Features of the Transformation of Buddhist Communities in Russia

Abstract

The authors of the article address the issue of the current situation of Buddhist communities in Russian society. As the study of the topic has shown, the specifics of the development and functioning of modern Russian Buddhist communities correspond to global trends with certain regional characteristics. The authors note changes in the structure of communities, their position in society, linking them with the transformation of society. They equally proportionally depend not only on local, but also on global socio-cultural processes occurring in the country and the world. Two types of Buddhist organizations coexist in Russia - traditional and global. In the first, the national (folk) form of Buddhism prevails, in the second, the international (convert) form. Both forms - conservative and liberal - develop in parallel, almost without interacting with each other. The conservative form of Buddhism is represented by Buddhist communities in the primordially Buddhist territories - Buryatia, Kalmykia, Tuva. These communities have their own religious leaders, and since the 90s of the last century they have been quite disunited. Today, in the context of turning to traditional spiritual values, embodied, in particular, in Buddhism, these organizations began to strive to build dialogue. The second type of Buddhist communities is the result of globalization, the development of neo-Buddhist trends, popular in nature, and more localized in the European part of the country. Thus, today the transformation of Buddhist communities is intensifying, which is expected in the context of the changes taking place in the modern world. The religious space of Buddhist organizations is mosaic and differs by a variety of teachings, but the ideological core in them remains the same, despite modifications.