Interview with Khambo Lama D. Ayusheev

D. Ayusheev.

In July s. Mr. D. Ayusheev, Head of the Traditional Buddhist Sangha of Russia, Bandido Khambo Lama, kindly agreed to answer a few of our questions.

A. - I have been working in this position for two years. In 1995, he was elected at the sugundui (cathedral) in the presence of 75 people. I can frankly say that before there was no such conciliarity and democracy (seven people applied).

Within two years, first of all, we made the Charter of the Traditional Buddhist Sangha of Russia. I believe that Buddhism as a religion has been traditional in Russia since 1741 and during this time has acquired its history, its glory and its customs.

Our Buddhism cannot be treated as Tibetan or Mongolian - this is the Buddhism of the Russian way of life and perception, because we, the Buryats, were shamanists before the spread of Buddhism, and Buddhists in the person of Damba Dorji Zayaev and the venerable Khambo Lama Akhaldaev adopted a lot of culture and customs Buryat people. The same happened at one time with the Mongols, and with the Tibetans, and the Chinese. So we enriched Buddhism at the expense of shamanism, at the expense of the Buryat culture, and Buddhism received a different face. In this sense, we call our Buddhism traditional. Each country has its own culture, its own tradition in this sense.

I dwell on this issue, because if we are talking, we must take it as it is here. For any Buryat, Kalmyk, Tuvan, a lama is associated primarily with a person who received a certain education within the framework that existed here and now exists. But lately, friendly Tibetan lamas have often come to us, who preach Tibetan Buddhism among our believers, not particularly approaching the teaching of our lamas. We lamas, who today work in datsans, received a special education in the Mongolian school of Buddhism, and after returning we communicated with our lamas, and this is how we received our education.

Perhaps somewhere I can make a mistake, understate or overfill my statement. But the concept of tradition exists. Now there is no concept of "pure Buddhism" - Buddhism in Japan or China, or Tibet, or Burma, where he moved from India, has acquired a national identity. The basic postulates of Buddhism are sacred to us, but we live in the reality of today. For example, when we are told that there should be monks in the datsan who preach the truth and live for the sake of some kind of "pure Buddhism", we cannot go to extremes, because it does not suit, for example, our Buryat people, who have traditions and a certain perception, abruptly close the datsan and say that the datsan is closed for the time being, because we do not have true monks. And today we are engaged in Buddhism, which we ourselves represent.

If we take an example from history, then the Aginsky datsan was engaged in the preaching of Buddhism for 50 years, and monks and ordinary clergy lived there, who took vows of genen. / I would not call these vows "layman's vows", as you say, because when I started studying in Mongolia, they explained to me that there are Gelong, Getsul and Genen vows, and layman's vows are on a different level. And if Tibetans or other people are going to explain to me now that the genen vows are the same as the vows of a layman, let them explain. If I proceed from the Mongolian school in which I studied, then not every layman can be a genen, and not every layman needs, if you look at it, to receive these vows. For 50 years, these lamas, who were monks and who were genins, cooperated, and the time came when they all gathered and said: “Yes, let’s do this now: we, the monks, will stay in the datsan, and you, the laity, leave to the steppe and you will be called steppe lamas. You practice Buddhism and help people in your uluses, etc."

There were two directions. Therefore, when Tibetans come and say that there is "pure Buddhism", I do not deny - and we will have pure Buddhists. To date, we have 8 gelongs: of those who study at Goman Monastery, 8 out of 26 have taken vows. And returning, after a certain time they will carry our flag of Buddhism. But we are not to blame, understand, we are not to blame - we are the children of our society, our country. For 70 years, Bolshevism did not prohibit, but encouraged, that clergymen have families.

During the two years that I served as a hambo lama, I experienced many different things, but more difficulties, because before me all datsans had their own separate charters, their own finances, their own laws, the practice of Buddhism was their own business, there was no common goal. To date, we have developed a general charter and regulation on datsans, outlined the positions and duties of each lama, starting from the sheretuevs of datsans. Directions are determined: how relations should develop with the Mongols, with the Tibetans, with the Vietnamese, with different Buddhist countries, also in relation to Namhai Norbu, with Ole Nydahl - with those who practice Buddhism. We must have a certain point of view on them all. We need to define relations with new Buddhists: for example, there are many Buddhist directions in St. Petersburg, in other cities. The main thing is that we need to acquire certain skills of cooperation, just as the skills of cooperation with Muslims, Orthodox and Jews have been developed over the course of 300 years. It cannot be denied that there are non-traditional Buddhist groups. And in Buryatia, Kalmykia, Tyva, the Chertynsky district and the Aginsky national district - traditional Buddhists live in five subjects. They are not aliens like the others. And basically we were doing Gelugpa Buddhism. And other sects, such as Sakyapa, are new to us, just as Catholic, Protestant and other churches are non-traditional for the Orthodox in Russia. In this regard, it is important to have what we have. Give us the opportunity to develop what we had! And having risen to a certain stage, we can move on.

This does not in any way mean any bad attitude towards the new Buddhists, that is, the Europeans. They themselves are aware of their worldview, and in no case would I want to dominate and explain how they should live. But in this regard, if a person said that he is gene, that he is a Buddhist, then he must be a Buddhist with a Buddhist worldview, otherwise people will say: "Here is a new Buddhist, here is an old Buddhist - or in other words, a European Buddhist and an Asian Buddhist - they misunderstand each other, so they have some problems in the religion itself, and then how should this religion be respected?

We came to this by speaking with Geshe Tinlay and other Tibetans. In Dharamsala, I explained to them that there is some kind of negative if we say that there is a Khambo Lama of Kalmykia and a Khambo Lama of Buryatia. And I told them: "Respect Russia! Where was the traditional center of Buddhism? In Buryatia. Tradition - what does it mean? This is the Russian understanding of Buddhism, according to which the center of Buddhism is in Buryatia." And I said that if you offend us, please offend us, call me the Khambo Lama of Buryatia, but you can’t offend Russia. The team of Yeltsin, Chernomyrdin, people who communicate with religious denominations, are you going to say: "But I do not agree that you are called the Khambo Lama of the Buddhist denomination of the Russian Federation." I am called so, and I have the right to it, I did not assign the name! Let Telo Rimpoche be called the Khambo Lama of Kalmykia, because no one forbids it! I admit. Hambo Lama of Tuva - please. But all of Russia is the prerogative of Russia. And I explained in Dharamsala that you put a country like Russia in a very uncomfortable position. And if you make such a mistake in relation to me, then you, being in Russia, can do some other stupid thing and thereby lose your authority. And they took it as normal, even apologized and accepted it as a fact. This is how I feel about traditional Buddhism.

Q. - You said that an attitude should be developed towards different Buddhist trends, which are not traditional. Have you developed this attitude? And how does it manifest itself?

A. - In general, this: I know that we have a group of Buddhists who are engaged in Dzogchen, and even they have their own dugan. At one time, the people of this area came to me and said, "We don't want us to have Dzogchen." - You never know what you don't want! There is a law, and according to this law it turns out that Dzogchen is allowed. We have people who can create a community. We must respect the law of Russia. I said then: “There is no need to make any moves. Let there be Dzogchen."

Q. - How does your public activity as a Khambo Lama correlate with your personal Buddhist practice?

A. - Previously, my personal practice was that of a lama healer. I studied Tibetan medicine at the Buddhist Institute in Mongolia for five years and then practiced it from 1988 to 1995. Now, unfortunately, I am deprived of such an opportunity. But as for the practice of Buddhist philosophy, now I have more opportunities for this. The problems that confront me need to be passed through a certain philosophy. This is where theory meets practice. When I have to make decisions, I have to rely on certain knowledge. And if this knowledge starts to decrease and I feel that it does not contribute to development, then I try to put things aside and return to theory. This is how the process goes.

Also, on a personal level, regarding the position of Khambo Lama, I believe that this is a great responsibility. My job is to help others. And I am a slave of my position and have to move away from many habits and fit myself into certain limits. This is a responsibility and a burden, and not some kind of merit and predisposition. Unless the predisposition was to carry this load. Therefore, I do not experience any apogee or star disease. Today, the position of a hambo lama means defining the law within the Buddhist world, inscribing datsans into it, and laying the economic foundation for all this. We are now doing everything at once: we are building a temple, making the Rules, preparing personnel. 26 people study with us in India, more than 20 people study in Mongolia, they also study here, in Thailand, in Burma. All this requires help.

In the autumn we will open a new temple in Verkhnyaya Berezovka - the Kalachakra temple. To date, this construction costs us five billion. This temple is a tribute to Kalachakra, a tribute to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. We hope to create grounds for inviting His Holiness to hold the Kalachakra empowerment here.

Q. In what sense will it be a Kalachakra temple? Will astrology and medicine be practiced there - a complex of practices originating in the Kalachakra Tantra system?

A. - No, it will be a temple similar to the Tibetan Namgyal Datsan. There will be a staff of lamas engaged only in the practice of Kalachakra from day to day. In general, five temples are being built here in Verkhnyaya Berezovka: Kalachakra, Jude (tantra), philosophy, retreat (English: retreat - Ed.) and Tsogchen (Tib.: cathedral - Ed.) There was a proposal to build Lamrim-datsan, but I think that retreat and Lamrim are one and the same. And let our respected friend Geshe Tinley come and give lectures - not somewhere, like some partisan, but here, within the boundaries of the datsan. Also, a medical and astrological center will be built here, as we have our own tradition.

Q. - And which lamas will practice Kalachakra here? After all, the tradition itself, as you know, is very rare in transmission. Few Masters living today know Kalachakra. Who will teach you?

A. - We have already sent an invitation to teach Kalachakra to a Tibetan Teacher by agreement with the abbot of the Namgyal monastery.

Q. - The last question: what would you name as the main problems and obstacles for the development of Buddhism today?

A. - To be honest, Buddhism as a denomination has the most prosperous position today, we have all the freedom that we once dreamed of. And what hinders? Basically, we prevent ourselves. We cannot understand each other and find a common language. What's the point of calling ourselves Buddhists if we swear all the time? As our Buryat proverb says, "Where Buddhists swear, grass does not grow there." And by the last time, for example, I decided that I would never speak out against others, scold, because in words or thoughts I myself sink.

We cannot understand each other. Everyone has plans. I tell the Tuvans: - We are still training their personnel today. I say to the Kalmyks: Why are we going to teach them? We'll just show how we live today. If Europeans come, they have their own Teachers, their own worldview, why should I tell them: ? I have no moral right to do so. And if someone says: then, of course, I can already ask him - according to the law of Russia, according to the law of the Charter. This is how I understand democracy. And I think that we should treat this as Buddhists, and not only in words, but simply in our souls.

V. - In parallel with the "Traditional Buddhist Sangha", independent dugans appear in Buryatia. How does this happen?

A. - Over the past two years, a lot of lamas have left the datsans. Maybe because they treat me negatively. Why? Because I said: And so 50 percent of the llamas ended up overboard. 10 out of 27 shiretuy have been relieved of their posts to date. Today in temples there are random people: there are no drunkards or any of them. We have crossed a certain line. Now, for example, huvaraks no longer perceive that you can go drunk in a datsan - this is wild, although 3-4 years ago it was normal. But I cannot say that I can do everything, because everyone has their own time, their own period of development. I will do as much as I can.

Q. - As for the obstacles, maybe they are also the costs of the generation of lamas that took shape in the Soviet era and did not have the opportunities that have now appeared?

A. - Older people who have gone through the tension of the regional committee and the KGB, in view of the fact that today there is democracy, are somehow lost. But I can't blame them for something they're not guilty of. The social atmosphere was like this. But I cannot treat badly those lamas who preserved this religion for our sake and today are engaged in practice and provide assistance. Someone can be scolded for drinking vodka, and if they tell me that he has such a weakness, I can kick him out of the datsan - provided that no one needs him at all. Do you understand? But if people come to him and say: “You, dear lama, help, thank you for this,” and invite him home, etc., and people know that his weaknesses are such, why should I scold him? After all, people have chosen. Some such lamas leave the datsans themselves, because they know what rules have been established; some, if they want to stay, accept the rules.

Q. - Who do you personally consider to be your Teachers?

A. - My personal teachers are those who taught me in Mongolia. Unfortunately, I did not have teachers in medicine in Buryatia. My Teacher and fellow countryman Choijin Lama, who lived in the Kyakhta region, has already left. I consider His Holiness the Dalai Lama as a teacher."

Editorial

We are grateful to the Khambo Lama for a sincere and open interview: it is easy and pleasant to deal with a person who is direct and does not mask his views. However, one cannot agree with all of D. Ayusheev's views, and above all regarding the understanding of "tradition", which is so important today in the light of the new law on freedom of conscience, which directly links the legal status of religious associations with their "tradition".

In our opinion, it is completely wrong to identify the Buddhist tradition of Russia with Buryat the Buddhist tradition in Russia, which, according to D. Ayusheev, began in 1741. It is well known that as early as the 17th century there were stationary Kalmyk monasteries in Russia, such as Abline-hit, built in 1656 or Botokhtukhan-hit, built in 1670. Unlike the Buryat “bandido-hambo-lama”, the head of the Buddhists of Kalmykia was called “shadzhin-lama” or “the lama of the Kalmyk people” and was not in any way dependent on the Buryat Buddhist church. As for the Tuvan Buddhists, they gravitated directly to the Mongolian church headed by the Bogd Gegen and also did not depend on Buryatia.

Therefore, “the understanding of Buddhism, according to which the center of Buddhism is in Buryatia” is not a “Russian understanding of Buddhism”, but the personal opinion of D. Ayusheev, and one should not “be offended for Russia”, and, moreover, call it “stupidity” when a hambo lama The "traditional Buddhist sangha of Russia", which does not include either the Union of Buddhists of Kalmykia, or the Office of the Kamba Lama of Tuva, or the "new" Buddhist communities of the country, someone hesitates to call the "Khambo Lama of Russia". One cannot close one's eyes to reality, one must live in reality, and not within the framework of one's own concepts, no matter how fair they may seem.

As for the difference between a “genen” and a “layman” according to the “Mongolian school” of our Khambo Lama, there is, of course, no difference. “Ghenen” (Skt.: upasaka) means “layman” in Russian. A genen or lay person is one who has taken Buddhist Refuge. However, a layman may or may not take the "five vows of a layman" (no killing, no stealing, no lying, no debauchery, no drinking). D. Ayusheev, of course, is right that not every layman (including lamas who have not taken monastic vows) can afford these five vows.

All his teachings, as Khambo Lama said, spread in space and reach various parts of the world, and the imperishable body of the great teacher has been resting in the palace of the Ivolginsky datsan for 15 years.

Last weekend, the VI international conference dedicated to this phenomenon was held in a holy place for all Buddhists. The format of the conference was very different from what could be seen earlier and, as Khambo lama Ayusheev said, “... this year we did not set a goal to bring together scientists and academicians. We want the common people to be ready to understand and accept Itigelov's teachings." About what messages come from there and why it is needed, the MK correspondent understood.

From a different angle

The XII Khambo Lama Itigelov phenomenon was first discussed in 2002. Now every Buddhist knows about this amazing and mystical story. In 1927, at the age of 75, having gathered his close students, Lama Itigelov took the lotus position and told his students that he was leaving for 1000 years. According to his will, after 75 years he was raised from the earth, and the Precious and Inexhaustible body of the Khambo Lama appeared to the world - the scientific world shuddered. Outwardly, the monk was not only recognizable, but also showed all the signs of a living body: soft skin without any signs of decay, the nose, ears, eyes, fingers, and so on were preserved. They could not unravel the secret, the phenomenon remained unknown. In 2005, at the insistence of the head of the Buddhists of Russia, Khambo Lama Ayusheev, access to the incorruptible body was closed to scientists. Since then, studies of the phenomenon have been carried out only within the framework of conferences organized by the Buddhist traditional Sangha of Russia.

If we omit all the known facts and scientific conclusions, the most important thing remains - Itigelov's messages that come from him to our world every day. This is what the traditional Sangha is now focusing on. Khambo Lama Ayusheev actively maintains a Facebook page, where he uploads the teacher's messages translated into Russian and leaves his own comments. In addition, an active distribution policy is maintained on other network resources. And most importantly, Itigelov's teachings go towards China, to inner Mongolia, where the servants of datsans and parishioners comprehend secret knowledge.

We receive teachings not to grow wiser, and not for enlightenment, - said Ayusheev. - And in order to live longer. Unfortunately, a person's life is very short, but Itigelov, being 165 years old, proved the opposite to us. In his teachings, he says: I live a long time and therefore I give you my knowledge of life so that you repeat my path. This is the main point of the messages. And the fact that our acting. Aleksey Sambuevich will reach enlightenment and become smarter than now, this is the second. The main thing is that Aleksey Tsydenov, together with Tsydenzhap Batuev (deputy of the National Economy of the Republic of Belarus. - Auth.), Live long and well. If these two comrades understand, it means that we have not gathered here in vain.

Message to the world

There are more than 1,000 lamas practicing Buddhism in Buryatia, but only one receives Itigelov's teachings - Bimba Dorzhiev, chief guardian of Itigelov's Khambo Lama. For a monk, this is a huge responsibility. Every day he wakes up early in the morning and comes to the palace to the incorruptible body. Every day he reads the sutra about the defenders of Itigelov, raises the mantra and performs other rituals. Then for 20 minutes, with eyes closed, meditate, waiting for the teaching. This is a real phenomenon that no science can explain. It can only be understood by studying the left knowledge. The monks of the Ivolginsky datsan began to receive teachings in 2012, during which time a huge number of them have accumulated and they all require clarification and comments. As Khambo Lama Ayusheev himself says, each new message is a revelation: “I will be honest. When I receive a message from Bimba Dorzhiev, I don’t understand anything for the first 15 minutes, Ayusheev admits. “Then I start to think, to think, to delve into the meaning.”

Nadezhda Berkenheim (center) answers questions from the laity.

Lamas of the Ivolginsky datsan and conference participants.

The work of the conference was conducted in sections: in the Buryat, Russian, Mongolian languages. Everyone had the opportunity to get acquainted with the messages, read them in a language he understood and discuss those points that might seem incomprehensible or were simply the closest or most interesting. Thus, messages related to virtue aroused the greatest interest, and their discussions lasted until the very evening of the first day of the conference. Nevertheless, the main question remained how Itigelov's messages could help people in our time.

One of the moderators of the Russian-speaking group was Nadezhda Berkenheim, Vice-President of the Tibet House in Moscow. According to her, the Bimba Lama is not the only person who receives messages from the Khambo Lama: “Traditional Buddhism and many other religious movements also have their own oracles, or, to put it better, guides that transmit the acquired knowledge to the world. Now it is difficult to understand how this happens, sometimes even people themselves are unable to explain these phenomena. Nadezhda also noted that such conferences should be held as often as possible, and it would be even better to organize courses for studying these messages in small groups.

Lyubov Viktorovna Preshchep came to the conference from Krasnodar, she also hears Itigelov's messages, but she does not consider herself a real Buddhist: “I am a separate story,” says Lyubov Viktorovna. - I never aspired to something like this, and even when the first contact took place, there was no particular desire. Everything came with time. I have been receiving messages since 2002, but I still cannot say that I am in Buddhism. The knowledge that I have gives me the opportunity to understand this or that message. Ultimately, everything depends not on the vessel in which the knowledge we receive is contained, but on what is inside it and how we will understand this or that saying.

Unfortunately, the woman could not tell how exactly the messages come and what Itigelov tells her, saying that this is a very extensive topic and takes a lot of time. It is understandable, the question is really difficult, and few people want to reveal their secrets.

According to Lyubov Viktorovna, Itigelov's messages allow people to think about their lives, look at it from the other side, answer their own questions of interest and even find a solution from difficult situations.

In our time, in order to come to peace and harmony not only with ourselves, but also with other people, it is necessary to make humanity think. And it is precisely the phenomenon of Khambo Lama that invites us to think, she says.

It's never too late

Gleb from Novokuznetsk. He has been visiting the Ivolginsky datsan since 2012, he came to the conference for the first time.

On the facebook social network, I saw information that not only scientists, lamas, powerful people, but also ordinary lay people like me can come to the sixth conference dedicated to the phenomenon of the twelfth Pandito Khambo Lama Itigelov.

Gleb does not hide the fact that he was also interested in the biological miracle.

The man spent 75 years underground, but we cannot say that he died. The dead are cold, but it is the temperature of the body, people feel the heat emanating from the body. It's hard to believe, I wanted to see.

At 57, Gleb Dorofeev is sure that he strives for the best and it is never too late to improve himself, and nothing in life is completely lost. And the teaching is like the light of a beacon that shines in any bad weather. “Have you noticed that no one here talks about Itigelov in the past tense? - the participant shares his observation. Everyone thinks he's here with us. The scientific world got what it wanted, analyzes, tests, all kinds of measurements, but we, as laymen, get completely different information from meeting with teachers. I would like to say in the words of our common teacher: Buddhism is not a faith, not a philosophy - it is the freedom of the soul.

Phenomenon

On Sunday, when the results of the conference were summed up and the resolution was signed, Khambo Lama Ayusheev, in his closing speech, quoted the words of his teacher, the venerable Itigelov: “When you turn the wheel of the teachings, the prices in the stores will decrease.”

This is what I'm talking about, - continued Khambo Lama. - Officials don't understand that when a real Buddhist turns the drum, prices go down for him. This happens because people understand that there is not only material, but also spiritual food. That it is much nicer and better, and helps us in later life.

XXIV Pandito Khambo Lama Damba Ayusheev, head of the Buddhists of the Russian Federation.

The outgoing year is significant for Russians - 70 years of the Great Victory in World War II. But Buddhism is considered one of the most peaceful religions and some say: "We honor the memory of the victims of the Great Patriotic War, but we ourselves would never go to war." What do you think about this as the head of the traditional Buddhist Sangha* of Russia?

In this regard, I want to say that any religion is obliged and must protect itself - this is the first rule. The second rule, if the enemy breaks into your house, wherever it is, wherever your house is, you must stop it. There were examples in the history of our Buddhism - the Buryat Selingin Cossack regiments. The lamas there served as clergy and participated in military campaigns. Based on this, if the war came to your house, we must protect it. And Buddhists are not forbidden.

The Buddhist traditional Sangha has priests in military units. What is their activity?

The function of our military clergy, for example Dembel Lama: he must constantly be with the soldiers, especially during the exercises. Strengthen the spirit. Lamas are needed all the time where it is difficult for a person. I think that the army is one of those places where a person experiences psychological and physical difficulties. You know that people come to datsan* only with problems. And from the army, soldiers cannot go to the datsan. From this point of view, being in harsh conditions during the year, they need help from our Lamas and we have created such an opportunity. Wherever a Buddhist is, he has a need to come to the Buddha and the Three Jewels*, to come under protection, to be blessed. It is an integral part of a person. For example, if even one Buddhist was in the Arctic and he was told that a Lama had arrived, he would be happy.

- What do people most often bring to Ivolginsky* datsan?

Everyone knows that people want to bow to Khambo Lama Itigelov*. It's important to know this. There are no other goals, no one can compare himself with Khambo Lama Itigelov, and say that people come to him. In recent years, there have been especially many pilgrims from abroad, from Mongolia.

- How could you explain to a simple person what faith is?

Faith is a very high moment of human life. I think that a person who gains faith is in outer space. A person who is immersed in everyday life does not need faith. A person who finds faith, he, as it were, rises into above-air space and stays there. Having acquired this state once, a person should not forget. I believe that faith is an achievement. People are not born with faith. Faith can only be achieved, achieved at the level of neither the mind, but only consciousness - that's the difference.

- Everyone can come to faith?

Every person strives, but often does not feel faith. This is a feeling that must be achieved consciously. Look, a man came to the datsan and suddenly felt such peace, or such extraordinary joy, or something happened to him. He must understand this and say: “I felt something! Unprecedented state of mind, consciousness”… This can be called a particle of faith.

- Faith and trust are the same root words. What is trust?

By and large, it's the same thing.

XXIV Pandito Khambo Lama Damba Ayusheev

Today we remembered your words that even if it is impossible to trust yourself, how can you completely trust someone else.

Of course! How can you trust yourself?! I'm not sure if I'll be alive tomorrow. And when people come and say: “Please believe me!”, I say “How so?!”. Gotta be honest. To what level do you have to be honest? This is a normal Buddhist understanding.

Participants of the 5th international conference "The Phenomenon of Pandito Khambo Lama Itigelov".

In the summer, the Fifth Conference dedicated to the phenomenon of Khambo Lama Itigelov was held. Are there new participating countries? Tell us about the conference itself, what do you like, what has changed, what trends have emerged?

For me personally, the first four previous conferences became a period of studying the history of Khambo Lama Itigelov, his biography. I was looking for witnesses who could tell how Khambo Lama Itigelov lived, and four conferences were held for this. Today, at the Fifth Conference, I have already decided for myself - as a Buddhist, I am not interested in what happened before. I am not interested in what will happen then, in the future. I'm interested today! Therefore, every day I receive teachings from Khambo Lama Itigelov through our Bimba Lama. Khambo Lama demonstrates his abilities, which can transmit the Teaching to us. We comment on these Teachings and study them. I think that the work of the conference should follow this path. There is a real-life Khambo Lama Dashi Dorjo Itigelov, there is a real-life Choijin Lama Bimba Dordjiev. There is something that the words of Khambo Lama Itigelov come from this attitude, which he brings to us through Bimba Lama.

XII Pandito Khambo Lama Dasha Dorzho Itigelov

- At the conference, did you ask the participants to consider the book with the messages of Khambo Lama Itigelov?

These are not my words - these are the words of Khambo Lama Itigelov in the Buryat language. I just translated them into Russian, without losing the semantic load. It is important to understand that the two languages ​​are different. If I literally translated, then nothing would have happened at all. I tried to translate the meaning. It also happens that when Khambo Lama Itigelov is asked stupid questions that are difficult to answer in principle, then Khambo Lama speaks differently. Here it is necessary to determine whether the answer of Hambo Lama comes from the question that was asked or whether Hambo Lama speaks his own.

For example, one lama, reading the mantra of Khambo Lama Itigelov "Om a guru sha sa da ra sokha ..", said - "The mantra is delicious." A mantra can be strong, powerful, but here it is delicious! It was strange for me, I had not heard such a thing that a mantra could be tasty. And Khambo Lama answered him clearly: "Feel the taste and take superpower from the mantra." This is a very valuable Teaching! Hundreds of thousands of people will recite the mantra, and everyone has a rich imagination, and everyone will try to feel the taste of the Khambo Lama Itigelov mantra, then they will start reading another mantra and taste will distinguish them. This is something that is very close, that everyone can feel.

Today I received a message through the Bimba Lama: “People are rejoicing and doing deeds today. Hambo Lama says: "The consciousness of people has a priceless price."

What does it mean? It is impossible to assess the consciousness of people. Based on these words, it is possible to make many comments from the point of view of philosophy.

- It is very interesting. Tell us how Bimba Lama receives messages?

What rituals he performs is clear. And how he receives messages, he will not say, this is his personal experience. Here I can't speak for him, I don't get that kind of knowledge. There is a certain Buddhist practice of offerings and praises, he does it, and then, when he is in meditation, other lamas simply leave him alone. He comes after a while and says - "Here, get it!" When I start asking what and how, he, like any oracle ... is beyond logic. We want to know right away!

Bimba Lama receiving messages from Khambo Lama Dasha Dorjo Itigelov

The funny thing is that when Bimba Lama started receiving messages, 50% of our lamas did not believe with pleasure. There are 10% of lamas who do not believe and will never believe. What to do?! People are pragmatists. Not all saints, there are people who directly said - we do not believe.

I answered them: There are no problems. Sit down and study!
But when you say to a Buryat, - "Then you try it yourself."
He says to me, - "Why do I need this"? Then another question arises, if you can come so close to Khambo Lama Itigelov to receive the Teaching directly from him, then - Please! Do it!

There are people who say, "If I can't, then no one can." And this understanding is even encouraged to some extent. They say if I don't see it, it means it's not there. This is what atheism is all about.

The whole point here is that Khambo Lama Itigelov gives the Teaching, which we receive together and must work on it. Everything else is empty, composite, unnecessary. For me, the most important thing is that I found where to go. This book is out, you are reading it. It will be updated every month. On Twitter*, I myself publish the teachings of Khambo Lama Itigelov every day. There are teachings that I liked. Because I understood something somewhere. And there are ones that I didn’t like at all because I didn’t understand them! (laughs).

- What is the biggest mistake for a Buddhist, in your opinion?

Not vigilance. For example, when my mother was alive, I was not vigilant towards her. Mindfulness, observation are good words, but completely different ... You have to be vigilant, especially to your mother, to close people. It happens that he did not finish speaking with a person ... We say: he was not attentive, did not pay attention, was not polite. Here I must say simply - I was not vigilant. This concept includes everything. After all, it was necessary to negotiate with a person, approach him, spend some time on him. Then we repent, we doubt. Nagarajuna said: "A vigilant person does not die." We are dying from our lack of vigilance. The most valuable thing is a person's life. For me, this is important. For young people today - someone lacks luck, someone lacks money ... I say - not vigilance!

- This year is the 80th anniversary of the Dalai Lama. Was this date celebrated somehow in Buryatia?

We had anniversary events. From a Buddhist point of view, anniversaries are not our business, but there is perhaps no other opportunity to pay attention to this most important fact. Today, 80 percent of people treat birthdays with some kind of reverence, especially women. 20 percent of Buddhists are wary of such a trend. In honor of the anniversary, Kacharov Alexander Aramovich prepared a work as a gift, tankhu * deities of long life .

Portrait of E.S. The Dalai Lamas in the Ivolginsky Datsan

Buddhism is often divided along national lines: Chinese, Indian, Tibetan, Buryat. Does it need to be done?

Unfortunately, there are quirks. For example, let's take our Buryat people: we still have very strong tribal components. Each Buryat in each place has its own dialect, mentality, and much depends on climatic conditions. Or take the Buddhist pantheon, each datsan has its own sahyusan*. In philosophy, the schools of Tibetan Buddhism also differ slightly from each other. One of the components of the human mind is to understand the world in comparison, and on this basis, each nation has its own attitude to the world, its own mentality. Some say that the Chinese Buddhist is at the forefront - this is it; the Tibetans - that's it; the Mongols have another; among the Buryats - the third; the Kalmyks have their own .... Everyone wants to identify himself, everyone has his own understanding. In fact, when a lama understands Buddhism deeply, there is no difference for him. Unfortunately, it is only about 10 percent of lamas that are above national differences. However, unfortunately, they are not always understood by society. To acquire such knowledge, much depends on the qualities of a person. First - life experience, then - to keep your mind clear. In Buryatia, we mostly have young people who are not even forty years old. Young lamas, in 20-30 years, if they save their lives, they will come to a mature age and such people can appear among them. We are still young Buddhists, the gap that occurred from 1930 to 1970 and they didn’t teach us - there was a gap for 40 years and we can’t fill it with anything right away.

Recently, many ethno-confessional conflicts have arisen in the world. For example in Burma, Sri Lanka. Is Buddhism in danger of radicalization?

We must pay tribute to the fact that in every society there are 10 percent of nationalists. If people like their ideas, then radicalization is possible. If the society is healthy, then this is not possible. Everything depends on many qualities: the weakness of the economy, epidemics, natural disasters - as a result, many changes occur. It all depends on the balance, who will turn where and who will be at the forefront - nationalists, liberals, conservatives, etc. Society is alive, constantly in motion.

They say that there is a country's karma. If a person was born in a country, lives in it, will he also inevitably share some common karma?

Not! This is complete nonsense. For some reason, our long-suffering Russia believes that it is the most not so ...

Not only. For example, there was an earthquake in Nepal and the opinion immediately arises that this is the karma of the country, because the Nepalese kill cows. Although, it seems that in countries where cows are not killed, earthquakes often happen ... "In Russia, in Stalin's time there were repressions and we are all punished for this" - there is such a version. There is such a popular myth among Buddhists about the karma of the country, you were born there and you can’t do anything but pray.

I can say one thing - among the lamas of the Buddhist traditional Sangha of Russia, such things are not welcome. If any lama will say that the karma of our people, our country is somehow not favorable, then he will be very ashamed of these words. I perceive Buddhism as freedom. For me, as a person striving for freedom, there are no limiting or overwhelming factors. How can I agree with this?!

- Tell us about your Social Flock program, how is it developing now?

This year it works only at 50%, we will distribute the yarochek. Only next year we will go to the full course. I bought lambs in 2014, and only in 2016 will they begin to fully work. Out of 10,000 sheep, I will distribute about 5,000.

According to the agreement, we will give them to the head of the settlement, for example, one hundred sheep to one head of the settlement. The head receives sheep for himself and a social flock is created from this, then it should develop further. The head of the settlement, in his post, is fully responsible for the process. This is an elective position and each head receives a flock. It must be understood that it is difficult to take 100 lambs and keep them for free for two years - certain efforts and opportunities are required from a person. A particular problem is that there are very few good shepherds left.

Photo by S.Tselovalnikov

- The population takes sheep, got involved in the work?

Oh sure! Today I have about twenty shepherds working for me. According to the agreement, after some time the owner must transfer part of the new lambs further, and keep part of the lambs and sheep for himself. If you calculate, then it is economically profitable. But on condition that the person himself will graze the herd. But if you hire shepherds and build yourself a little bourgeois, then, of course, there will be problems. Unfortunately, there are such tendencies.

Is there any government support, subsidies? Especially now, after the imposition of sanctions and numerous promises of support for small businesses.

Not! Why should we? I would not want such support, it's like a drug addict. For example, a man keeps a hundred cows, so what? Everyone will receive a subsidy for this? Why, if a person has a herd, then he is already a rich person. The money should go towards creating a new farmer. As it happens with us: - a person keeps a hundred sheep, gives a good indicator, money is poured into him. And giving to others is a certain risk. Today people do not trust people, their people. It turns out that hiring migrants is profitable. It is difficult with their own, theirs do not go to work. There is a psychological component to this issue. In addition to the social flock itself, you also need a strong will! Only this will help us.

- What advice would you give to the Tibetan House audience?

Work! From a purely historical point of view, we need diplomatic relations with Tibet. Tibet is a huge world. There must be people who are engaged in this people, culture, civilization. If there is one nation in the world, then it has the right to have its twins, its representatives anywhere. And the country that considers itself self-sufficient and self-respecting, it has a different audience, which is fond of Tibetan medicine or yoga, or Spanish dances. Such interest clubs should exist. What does it say? The fact that the nation, the country is huge, strong and it has an interest in people. All countries and peoples of the world, logically, should have representative offices in Russia. And there are nations that are significant for the world. The Tibetans themselves spread the Buddha's Teaching throughout the world, preserved and developed it. They are worthy of respect, honor, so that they would be accepted and perceived in Russia.

Indians carry their culture with great inspiration. UNESCO this year established the International Day of Yoga and it was widely celebrated in many cities of Russia and around the world.

If you do not promote your idea, it will turn out that you are nobody. For example, the very idea of ​​the Teachings of Khambo Lama Itigelov, it should move on. This idea should not be only here. Why are we holding a conference? We have the Teachings of Khambo Lama Itigelov, which we will pass on to people. We already have the Teachings of Buddha, the Teachings of Bogdo Tsongkhapa, we know the Teachings of Nagarjuna. We know the teachings of great thinkers. And we are proud of it! There are people who are interested in Tsongkhapa or Nagarajuna, Asanga, Tilopa or those who worship Padmasambhava. Along with them, we have the Teaching of Khambo Lama Itigelov, and it should move around the world. As Rabindranath Tagore said: "Each nation is obliged to bring to the judgment of mankind the best that it has and thereby enrich mankind." Today, we enrich the Buddhist world with the teachings of Khambo Lama Itigelov. This is our heritage, our self-respect, our pride!

I would like to end with the words of Mahatma Gandhi: “The past tense is a good lesson that should not be forgotten. The present is an opportunity. The future is a gift." Every day I receive a gift from Khambo Lama Itigelov and have the opportunity to use it. Today, at the conference in honor of Khambo Lama Itigelov, all three times are brought together. Carefully observe the essence of the Teachings, study and begin to use.

- Thank you for your hospitality and informative interview.

Notes:
* Skt. Sangha - an assembly of monks
* drill. Datsan - monastery
* Three Jewels - Skt. Buddha, Dharma, Sangha - Buddha, Buddha's teachings, monastic community
* Ivolginsky datsan
* Khambo Lama Itigelov Dashi Dorzho
* Twitter Pandito Khambo Lama Ayusheev

Khambo Lama Damba Ayusheev: “Dear my relatives, learn to respect yourself and learn to be proud of yourself.” This is an appeal to the head of the Buddhist traditional Sangha of Russia, the largest association of Buddhist communities in our country.

Damba Ayusheev has held this position since 1995. He is one of those about whom legends are made and songs are sung. The people love Ayusheev, but the Buddhist intellectuals are not very fond of it. He is too much a peasant on the throne, not an esthete, spirituality is not enough. The Russian Reporter correspondent listened to Khambo Lama for five hours and was not at all tired. Features of the logic and speech of the main Buddhist of the country are left unchanged.

Prologue

I can't make myself smart. Buddhism is a living religion, we should speak normally. When I stop joking, I become boring to myself. To make yourself smarter than you are - we have many more such people, you see. Well, let them think I'm a fool.

About Bothichita and Enlightenment

“If you haven’t done anything wrong in your life, if your life has been right, this is not a guarantee that you will go to heaven. This is not enough. My Buddhism is different. I say help people. The whole teaching of the Buddha is about this. When everything is right, it means wrong. When everything is good, it is bad. Well, what did you want? Or maybe I should say something else? Engage in bothichita, cultivate in yourself some qualities for enlightenment. You don't need a lot of brains here.

Most importantly, I don't rely on Buddha. Do you know why? I don't have a god. The Buddha will definitely not come. Do you know why Buddhist? Do you know why I will follow the Buddha all my life and will not be disappointed in this? Do you know? Because I will never catch up with him. But I will follow the best, the strongest man in civilization. I am the follower of the Buddha. I don’t have time to prove that I am good, that I am gentle or sensitive - I have to go, I have to help people.

On the dignity of the people

The Khambo Lama was asked: how many Buddhist believers are there now?

- I do not know. This is an interesting question. We are such a mysterious people, we do not know how many Buryats there are on earth. And if I suddenly find out, I'll die right away. But my people are responsible. If my people live well, then here, from the Irkutsk to the Amur region, there is calm and peace. That's what I'm responsible for.

We are accustomed to who we consider ourselves to be? Third rate. How do we say? The Tibetan lama is a jewel, the Mongolian lama is a clever girl, and the Buryat lama is a misunderstanding. That's 80% of our intellectuals say so. Dear my relatives, learn to respect yourself and learn to be proud of yourself. Being near Khambo Lama Itigelov, be worthy of him. In general, I want to say that every nation considers itself worthy, every nation respects its values ​​and has self-reliance.

On Orthodoxy and Parallels

- If I had the right to appoint heads of districts, I would not have passed half of these heads - I would have checked them for lice. If he has a cool car, I would immediately drive him with a filthy broom. But they would have figured it out quickly, they would have arrived in a Zaporozhets. Some officials come to me and say: "I'm Orthodox, I want to find a parallel." I say, “Get out of here with your parallels. You in Orthodoxy do not understand anything, fool. Still want to understand Buddhism! Get out".

You respect your religion and respect mine. Don't talk down to me, don't. I am a Buddhist, I am not afraid of death. And if I'm not afraid of death, I'm not afraid of anything.

About the great Russian people

“The Russians themselves are an experimental people. Everything bad that happens in the world will definitely pass through Russia. Whatever idea appears in the world, it will definitely come to Russia and will definitely end either in a revolution or some kind of crisis. This is a great people.

What's the scariest thing about us? The space is huge. Any good idea that originated in Primorye will die before it reaches Moscow. Any idea that comes up in Moscow before it reaches Vladivostok... We don't hear each other. Let's do this: we will send the Russians to Germany, and we will bring the Germans here. Let them try to live in such territories: they will survive - they will not survive. Well, just experimental.

For some reason, many Russians inside are now a little weaker. Why do we have nationalism? He goes when the people are weakening - and they begin to be afraid. And when a person is healthy, this does not exist at all. I believe that this is nationalism. If the nation is healthy, it is not up to it.

About Putin and Belaya Tara

The teachers were asked: what do you think of Putin?

“When they ask me why I don’t go against our head, I say: “I can’t go, because he is White Tara for me, I can’t go against my goddess.” A person who has power over one sixth of the land mass of the earth, who can start a war with one button, this person has tremendous power. Ten times harder for him than for me.

I should help him, and not say: let's change him, if I don't like it, we'll put another one. This is the easiest. And when people say to me:

“Who do you love more, the Dalai Lama or the President?” - I say: "Listen, dear comrades, who feeds me, who gives money to my old people - a foreign big lama or the president of the country?"

They say to me: “But our president is Russian, not a Buddhist.” What difference does it make to me? I respect this person and respect the position. De facto and de jure, today I serve President Putin. Medvedev will become president again, I will serve him. Zyuganov will become president, I will have to serve him.

And do not say: “Why are you so boring, well, there is no imagination!”. I have 500,000 Buryats behind me, and you want me to risk them? You don't need much mind - to say that I am a great person and throw people to the slaughterhouse. I am not saying that I am afraid of someone. I can't be scared. I can answer in such a way that it will not seem a little.

Some new president of the Republic of Buryatia will come here - all right, go, give orders. Just remember one thing: I won't ask you for anything. Rather, you will ask me for peace and - what? And peace.

Damba Ayusheev has held this position since 1995. He is one of those about whom legends are made and songs are sung. The people love Ayusheev, but the Buddhist intellectuals are not very fond of it. He is too much a peasant on the throne, not an esthete, spirituality is not enough. The Russian Reporter correspondent listened to Khambo Lama for five hours and was not at all tired. Features of the logic and speech of the main Buddhist of the country are left unchanged.

Prologue

I can't make myself smart. Buddhism is a living religion, we should speak normally. When I stop joking, I become boring to myself. To make yourself smarter than you are - we have many more such people, you see. Well, let them think I'm a fool.

About Bothichita and Enlightenment

“If you haven’t done anything wrong in your life, if your life has been right, this is not a guarantee that you will go to heaven. This is not enough. My Buddhism is different. I say help people. The whole teaching of the Buddha is about this. When everything is right, it means wrong. When everything is good, it is bad. Well, what did you want? Or maybe I should say something else? Engage in bothichita, cultivate in yourself some qualities for enlightenment. You don't need a lot of brains here.

Most importantly, I don't rely on Buddha. Do you know why? I don't have a god. The Buddha will definitely not come. Do you know why Buddhist? Do you know why I will follow the Buddha all my life and will not be disappointed in this? Do you know? Because I will never catch up with him. But I will follow the best, the strongest man in civilization. I am the follower of the Buddha. I don’t have time to prove that I am good, that I am gentle or sensitive - I have to go, I have to help people.

On the dignity of the people

The Khambo Lama was asked: how many Buddhist believers are there now?

- I do not know. This is an interesting question. We are such a mysterious people, we do not know how many Buryats there are on earth. And if I suddenly find out, I'll die right away. But my people are responsible. If my people live well, then here, from the Irkutsk to the Amur region, there is calm and peace. That's what I'm responsible for.

We are accustomed to who we consider ourselves to be? Third rate. How do we say? The Tibetan lama is a jewel, the Mongolian lama is a clever girl, and the Buryat lama is a misunderstanding. That's 80% of our intellectuals say so. Dear my relatives, learn to respect yourself and learn to be proud of yourself. Being near Khambo Lama Itigelov, be worthy of him. In general, I want to say that every nation considers itself worthy, every nation respects its values ​​and has self-reliance.

On Orthodoxy and Parallels

- If I had the right to appoint heads of districts, I would not have passed half of these heads - I would have checked them for lice. If he has a cool car, I would immediately drive him with a filthy broom. But they would have figured it out quickly, they would have arrived in a Zaporozhets. Some officials come to me and say: "I'm Orthodox, I want to find a parallel." I say, “Get out of here with your parallels. You in Orthodoxy do not understand anything, fool. Still want to understand Buddhism! Get out".

You respect your religion and respect mine. Don't talk down to me, don't. I am a Buddhist, I am not afraid of death. And if I'm not afraid of death, I'm not afraid of anything.

About the great Russian people

“The Russians themselves are an experimental people. Everything bad that happens in the world will definitely pass through Russia. Whatever idea appears in the world, it will definitely come to Russia and will definitely end either in a revolution or some kind of crisis. This is a great people.

What's the scariest thing about us? The space is huge. Any good idea that originated in Primorye will die before it reaches Moscow. Any idea that comes up in Moscow before it reaches Vladivostok... We don't hear each other. Let's do this: we will send the Russians to Germany, and we will bring the Germans here. Let them try to live in such territories: they will survive - they will not survive. Well, just experimental.

For some reason, many Russians inside are now a little weaker. Why do we have nationalism? He goes when the people are weakening - and they begin to be afraid. And when a person is healthy, this does not exist at all. I believe that this is nationalism. If the nation is healthy, it is not up to it.

About Putin and Belaya Tara

The teachers were asked: what do you think of Putin?

“When they ask me why I don’t go against our head, I say: “I can’t go, because he is White Tara for me, I can’t go against my goddess.” A person who has power over one sixth of the land mass of the earth, who can start a war with one button, this person has tremendous power. Ten times harder for him than for me.

I should help him, and not say: let's change him, if I don't like it, we'll put another one. This is the easiest. And when people say to me: “Who do you love more, the Dalai Lama or the President?” - I say: "Listen, dear comrades, who feeds me, who gives money to my old people - a foreign big lama or the president of the country?"

They say to me: “But our president is Russian, not a Buddhist.” What difference does it make to me? I respect this person and respect the position. De facto and de jure, today I serve President Putin. Medvedev will become president again, I will serve him. Zyuganov will become president, I will have to serve him. And do not say: “Why are you so boring, well, there is no imagination!”. I have 500,000 Buryats behind me, and you want me to risk them? You don't need much mind - to say that I am a great person and throw people to the slaughterhouse. I am not saying that I am afraid of someone. I can't be scared. I can answer in such a way that it will not seem a little.

Some new president of the Republic of Buryatia will come here - all right, go, give orders. Just remember one thing: I won't ask you for anything. Rather, you will ask me for peace and - what? And peace.