07/15/04 Buddhism is making a comeback in Siberia

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07/15/04 Buddhism is making a comeback in Siberia

The Dhamma Times, 14 July 2004

By Maria Golovnina

Reuters, Russia - Vladimir Chimitdorzhiyev was once an ardent communist who wanted to lead young people in Siberia to a Soviet paradise.

"That was a long time ago. All that is water under the bridge now," he said in his dimly lit retreat near Russia's border with Mongolia, ancient scrolls depicting Buddhist masters hanging over his shaved head.

"I am now a Buddhist monk. I've left irrelevant things behind. I've come here to learn and to teach."

Tibetan teachings Chimitdorzhiyev helped revive in his ancestral homeland 6,000 km (3,600 miles) southeast of Moscow are now at the forefront of a revival of interest in Buddhism in post-Soviet Russia.

After the Soviet collapse in 1991, Chimitdorzhiyev -- now known as Babu Lama -- returned to the rolling hills of his native Buryatia, brought together a dozen Buddhist lamas (priests) and helped rebuild an old shrine.

Closed for decades in Soviet times, the Aginsk Datsan is now Russia's biggest Tibetan Buddhist temple.

"Peace has returned to this land ... But there was no peace here when the Datsan was closed," said Babu Lama, 46.

Under a fixed stare of a bronze statuette of Buddha, he looked out of a window and gazed at the temple's golden roofs.

Yellow banners with densely printed Tibetan inscriptions flapped in the wind, and worshippers chanted prayers inside the temple.

JAPANESE SPIES

Before Buddhism spread here from Tibet three centuries ago, Siberian tribes worshipped trees, animals and stones, their beliefs linked to other forms of Asian animalism such as Japanese Shintoism.

For those tribes -- Buryats, Kalmyks and Tuvans -- Buddhism was their first source of education. In many ways, this is still the case in the most desolate villages like Aginskoye in this swathe of Siberia between Lake Baikal and Mongolia.

Following in his ancestors' footsteps, Babu Lama -- involved in various youth organisations in eastern Siberia in Soviet times -- reopened a Buddhist academy here to teach Buddhist ways to 50-odd disciples from all over Asia.

"We teach everything a monk or a secular person may need to know: philosophy, science, Buddhism, Tibetan, Latin and even English, and also ways to live in harmony with these steppes and rivers," Babu Lama said.

"We teach how to understand that herbs and water are alive and why it is not advisable to harm them."

Russian Buddhism -- still linked to shamanism -- dates back to the 1700s when Empress Elizabeth, the liberal daughter of tsar Peter the Great, issued a decree recognising Buryatia's Lamaistic beliefs and ordered the building of dozens of Buddhist temples.

Recognised as one of Russia's four official religions, Buddhism numbers a million followers in Russia, mainly in Buryatia -- a region once visited by the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

Both the Aginsk Datsan and the academy, built by Tibetan astrologists in the 19th century, were shut down in a clampdown on religion by dictator Josef Stalin in the 1930s.

Many lamas were arrested and deported to penal colonies, some accused of being Japanese spies.

Temples were turned into tuberculosis asylums to scare off believers.

The communists reopened a few temples after World War Two to appease predominantly Buddhist tribes and even allowed theologians to travel to Soviet satellite Mongolia to study.

BOHEMIAN PRETENSIONS

But it was only after the Soviet collapse when people like Babu Lama returned to Buryatia and Buddhist communities started to mushroom along the Mongolian border.

"And then we who doggedly carried Buddhism through the harsh Soviet years, gathered here in the 1990s and declared the temple open," said Lyubov Austermonas, a sinewy woman in her 50s and the Datsan's chief administrator.

"We don't mind living in the middle of nowhere without water or gas. We bathe once a week, and what's the big deal? Our Tantric sculptures and sacred texts are more important than a good toilet."

Babu Lama's sanctuary in Buryatia -- one of Russia's poorest regions with average monthly income equivalent to less than $20 -- has now also turned into a fashionable travel destination for free-spending young Russians with Bohemian pretensions.

"We had this girl a few years ago, Vika from St Petersburg. She was a model," said Austermonas. "Tall, skinny and a bit conceited, she was one of those new Russians who can spend hundreds of dollars on rather useless adventures.

"But she went through this amazing transformation -- settled down in a hut, bought herself some cattle and plunged into Buddhism. She's now a famous theologian now in our circles."

Kalsang Dhondup, an Indian-educated Tibetan monk clad in maroon robes and a bright-yellow sash, has nothing against scores of self-declared Buddhists descending on the land where Genghis Khan's warriors once roamed.

"There are different levels of Buddhist enlightenment and all levels are good," said Dhondup, a Tibetan language teacher.

"People come and go, and only a handful stay. I've nothing against them as they are incapable of upsetting my balance. But like in anything in this world, there should be a limit to these people's foolishness."

US temple gets local home

The Dhamma Times, 14 July 2004

By Ivy Dai

Pasadena Star News, United States - The $6 million to $8 million proposal will be reviewed and possibly voted on by the county Planning Commission in a public hearing on Wednesday.

The proposed 15-building worship site would stand on a 7.5 acre lot at Fullerton and Pathfinder roads, a mainly rural and residential area of Rowland Heights.

Dave Rodriguez of the Rowland Heights Community Coordinating Council said the temple might increase traffic and threaten driver safety, citing the death of a resident in a recent accident on Colima Road and Desire Avenue.

Templegoers would increase traffic at the Fullerton and Colima roads intersection, which already operates at an "F' service level during evening rush hour and midday Sunday, according to a traffic impact report.

However, resident Enoch Hon said he's not concerned about extra traffic at the gridlocked intersection.

"I don't think it's gonna be a big deal; traffic is already bad,' Hon said. "It will get a little worse, but I'm not against it.'

A video-monitoring system would be installed to relieve congestion at the intersection, according to Mike Lewis, community relations consultant for the temple. The $35,000 installation would detect and help improve signal timing and other traffic factors.

The proposed temple would be about half the size of the famous Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights, Lewis said. Despite the large 7.5 acre lot, only 18 percent would be covered with buildings, leaving more than 80 percent of green space, according to Lewis.

The temple is different from Hsi Lai because it focuses on the quiet meditative aspects of Buddhism versus bustling activity, according to temple member Chao Liang.

Bordering Montebello, the current temple on Olympic Boulevard is tiny, brimming with nearly 700 members.

A Rowland Heights location makes sense because half of the temple's members live in the city, Liang said.

"New immigrants or housewives or grandparents don't have a car,' she said. "They're scared to drive on the freeway.'

The Yuan Yung temple opened in 1991 after a visit from Taiwanese Grand Master Tien Chi, who wanted to provide a resource for struggling immigrant families.

"The grand master saw so many families adjusting to a new culture, finding a job (and) dealing with language barriers,' Liang said. "She saw they needed a spiritual religion to help them.'

The grand master also noticed the lack of resources for young people struggling to balance their Taiwanese and American backgrounds, according to Lewis.

"In Rowland Heights, there are a lot of parachute kids,' he said. "Parachute' kids are sent by their parents to live and study alone in America, while their parents remain in Taiwan or China, he said.

Six years ago, the plan to build a temple in the city faced stronger opposition from Rowland Heights residents compared to today.

"We (had) a lot of opposition letters submitted early on in 1998, but there's more letters of support now,' county planning assistant Kevin Johnson said. "We've gotten a lot of letters in support from the community and with the church, and of people not in Rowland Heights.'

The county Planning Commission will review the building proposal and environmental impact report Wednesday, and can approve the project, deny it, or move it to a second hearing. If denied, the temple can appeal to the county Board of Supervisors. If approved, any member of the public can also appeal to the board.

Upon approval, construction of the temple would be completed sometime between 2007 and 2009, Liang said.