The famous Buddhist center in Russian

[LEGAL]

The famous Buddhist center (Ivolginsky datsan) in Russian Federation is located in Buryat Republic near Verkhnyaya Ivolga village that is not so far from Ulan Ude.

In 1741 the Buddhism was declared as religion officially in Russia by royal decree of empress Elizabeth Petrovna. At that time there already were 11 Buddhist datsans in Buryatia.

The 1917 year changed history of Russia and attitude towards religions. In 1925 year the Soviet Government started to destroy Buddhist Temples and 1864 lamas were put into prisons; and some of them were execute by shooting.

During the Great Patriotic War the religions in Russia were not persecuted by the Government so zealously; and the Buddhist started to rise along with Orthodoxy. Of course the Government was trying its hardest to put obstacles in religions' way, but in spite of it a new small Buddhist Hambinsky "datsan" was opened in December 12 of 1945. It was not a temple. It was just a rebuilt old village house in Ivolga marshland. But local Buddhists were glad to have their own place and with time the old village house changed into the Monastic center with a residence of Pandido Khambo lama, the leader of all Russian Lamas.

Olga (Legal's wife)

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http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x105/RWH777/Buryat/Buryat%20gif/datsan.jpg

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[LEGAL]

Buddhist center
It was just here located the residence of the Central Spiritual Buddhist Board of the Soviet Union (Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia since 1995) and Pandido Khambo lama – head of Buddhist church. Spiritual activity of the datsan is manifested in temple rites, medical practice, Buddhist education traditional system. Buddhist university «Dashi Choinkhorling» was opened in 1991 attached to the datsan.

Treasures of culture
Wonderful samples of old Buryat art – picturesque thangkas, sculptures, ritual subjects are gathered and preserved in the Ivolginsky datsan. One of the monastery's treasures is a rare collection of old Buddhist manuscripts written in Tibetan language on natural silk and a greenhouse with a holly Bodskhva tree. Being a cultural and religion monument the Datsan is protected by the State. The Datsan Centre consists of such temples as Sockshin-gugan, Maidrin-sume, Devazhin and Sackhjusan-sume. There are also a library, hotel, the philosophic faculty - Choyra, building of the Buddhistic University - Dashy Choinhorlin, museum of monuments of Buryat art, sacred tumbs-suburgans, some service buildings and houses for lamas there.

n 1927, the 12th Pandito Hambo Lama of the Ivolginsky Datsan, Dashi-Dorzho Itigelov, told his students and fellow monks to bury his body after his death and to check on it again in 30 years. According to the story, Itigelov then sat in the lotus position, began chanting the prayer of death, and died, mid-meditation. The monks followed Itigilov's directions, but when they exhumed his body 30 years later, they were amazed to find none of the usual signs of decay and decomposition. On the contrary, Itigilov looked as if he had been dead only a few hours, rather than three decades. Fearful of the Soviet response to their "miracle", the monks reburied Itigilov's body in an unmarked grave.

Itigelov
Itigelov's story was not forgotten over the years and on 11 September of 2002 the body was finally exhumed and transferred to Ivolginsky Datsan where it was closely examined by monks and, which is now more important, by scientists and pathologists. The official statement was issued about the body – very well preserved, without any signs of decay, whole muscles and inner tissue, soft joints and skin. The interesting thing is that the body was never embalmed or mummified.

http://wikipedia.org

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[Khashyar]

Hi Legal,

Thank you for posting the photos and information about Buddhist Centers in Russia...

Khashyar