stereotype of Buddhist detachment, non-worldliness - and therefore non-involvement in political life. Anyone with even a little study of the history of Buddhism can easily refute these stereotypes with many examples of both the legitimization of violence and involvement in political conflicts. (a classic example is the Sri Lankan chronicles of the beginning of our era) (lit. 4)
The main country where the Mahayana teachings blossomed most magnificently was Tibet. Buddhism was first brought to Tibet in the 7th century. n. e., and for purely political reasons. The country was then experiencing a transition to a class social system, and the unifier of Tibet, Prince Srontszyang-gombo, felt the need to ideologically consolidate the unification. He established relations with neighboring countries - India (Nepal) and China. Writing and Buddhist teachings were borrowed from Nepal. According to a later legend, Srontsian himself was the incarnation of the bodisattva Avalokiteshvara. But Buddhism first penetrated into Tibet in the form of Hinayana and for a long time remained alien to the people, who adhered to their ancient shamanic and tribal cults (the so-called “Bon religion”, or “Bonbo”); Buddhism was only a religion of court circles.
From the 9th century Buddhism began to spread among the people, but in a Mahayanist form. His preacher was Padma Sambava, who, together with his supporters, widely practiced magical rituals, spells of spirits, and fortune telling. These missionaries of Buddhism generously replenished the Buddhist pantheon with local deities, preached the paradise of Sukawati for the righteous and a terrible hell for sinners. All this made it easier for the masses to accept the new religion, and the authorities strongly supported it. However, the anti-Buddhist party, based on the old tribal nobility, was also strong in Tibet. At the beginning of the 10th century. (under King Langdarma) Buddhism was persecuted. The struggle nevertheless ended in victory for the Buddhists, who, having conspired, killed Langdarma in 925 (in later Buddhist beliefs he is portrayed as a terrible sinner and heretic). Buddhism won a complete victory in Tibet in the 11th century, when a new movement intensified in it - Tantrism.
In the depths of tradition, the religious feat of the Buddhist hermit and righteous man has always resonated with warlike metaphors (“war against evil”, “war against the illusory world”) and has firmly merged with openly militarized phenomena, such as, for example, martial arts or the samurai code of Bushido, associated with tradition Chan/Zen (which was especially evident in the openly militaristic interpretation of Zen in Japan in the first half of the 20th century); or the tradition of the Kalachakra Tantra texts, which allowed, as a response to aggression, the transformation of internal, spiritual struggle into external (which is reminiscent of the relationship between “internal” and “external” jihad in Islam); there were other similar examples. (One should recall militarized monasticism in the history of Korea, Japan and Tibet; some episodes in the history of Theravada countries, such as the wars of the ancient Sinhala kings, described in the chronicles “Mahavamsa” and “Dipavamsa” dating back to the first centuries of the new era. (lit11) Regarding the “holy war” in Buddhism, And yet the concept of “holy war” in the same sense as we find it in the history of the Abrahamic religions - active violence to destroy the “infidels” and establish a religious monopoly, associated with militant missionaryism is absent in Buddhism.
It is precisely for these genetic reasons that we do not see pathological anti-modernist strains in the Buddhist world. Likewise, in Buddhism there is not and cannot be organized rigid anti-globalism, institutionally supported by the authority of religious leaders, as, for example, in Islam or Russian Orthodoxy. Unlike Islam, Buddhism is more local and diffuse and has never been in any way strictly connected with secular power, so its anti-globalist response is not structured, does not take rigid organizational forms and cannot serve as the basis of transnational armed groups: Buddhist al-Qaeda seems nonsense. (lit. 5)
Not the whole world professes one religion. Asian countries are adherents of a completely different belief, completely different from European religions. We are talking about Buddhism. Buddhism is a religion that was founded by Siddhartha Gautama (nicknamed Buddha, meaning the Enlightened One) over 2,500 years ago in India. This teaching has about 470 million followers, making Buddhism one of the world's major religions. It is most common in the countries of Southeast, South, West Asia, as well as in the Far East.
What is Buddhism?
It is quite difficult to tell the exact history of any religion. Buddhism is no exception. It is believed that it originated in India somewhere in the 1st millennium BC. The beginning of a new religion was laid by a young prince born on the territory of modern Nepal - Siddhartha Gautama. The parents hid all the troubles and suffering from the boy, not letting him out of the palace, so that the child would not learn real life. But one day Gautama learned the truth and was so shocked by it that he decided to give up his idle and luxurious lifestyle.
Several factors led to this - a meeting with an old man (which means that all people grow old and become decrepit), a funeral (a person’s life is not eternal and ends in death), sick people (no person is always healthy). Gautama left the palace and went to seek enlightenment. After six years of searching, the former prince found what he was looking for while meditating under the Bodhi tree. He spent the rest of his life teaching others how to achieve this spiritual state. They began to call him Buddha. When Gautama died around 483 BC. BC, his followers began to organize a larger religious movement. The Buddha's teachings became the basis of what would develop into Buddhism.
The essence of Buddhism
Followers of Buddhism do not recognize a supreme god or deity. Instead, they focus on achieving enlightenment, a state of inner peace and wisdom. When followers reach this spiritual state, they are said to have experienced nirvana. The path to enlightenment through meditation. Buddhists often meditate because they believe it helps awaken the truth. The Buddha's essential teachings, known as the Four Noble Truths, help to better understand this movement. Buddhists accept the concepts of karma (the law of cause and effect) and reincarnation (the continuous cycle of rebirth). Buddhist monks follow a strict code of conduct that includes celibacy.
Distribution and types of Buddhism
In the 3rd century BC. e. Ashoka the Great, the Mauryan Emperor, made Buddhism the state religion of India. Buddhist monasteries were built and missionary work was encouraged. Over the next few centuries, Buddhism began to spread beyond India. Buddhist thought and philosophy became diverse, with some followers interpreting ideas differently than others. In the sixth century, the Huns invaded India and destroyed hundreds of Buddhist monasteries, but the intruders were eventually driven out of the country.
Today there are many forms of Buddhism throughout the world. The three main types, representing specific geographic areas, are:
- Theravada Buddhism: Found in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos and Burma
- Mahayana Buddhism: Found in China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore and Vietnam
- Tibetan Buddhism: Found in Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia, Bhutan, and parts of Russia and Northern India.
Each of these types reveres specific texts and has slightly different interpretations of the Buddha's teachings. There are also several subtypes of Buddhism, including Zen Buddhism and Nirvana Buddhism.
Most often you can find this subtype of Buddhism, which was formed in China in the 5th-6th centuries. The basis is ideas about mysticism and contemplation that came from Taoism, another traditional Chinese teaching. Now Zen Buddhism and are synonymous, but in fact Buddhism came to this country from India, like any other. Zen is most widespread not only in China, but also in Korea and. There are also Zen schools in.
Buddha's Teachings and Quotes
The Buddha's teaching is called “Dharma.” He taught that wisdom, kindness, patience, generosity and compassion are important virtues. In particular, all Buddhists live by five moral precepts, which prohibit: killing living beings, accepting what is not given, sexual liberation, lying, and using drugs or alcohol. Gautama traveled widely, giving sermons on how to live and achieve enlightenment. Some popular quotes commonly attributed to Buddha include:
- Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance.
- If something is worth doing, do it with all your heart.
- The jug is filled drop by drop.
- Better than a thousand empty words is one word that brings peace.
- Hatred does not stop through hatred at any time. Hate ends with love. This is an unchangeable law.
- If you knew what I knew about the power of giving, you wouldn't miss a single meal without sharing it in some way.
- The root of suffering is attachment.
- People with opinions just walk around bothering each other.
Buddhists also pay great attention to the Four Noble Truths taught by the Buddha: the Truth of suffering (dukkha), the Truth of the cause of suffering (samudaya), the Truth of the end of suffering (nirhodha), the Truth of the path that frees us from suffering (Magga). Taken together, these principles explain , why people hurt, and how to overcome suffering.
Buddhist Holy Book
Buddhists revere many sacred texts and scriptures. Some of the most important:
- Tipitaka: These texts, known as the “three baskets,” are considered the earliest collection of Buddhist scriptures.
- Sutras: Over 2,000 sutras, sacred teachings adopted primarily by Mahayana Buddhists.
- Book of the Dead: This Tibetan text details the stages of death.
Dalai Lama
Like any other religion, Buddhism has its own leader - the Dalai Lama. He is a leading monk in Tibetan Buddhism. Followers of the religion consider the Dalai Lama to be the reincarnation of a past lama who agreed to be born again to help humanity. Throughout history there have been 14 Dalai Lamas. The Dalai Lama also ruled Tibet until the Chinese took control in 1959. The current Dalai Lama was born in 1935. After being expelled from Tibet, he lives in India.
Every year, Buddhists celebrate Vesak, a festival commemorating the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha. During each quarter of the moon, followers of Buddhism participate in a ceremony called Uposata. They also celebrate the Buddhist New Year and participate in several other annual festivals.
Buddhism symbols
Every religion has its own symbols. In Buddhism, these include the Bodhi tree, under which Buddha gained enlightenment, footprints of Buddha, Lions (considered one of the symbols of power and strength), Buddha's eyes (this symbol appeared a little later and was common in Nepal). And, of course, one cannot ignore the main symbol of religion - the lotus flower, which symbolized complete purification of the mind, body and speech.
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