“No matter how many wise words you read, no matter how many you say, what good are they to you if you don’t put them into practice?” Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha)
Among the constellation of great teachers of humanity, whose rays of inexhaustible wisdom still illuminate our unkind sublunary world, one cannot help but discern one of the brightest stars, whose name is Buddha. And no one is destined to extinguish this light until people learn to truly be happy. The wisest of the wise, the most enlightened of the enlightened, he, like the morning sun, generously scattered his spiritual light in an effort to awaken humanity from mental sleep. After all, “Buddha” in translation just means “awakened one.” What is more beautiful and sublime than this mission: having awakened yourself, to awaken others? The lessons of Buddha are that cosmic alarm clock for the clouded sleeping spirit of modern man.
Spiritual basis of Buddhism
There is nothing in Buddhism that could contradict the fundamental principles of any other philosophical or religious teaching, because it is based on elementary common sense. Examples from the life of the great Mentor teach us extraordinary modesty, responsiveness, forgiveness and understanding. If at the end of our lives we want to touch what has no limit, or simply remain human, these qualities must be developed and cherished in ourselves from childhood.
Christ appealed primarily to the emotional component of the consciousness of the lost Jews, demonstrating his superhuman capabilities as the main argument in favor of his divine nature. In the life of the Buddha, such miracles are almost absent, or at least little noticed. This in itself, of course, does not mean that the Buddha lacked superpowers - he was also endowed with them by nature, for which there is a lot of evidence. The reason lies in the fact that the Indian people were not of little faith, and therefore did not need miracles. Being quite disciplined and prone to leisurely thoughts about eternity, the people of India needed someone to teach them spiritual lessons in achieving immortality.
According to the Buddha himself, time is the greatest teacher, but the whole problem is that it kills its faithful disciples. And Buddha teaches us how to distance ourselves from the category of time, since it is very conventional, how to take the position of an outside observer and, avoiding decay, touch eternity. In his commandment, addressed to the heart of man, there was a call for endless compassion, the acquisition of true freedom in the renunciation of everything mortal and transitory, to comprehend the highest spiritual laws of the alternation of life and death, the links of which make up the chain of eternity.
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Temple of Dashi-Dorzho Itigelov.
Photo: wikipedia.org, Arkady Zarubin A group of scientists led by Professor Viktor Zvyagin conducted research on the body of the Hambo Lama and noted the absence of a corpse odor, the elasticity of the skin, the mobility of the joints and the fact that the protein in Itigelov’s tissues does not differ in characteristics from the protein of living people . At the same time, the professor could not certify the lama as alive - the body temperature turned out to be below 20 degrees, and this is “an absolute sign of death.”
During eight large khural services, the body of Hambo Lama is transferred to Sogchen Dugan so that he can take part in prayer services. Servants say that during these periods Itigelov sweats especially heavily and has to be constantly wiped with napkins. People talk about magical healings and other miracles occurring in the immediate vicinity of the Precious Body.
Milestones in the Life of Buddha
At the moment, there is some information that allows us to talk about Buddha as a historical figure. Based on non-canonical versions, it is possible to create a fairly complete life picture of the Buddha. The boy, who was given the name Siddhartha, was born into the family of the aristocratic Shakya family, which stood at the head of a small state on the border of India and Nepal. Gautama was the family name of the prince. In an attempt to protect his son from the everyday dullness of his surroundings, his father built three palaces for him. Having matured, Siddhartha married and gave birth to a son, whom he named Rahula.
But soon life, which promised only joy, bored Buddha in its meaninglessness. Gifted with special powers of observation since childhood, while moving between palaces Gautama discovered with regret that the people from whose circle his father wanted to protect him were, for the most part, unhappy. They constantly get sick, suffer from poverty and hard work, and eventually grow old and die without finding an answer in their search for the meaning of life. It was then that the Buddha developed a desire to help them on this difficult path to the truth. At the age of 29, he left the palaces and became a hermit. Plunging into absolute asceticism, he wandered through the valleys of the Ganges for 6 years, sought wisdom from elders and preachers, and by the age of 35 he felt that the truth was about to descend on him. Having immersed himself in meditation for several weeks, Gautama achieved true enlightenment and became a Buddha, that is, an awakened one, in whose face all the laws of existence were revealed. Since then, Buddha walked around all the outskirts of India with his sermons for 45 years, until his death at the age of 80.
Life of Buddha in Pictures
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Ivolginsky datsan.
Photo: wikipedia.org, Arkady Zarubin Obvious-incredible
One of the main shrines of the datsan is the body of the XII Pandito Khambo Lama Dashi-Dorzho Itigelov, who officially died in 1927. Sitting in the lotus position, he bequeathed to the disciples gathered around to check his body after 75 years, and then asked him to read him a prayer of good wishes for the deceased. They began to refuse, and the lama himself began to read the prayer, so the disciples had to join. When Itigelov stopped showing signs of life, he was buried in the same position in a cube made of cedar wood.
On September 7, 2002, eighty-year-old Amgalan Dabaev, the only one who still remembered the burial place of the lama who had passed into nirvana, pointed out this place to the XXIV Pandito Khambo Lama Damba Ayusheev. Three days later, Itigelov’s body was transferred to the datsan. Six years later, a special palace was built for him, a copy of the Devazhin dugan, which Itigelov himself had once designed for the Yangazhinsky datsan. There you can visit him and ask for help. The lama does not eat or drink, but in the six years after the opening of the sarcophagus he gained about ten kilograms. He also sweats regularly. The caretaker Bimbo Lama, who changes the body from time to time, notes that a fragrance emanates from it.
The most important spiritual tenets of the Buddha
Buddha did not even allow the thought of publicly proclaiming himself God or a prophet; he simply modestly spoke about what appeared to him at the moment of enlightenment. His lessons reflect the extent of his understanding of the universe and the inner world of man. And this understanding, as time shows, is truly immeasurable. If we try to meaningfully follow these lessons, then in our life everything that is destined to blossom will blossom, without withering ahead of time due to banal spiritual callousness. Here are the most important of these covenants:
- The greatest force in the universe is Love. The eternal law of the universe lies in its victorious power. Hatred and contempt are very dubious weapons against such manifestations. Only love can inspire and fill a good person with vitality and, on the contrary, disarm an evil one.
- Every person is characterized not by what he says, but by what he does. If someone is gifted with eloquence and uses it for good, uttering irrefutable truths, this, of course, is wonderful, but it does not make him a sage. If a person lives according to the laws of the universe - in love, absence of fear, harmony with others, and also shows resistance to innumerable temptations and courage in the face of death - he is truly wise.
- No one can live your life for you. Everyone must follow their own path, without, if possible, involving outsiders to solve their problems. And even if there is a well-wisher who, of his own free will, wants to do something for you, this will be a disservice that does not allow your own creative potential to be fully revealed.
- The truth cannot be hidden. Everyone has probably heard that the secret becomes clear, but this truth was known back in hoary antiquity. The great Gautama taught that the sun, moon and truth cannot be hidden, no matter how hard you try.
- Find peace within yourself. Calmness and tranquility live within each of us and no one can bestow them on us from the outside.
- The secret to health is a fulfilled life in the present. You should not completely transfer your consciousness into vain memories or fruitless dreams of the future. The present is that golden thread that connects us with reality, and only those who are completely in the present gain mental and physical health.
- Kindness should be extended to everyone. One should show gentleness towards the young, compassion towards the elderly and infirm, tolerance towards the weak in spirit and the erring. After all, there were and will be moments later when you imagined or will imagine something similar. Nobility and restraint are a real panacea for adversity, for in the future the same manifestations of the human soul will be mirrored to you.
- Replace envy with admiration. Envy of someone else's happiness, luck or talent dries up the soul and de-energizes a person's nervous system. You need to try to find the strength in yourself to sublimate this destructive feeling into admiration, and through cultivating this state of mind you can cultivate in yourself those qualities that previously caused envy.
- Words are a great medicine and a poison at the same time. A carelessly spoken word can have a murderous effect on your neighbor, but on the contrary, it has saving power. It all depends on what words they are and with what spiritual message they are spoken.
- If you want something to be yours, let it go. There is the most reliable way to lose something - you just need to, with a death grip, not want to part with it for a moment. Accordingly, there is also the opposite effect, when the universe embodies in the life of an individual the innermost thing that he dreamed of, but let go of, without a priori appropriating it to himself.
- Thoughts shape reality. We became what we are thanks to, and only thanks to, our thoughts. They are changeable and fleeting, in contrast to the current moment of life - at first glance, it is static and inert. But if you change your own thoughts and hold your attention on them for as long as possible, reality will begin to quickly transform in the direction in which we directed it with our thought stream.
- Don't take everything for granted. Try to treat with the proper degree of indifference the various conjectures and gossip that are heard around you, do not allow them too close to your heart and mind, do not let them take over you, otherwise you risk becoming manipulated from the outside. The most valuable thing you have is your individual life experience, which, although it does not insure you against mistakes, guarantees personal improvement. It is useful to develop critical thinking without blindly relying on the authority of the speaker. There is, of course, the other side of this truth, which is that you cannot turn into an absolute cynic who does not accept any good advice. People like this are usually called unbelieving Thomas. To find harmony in the matter of faith or disbelief, you need to rely on your natural intuition, having previously developed it to the possible limit.
- You need to be very selective when looking for friends. There is a modern, rather tired saying: tell me who your friend is, then I will tell you who you are.” She simply interprets the ancient Buddhist truth that we actually gradually, imperceptibly for ourselves, begin to resemble those with whom we are friends, or even turn into their spiritual phantoms. There is also a danger lurking in the insincerity and deceit of so-called friends, who in this case can replace several worst enemies.
- Spiritual improvement is not a luxury for a select few, but a vital necessity for everyone. Like a candle that cannot burn without fire, a person cannot fully live without spiritual work on himself. Only an enlightened spirit can nourish the physical body with vital energy and prolong its health.
- There is no one in the world who is more worthy of your love than yourself. There is almost no person in the entire universe who would appreciate you, especially if you yourself do not feel love for yourself and you are bored with yourself. God has placed in every soul a priceless treasure, beautiful in its uniqueness, and only for this reason is it worth finding a reason to love yourself. If, despite all the desire, such a reason is not found, it is worth thinking about returning your soul to its original divine appearance, and subsequently, love for yourself and for everything around you will become your normal state.
- The three most significant things. As the great and kind Buddha teaches, by and large there are only three most important things that everyone needs to take care of while he is still breathing: how deeply we loved, how easily we lived and how easily we parted with unnecessary things.
Love, the liberator of the mind, contains everything within itself, shining, sparkling and radiating.
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Complex of Ivolginsky datsan.
Photo: Alexander Kiselyov Over time, other faculties were opened: medical, Buddhist painting (tank painting) and tantric. The last one is the most difficult: to enter this faculty, you must first study philosophy for eight years at the university and another eight in India.
“It is necessary to complete a sixteen-year course of general philosophical education, only after that those who wish can proceed to teaching tantra. Not everyone can do it; the practice requires a lot of discipline. One can compare sutra and tantra as two paths to the top of a mountain. The first one is flatter and safer, but it is longer and cannot be overcome in one incarnation. The second is cool and fast, allows you to achieve enlightenment within one life, but the risk of failure is very high.”
Did Khambo Lama of the Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia for the Republic of Buryatia Dagba Ochirov
Did Khambo Lama Dagba Ochirov is one of the first graduates of the university; he graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy. The fate of the lama was predicted to him by his grandfather, who in 1911, at the age of six, left Russia to study in Mongolia, and in the 1930s returned to the Soviet Union. “When he was sent home from Mongolia, everyone understood the situation in the country and warned: “Don’t go to temples,” recalls the Dagba Lama. — He went through the Great Patriotic War, then got married. When I was little, my grandfather told me: “You will become a lama.” I didn’t believe it, of course - Soviet times, what lamas! I graduated from a pedagogical institute with a degree in chemistry and biology, taught, worked as a chemical engineer, head of a laboratory, head of a wastewater treatment plant... And when our university opened in the 1990s, I came here to study. I was accepted under the condition: to complete the training completely from the first year, giving up my usual life. So I, a thirty-year-old mustachioed guy, sat with fourteen-year-old teenagers in the same class. It was the happiest time!”
Parables about Buddha and his disciples
The Master's lessons presented to humanity consist not only in instructions or commandments, but also in those life situations in which his fate brought him together with his students in order to convey to them direct life experience. These incidents from the life of Gautama Buddha, which have come down to us in several variations, still had a genuine historical basis. All these stories, carefully preserved and passed on to descendants by eyewitnesses, formed the basis of numerous parables. Our contemporaries have something to learn from the actions of the direct participants in these stories.
The Parable of the Pebbles and Butter
Once two newlyweds came to Buddha with the hope that the Master would give them a way to find family happiness until the end of their days. Buddha asked them to bring two pots, one with oil and the other with pebbles. Then he placed both pots in a vat of water, asking the young man for the favor of breaking them. The young man, having carried out the Buddha’s command, saw that the oil then floated to the surface, and the pebbles fell to the bottom of the vat. Buddha said: “Now start praying to your gods and miracle workers so that they lower the oil to the bottom and raise the pebbles to the surface of the water, and we’ll see how it all ends.” The young man immediately became indignant and complained that no gods could change the natural course of things, oil could not sink, and pebbles could not rise, since this was contrary to the laws of nature.
The Master’s answer was as follows: “When discussing the laws of nature, you were never able to comprehend the main rule, which is that heavy deeds, like pebbles, will inevitably pull you down, and noble deeds, which are light like butter, will lift you up, and no gods and miracle workers will not be able to change their weight subsequently. The sooner you follow this law of nature, the sooner what you asked for will be fulfilled.”
Parable of the Boatman and the Three Pennies
One day, Buddha and his disciples, while waiting for a boatman to cross to the other side, did not waste time and calmly contemplated the beauty of the river flow. His peace was interrupted by the following picture: right before his eyes, an unknown yogi crossed the river on the water without the help of a boatman, sliding along its surface as if on dry land. Noticing that the great Buddha himself had seen all this, he invited him to demonstrate the same, confirming his status as an enlightened one. Buddha asked the yogi how much time he spent learning how to cross the river in this way, to which he received the answer: “Master, my entire conscious life was spent on this, spent in severe, endless austerities.” At that moment, the boatman swam to the shore and the Master asked him: “What is the price of the crossing?” "Three pennies." came the answer. Buddha, turning to the yogi, said: “Did you hear? This is the real price of your life."
A parable about long silence and questions
Once upon a time, a famous learned man came to the Blessed Gautama with a large scroll in which his questions to the Master were written down. The scientist read them out so as not to miss anything. The Buddha listened carefully to all the questions to the last, but said that he would definitely answer them on one condition: he must wait one year in complete silence. The scientist agreed, but seeing how one of the Buddha’s disciples, sitting under a spreading tree, laughed, he embarrassedly asked the Master: “What’s the matter, why did he laugh?” The Buddha advised the scientist to ask himself.
When the visitor turned to the Buddha’s disciple for clarification, he replied that the Master was a cunning and deceiver, that he promised him the same thing, asking him to first wait in silence for only a year, excluding all thoughts and experiences. But it turned out that the thoughts disappeared, and along with them the questions disappeared. Therefore, the student told the scientist to ask now if he really wants to hear the answers, otherwise he is unlikely to ever hear them from the Master’s lips. But Buddha was firm in his thoughts, assuring that there was no trick, and that if in a year the visitor asked him, he would definitely answer, but if he didn’t ask, then there would be no need to answer. That's how it all happened. After a year, the Buddha asked the former scientist: “Well, my friend, do you still have any questions?” The newly arrived scientist, in turn, also burst out laughing and said: “Only now has it become clear why your student laughed. The questions really disappeared.”
The Parable of the Three Types of Listeners
A very cultured and educated man once came to Buddha Gautama, whose knowledge was a source of special pride for him. In addition, this man held a high position in his state, gaining fame and veneration. The reason for visiting the Master was one question that had been tormenting him for many years. Buddha, looking at him and without even waiting for the question itself, said that he could not answer now. The man thought that the Master was very busy with something and therefore neglected him for his own affairs. But he has come such a long way, putting state affairs aside. The master immediately dispelled his suspicions, saying that this was not the case at all. “What?” - the man was indignant. “Listen to my story about the three types of listeners.” Buddha addressed this man.
“The first one looks like a pot that is turned upside down. Nothing will fit into this one, no matter how much you speak the truths - it is tightly closed. The second is like a pot that stands as a container should, but it has a thin bottom. No matter how much water you pour into it, it will all pour out into this hole. A person like such a pot may perceive what he is taught, but will soon forget. And the third type is exactly like a pot filled with sewage. Firstly, there is nowhere to pour it - it is already filled, and secondly, even if some amount of water makes its way through these impurities, it will immediately mix with this dirt, ceasing to be pure water. You are exactly this type of listener - you are not ready to perceive what will be said, because you are filled to the brim with your own conjectures and judgments. At best, if you do manage to perceive something, your consciousness will distort it beyond recognition. Clear your mind first and then come.”
A parable about achievements and losses
When Gautama Siddhartha became an enlightened Buddha, he was asked what he had achieved. In response, he said, smiling: “Gautama has achieved nothing; on the contrary, he has lost too much.” The one who asked the question was seriously surprised: “It seemed to us that becoming a Buddha means achieving unattainable perfection, eternity, impeccable knowledge, but you, Teacher, say that you have achieved nothing, and even lost a lot. How can we understand this? The Buddha immediately replied, “Literally. Gautama lost everything he had by that time: his knowledge, his heart, his ignorance, his body. Gautama lost thousands of expensive things, ceasing to be himself, and ultimately gained nothing, because what he received was already with him. This was his original nature. Gautama simply left himself to return to himself. This should not be considered an achievement. To think in this category means to be in illusion.”
These are the behests of the great ascetic of spirit, the blessed Gautama Buddha. Everything that the Buddha so unobtrusively teaches us is absolutely devoid of any boring edification. And Buddhism is not a religion in the usual sense of the word. Rather, it is the oldest source of knowledge, a body of immutable truths about the universe, similar in some ways to the scientific theories of the great Newton or Einstein, with the only caveat that the picture of the world they offer may become outdated, and what the Buddha teaches us will forever remain indisputable, in the power of its divine universality.
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Pandito Khambo Lama Dashi-Dorzho Itigelov.
Photo: wikipedia.org However, Itigelov performed miracles during his lifetime. Thus, he blessed three hundred Yangazhin Cossacks leaving for the First World War. Every single one of them returned safe and sound. They tell how Hambo Lama hurried to the datsan and parted the waters of the lake so as not to go around it, but to gallop directly to the goal. At the beginning of the twentieth century, they say, Buryat lamas could do many things - levitate, become invisible, teleport from one place to another. When Buddhism fell into decline in Russia, practices of this level disappeared. But now the persecution of priests is far behind us. After 75 years, Itigelov returned to help those who need it. In the datsan, lamas again hold services and teach new students.
Light of teaching
In 1991, the Central Spiritual Administration of Buddhists of Russia decided to establish a higher educational institution. It was opened at the Ivolginsky datsan, giving the name “Dashi Choynkhorlin”, which translated from Tibetan means “Land of Happy Teaching”. The first teachers were invited from Tibet and India, in addition, there were several Buryat lamas who received Buddhist education in Mongolia.
The Faculty of Philosophy was the first to open at the Buddhist University. One of the forms of training is debates. Simple ones last one minute, complex ones can last up to several days. Great lamas are able to discuss philosophical issues for several days and nights without interruption. In addition, students study logic, general philosophy, old Mongolian writing, Tibetan and English languages and other subjects.
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The beginning of the mountain trail in the Ivolginsky datsan.
Photo: Olga Ladygina Dagba Ochirov sits at a large table littered with books, with a chair for visitors on the side. On a stool near the bookcase, a white and gray young cat curled up in a large cardboard box. While we are talking with Did Hambo Lama, she wakes up and goes to exercise around the room, feeling like a complete mistress there.
“Before the revolution, almost every family sent one of their children to the monastery for education,” says Dagba Ochirov. — Datsan at that time was a center of culture, those who entered it received an education inaccessible to others. Children began studying at six or seven years old; after 16–17, many defended their studies and completed their studies with a scientific degree. They were the elite. That is why, after the revolution, lamas were mercilessly sent into exile - they enjoyed very great authority.
— Have you personally managed to meet any of the lamas of the “old school”?
— Yes, I had the opportunity to communicate with those who received a pre-revolutionary education. In 2003, I saw off one of them on his last journey and asked him: “What can you say about your life?” He answered me: “I am happy. I saw the flourishing of Buddhism, saw great lamas - Dashi-Dorzho Itigelov, Agvan Dorzhiev and others. He saw Buddhism decline and lived to see its return to Russia. I’ve been waiting for this for more than half a century.”
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Khurde drums, Ivolginsky datsan.
Photo: wikipedia.org, Yana Krasnopevtseva - In addition to Buddhism, shamanism is widespread in Buryatia. Do they not contradict each other?
— Buddhism is the oldest of the world religions and the most democratic. Once, in front of me, the great Baba Lama was asked how he felt about shamanism, and he said: “This is fertile, noble soil, perfectly plowed. The seeds of Buddhism, Christianity or Islam grow well on it.” Sooner or later, people grow up to one of the world religions; many shamanists convert to Buddhism.
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View of the South Gate of the Ivolginsky Datsan.
Photo: Olga Ladygina There are about 120 huvarak students studying at the university. There are no stipends, but they receive housing and food for free, thanks to donations and alms from parishioners. Graduates are awarded state-issued diplomas in the specialty “philosopher”, “tank writer” or “emchi lama”, that is, a healer.
Visiting the Lama
To turn to the lama for advice, you need to check with the information center which healers or astrologers accept visitors. In the hallway of the wooden house where Did Khambo Lama Ochirov lives, there is an old, shabby sofa and an armchair for those waiting their turn. Quiet voices are heard from the room, interrupted from time to time by the tapping of pebbles - the lama throws them before answering this or that question. After a while, a couple of young people come out of the door, saying goodbye to the lama - you can go inside.
Before visiting, it is recommended to perform a goroo - a ritual walk around the territory of the monastery clockwise an odd number of times. Khurde installed along the path three times In each of them, from several hundred to a million scrolls with sutras are wound on an axis, so that by turning the drum once, a person “reads” many prayers at once.
As a sign of respect, you can offer the lama a khadak - a silk scarf symbolizing the wish for happiness and peace. It is served on the palms of both hands, lightly holding the top with your fingers. White hadak means pure thoughts, holiness, well-being. Blue - harmony, kindness and calm. Yellow - faith, prosperity, the teachings of Buddha, as well as prosperity and stability.
In gratitude for the consultation, the lama is given a donation in any form - money, food, a gift.
