Schools of Buddhism

Many Kalmyks regard the Dalai Lama’s visits to Kalmykia as one of the most important and auspicious events in the spiritual and social life of Kalmykia. Believers also feel blessed by the visits of other prominent Buddhist scholars and leaders to the steppe republic, including the 17th Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje (head of the Karma Kagyu lineage), Ole Nydahl (founder of the Diamond Way Buddhism of Karma Kagyu), the 41st Sakya Trizin (head of the Sakya tradition), the 8th Arjia Rinpoche (reincarnation of Lumbum Gye, father of Tsongkapa who was the founder of Gelug), and others. With Gelug being the dominant school, all traditional schools of Buddhism are currently represented in Kalmykia. Among them Nyingma is quickly gaining popularity in recent years. The next most popular school is Kagyu. Sakya, however, has the smallest number of followers. All these schools organize seminars, carry out practices, and build Buddhist structures.

In this collection you can see not only interviews with teachers and lamas of various schools of Buddhism, but also listen to stories by lay people about their religious experiences and understanding of Buddhism.

Agvan Eshey, About Buddhism in Kalmykia

Lama Agvan Eshey talks about Buddhism in the early 1990s, the Buddhist schools that currently operate, and the Buddhist texts that he uses when reciting prayers.

He says that at the beginning of the 1990s there were no lamas to be seen on the streets in Kalmykia. Those religious specialists who performed Buddhist rituals at home, did not wear Buddhist robes. When the Kalmyks returned to their homeland from exile, (former, disrobed) lamas continued to see people, including Party apparatchiks, and perform rituals for them.

Today there are several officially registered schools of Buddhism in Kalmykia, including Gelug, Karma Kagyu, Dzogchen, Nyingma and Sakya.

Agvan Eshey says that he recites prayers by using the following sources: the texts compiled by the Kalmyk lama Ulankin Sandzhi, Mongolian texts, and the texts that were chanted during his initiation ritual into Buddhist priesthood. Apart from receiving clients in his office, he works with the Buddhist community of the Khosheutovskiy Temple in Astrakhan oblast where he reads prayers in Kalmyk. Agvan Eshey also says that he receives Buddhist thangkas from people as a gift.




13:36

Alexandra Sanzheeva, About the Lama Ulanov



21:02

Alla Saldusova, About Buddhism and Sakya School in Kalmykia







09:21

Anna Sangadzhi-Goryaeva, Kalmyk Lamas of the Past and the Present







04:57

Baira Goryaeva, About Namka Kichikov







29:04

Boris Dochkaev, A Legend About Ulyadzhi Bagshi




37:31

Boris Dochkaev, About My Teacher Zodva Natyrov





13:53

Danara Ungarlinova, About Shajin Lama Lubsan-Sharap Tepkin and His Clan













24:54

Geshe Jampa Tinley, About Buddhism in Kalmykia












19:24

Lidzhi Amikov, Buddhism as a Philosophy and Practice



12:09

Lidzhi Amikov, Building Stupas













11:28

Oleg Mandzhiev, Religion and Religious Dissidence in the Soviet Period






48:59

Sanal Mukubenov, Buddhism: History, Monasteries, Sacred Places and Monastic Dress















10:10

Telo Tulku Rinpoche, About Lamas and Temples in the USA



06:38

Telo Tulku Rinpoche, About Local Spirits in Kalmykia



06:38

Telo Tulku Rinpoche, Buddhism as a Philosophy and Science



07:15

Telo Tulku Rinpoche, Buddhism as a Religion and Culture