RUSSIA: Tibetan monks celebrate Buddhism with festival in Moscow museum

Tibetan monks and Russians are celebrating Buddhism during a Tibetan culture festival at Moscow's Roerich Museum. Russia has about 700,000 Buddhists, mostly native inhabitants of the ethnic republics of Kalmykia, Buryatia, and Tuva that were incorporated into the Russian Empire in the 15th and 16th centuries. Buddhism is a polytheistic religion that encourages believers to discover reality through years of spiritual learning and mediation. The ultimate goal for the believer is to put an end to the stress of existence. Buddhism was first promulgated by an Indian, Gautama Buddha, 2,500 years ago. Today there are anywhere between 250 million and 700 million adherents world-wide. The lack of a powerful Buddhist central authority and hierarchy make it difficult to properly calculate the number. The most important feature of the festival is the construction of a mandala made of marble grains by Tibetan monks who study at the Drepung Gomang Monastery in exile in India. This particular mandala will be dedicated to the the patron deity of Tibet, the god Chenrezik. Dalai Lama, is considered to be an incarnation of Chenrezik. Other events at the festival include a photo exhibit about Tibet and its Buddhist monasteries, morning and evening meditation sessions, Tibetan chant, consultations with a Tibetan astrologist, and films and lectures about Tibet culture. "The festival began in Perm and it was called; "From Tibet to Perm,'' said Galina Tarasova, a member of the NGO, Steps of Creativity. "After that it began travelling all around Russia. Moscow is the eight city,'' Tarasova added. The mandala, a concept that came into Buddhism from Hindu beliefs, refers to any plan, chart or geometric pattern representing the cosmos in a metaphysical or symbolic sense. The mandala is basically a microcosm of the universe from the human perspective, and is meant to help focus one's attention during meditation. The geometric shapes on mandalas tend to draw one's eyes toward the centre. Since the marble grains used by the Tibetan monks are considered sacred, after a devout worshiper utilizes their manadala for prayer, it's believed that one can purify themselves of disease and other negative tendencies. "The fact that Tibetan monks came here is an incredible gift, as is our chance to be present while they are making a mandala,'' said Alexandra Barkova, senior curator of the Roerich Museum. "As it was already said today, the mandala will not only spiritually transform all Buddhists and those with a sufficient level of spiritual learning and experience, but it has the power to spiritually transform all those who take an interest in it.'' The choice of the Roerich Museum is not accidental. Nikolai Roerich (1874- 1947) was an artist and scholar fascination by Eastern culture and philosophy. He undertook numerous expeditions to Central Asia, Tibet, India, Manchuria and Mongolia during the 1920s and 1930s. During these journeys he produced canvasses depicting the Himalayas and steppes in vivid colours, and which pondered his fascination with myth, legend and mystical religious figures. His paintings are now among the most expensive works of Russian artists at international auctions. Roerich's views on the preservation of culture during wartime became the basis for the 1954 Hague Convention. The museum houses an extensive collection of his paintings and drawings as well as photographs, journals, maps and models outlining Roerich's various expeditions to the East.

ITN Source | October 27, 2006

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