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The statue of the Buddha of compassion will be installed in Buryatia. Zandan Zhuu. The most valuable relic of the Buddhist world is in Buryatia Sandal Buddha in Buryatia how to get

One of the famous sacred places in Buryatia is the Egituysky datsan, located in the town of Khara-Shibir, in the Eravensky district, about 280 km east of Ulan-Ude. It is notable for the fact that it contains the Sandalwood Buddha, a lifetime statue of Buddha Shakyamuni, 2 m 18 cm high, made 2500 years ago by order of Raja Udayana from sandalwood (in fact, it was determined by analysis that the tree is a linden tree covered with sandalwood paste) ... There is a legend recorded by the Tocharian monk Dharmanandi in 385 AD. (in the Chinese translation of the Ekottara Agama Sutra from Anuttara Nikaya according to A.A. Terentyev) that the Enlightened One was at that time in the heavens of the Thirty-Three Gods, preaching the Dharma to his mother Maya, who was reborn there after her death. Raja Prasenajit wished to see the Enlightened One and ordered to sculpt his statue. Maudgalyana, a disciple of the Buddha who attained miraculous powers, took the masters to heaven, where they met with the Enlightened One. The craftsmen were returned to the ground and sculpted a life-size statue of sandalwood "goshirsha" about two meters high.

"" The statue came to the territory of Russia in Yeravna thanks to the incredible efforts of the Sorzho Lama of the Egituysky datsan Gombo Dorzho Erdineev and many other people who risked their lives. The sandalwood statue was bought by the datsan lamas during the "boxing" uprising in China. According to another version, in the winter of 1901, after the defeat of the uprising in Beijing, the Buryat Cossacks during the fire carried the precious statue out of the burning monastery, and thereby saved it from perishing in the fire. As a trophy, the statue was taken to Buryatia with great care in a sleigh. At the same time, a metal copy of the statue was made, but the original was hidden. Until 1935, the statue was in one of the sume of the Egituysky datsan and was an object of worship and veneration. During the period of anti-religious repression, the statue was transported to Ulan-Ude and kept in the funds of the National Museum of the History of Buryatia. "" "From the history of the appearance of the statue on the Buryat land. In Chinese sources there is information about her movement from India at that time. In the IV century, the Kumarayana monk from Kashmir, in order to save the statue from local wars, took it to Central Asia , where in Kucha (an oasis city of the Great Silk Road) he was forced to marry the ruler's sister Jivaka and become a spiritual mentor in the state. His son Kumarajiva became a famous Buddhist sage. His fame became so great that in 384, Chinese troops besieged Kucha in order to capture Kumarajiva and bring him to China. Together with him, a statue of the Sandal Buddha was transported, after which the rise of Buddhist thought in China followed. At the beginning of the VIII century. The wives of the Tibetan king Sronzangambo from Nepal and China brought Buddhist relics, including a statue of the Sandal Buddha, to Tibet. The Nepalese princess Bhrikuti was revered as the Green Tara, and the Chinese princess Wen-chen as the White Tara. And already under the next ruler, King Tisrondetsan, Buddhism became the state religion of Tibet. According to other Chinese sources, the statue first came to Mongolia during the reign of Genghis Khan in the 13th century. and then it was transported to China, where it is unknown how many years it was kept in the province of Li, in the Sandan-Si monastery built specially for it - the "Sandal Buddha Monastery". The history of her stay in Russia is amazing. In China in 1890-1901. the Boxing uprising broke out (the Ikhetuan uprising, the secret society I-he-chuan "Fist for the sake of justice of consent"). In June 1901, Beijing was captured by the rebels, burned and destroyed. The Sandal Buddha statue was kept in the Sandan-sy monastery - "Sandal Buddha Monastery", where all Buddhist pilgrims in Mongolia, Buryatia and Tibet worshiped her when visiting Beijing. Orientalist and one of the oldest Russian Buddhists V.M. Montlevich writes about this: “But scraps of information about the abduction itself have survived, and this information is more or less reliable, because the famous Russian orientalist Boris Ivanovich Pankratov told me in 1969, for many years (32 years, from 1916 to 1948). spent in China. In the winter of 1901, after the defeat of the Boxer Uprising, the Buryat Cossacks, taking advantage of the turmoil and chaos in the city and the fire in the monastery itself, removed the statue. The operation was led by the head of the Russian post office Gomboev. The statue was laid on a sled, covered with straw and matting, and disguised with provisions and postal props. There were two sledges in total, the statue was carried on a second, as it were, cargo sleds. One can imagine the reverential awe and desperate delight of those who performed this bold and dangerous undertaking, because they performed a religious feat for the sake of spreading the Teaching, of course, fulfilling the mandate of unknown and revered teachers and lamas. The performers knew that there is a belief: where the Sandal Buddha is, there is the center of the Buddhist religion. What believer does not admire his soul to consider his country and his datsan as such a center. Without any special adventures, the statue arrived in Transbaikalia and was hidden in the Egituysky monastery (datsan). Then a metal copy of the statue was made and placed in the Egituysky datsan; the original was carefully hidden in secret place... This precaution was entirely appropriate. The uprising in China was brutally suppressed by the forces of England, Germany, Russia, Japan and France in September 1901. And soon Japanese experts came to Buryatia in search of the famous statue. The Japanese had information that the statue was in the Egituysky datsan. The visitors were shown a metal copy, and they had to leave in complete disappointment.
Of course, the question arises about the ownership of the statue. In response to the indignant demands of the Chinese for the return of the statue, the Buryat lamas answered: - Of course, we will give it back, ... when all our people bow to it.
Zandan Zhuu is not the only lifetime image of Buddha; in the literature there are references to his pictorial portraits and other sculptures. Moreover, the Siamese and Burmese versions refer to a seated image of Buddha, while the Mahayana texts refer to a standing sculpture.

The road to the Egituysky datsan. On the way, we met a pair of herons, which is considered a good sign. It is explained that the deities of the area welcome our desire to visit the Sandalwood Buddha.


The birds were practically not afraid of passing cars.


But as soon as we stopped to photograph them, the herons decided to fly a little further.


The buildings of the datsan appeared


Stupas oriented to the cardinal points.


Chief Dugan, which houses the Sandalwood Buddha statue


Traditional Learning Wheel and two fallow deer on the sides


Here it is! The famous Sandalwood Buddha, the world's Buddhist relic! It is said that when Buddha Shakyamuni first saw this statue, the statue took six steps towards him. Then Buddha Shakyamuni prophesied that the statue would be far away in northern country and will contribute to the prosperity of the Teaching on that side.


It is said that the Sandal Buddha statue hangs in the air and a hadak can be dragged under it.
Buddha prophesied her moving north: to China, Tibet, Mongolia. Where the Sandal Buddha went, the center of Buddhism also moved. In the III century. the statue from India was transported to China. This was followed by the rise of Buddhist thought in China. In the VIII century. the Nepalese wife of a Tibetan king brought the Sandalwood Buddha to Tibet. And already under the next ruler, King Tisrondetsan, Buddhism became the state religion of Tibet. In the 13th century, before the spread of Buddhism in Mongolia, we again find mention of the appearance there of the Sandal Buddha. The prediction comes true, and the appearance of Zandan Zhuu in Transbaikalia in the winter of 1901 augurs well for the development of the Buddha's Teachings in Russia.
Until 1935, she was in one of the sume of the Egituysky datsan and was an object of worship and veneration. During the troubled period of repression, Zandan Zhuu was transported to Ulan-Ude and kept in the funds of the Museum of the History of Buryatia.

On September 25, 1991, Zandan Zhuu was transported by helicopter to Zgituysky Datsan. In July 2008, the opening of the Palace for Zandan Zhuu took place.

According to Buddhist tradition, he is considered a living Buddha - his images bring grace. The statue has a special iconography: Buddha stands, with long arms up to his knees, among flowers and a landscape, a "human" Buddha, similar to Buddha Maitreya.

Zandan Zhuu's eyelids are slightly narrowed, his gaze is directed slightly upward, the Sandal Buddha's right hand is raised in a welcoming and protective gesture, the left is turned palm forward, but fingers down. They say that not everyone can be at Zandan Zhuu: some cannot withstand this powerful energy flow and leave the datsan. And others, on the contrary, after a while discover that several hours have passed since the moment they sat down opposite the Sandal Buddha. The sculpture has a special "magnetic" power, there are many legends about this shrine. Old-timers talk about how the shrine eliminates negative deeds, bestows a long life, gives a mindset for good luck, happiness, health, if the worshiper hopes in him and believes him from a pure heart.





altar decoration




inside is beautiful and light


Tent on the ceiling


The entrance to dugan is guarded by snow lions


flowers are planted everywhere


Dragons entwining pillars


Stupas


Prayer drums with mantras Om Mani Padme Hum inside. If you turn the drum clockwise, then the mantras Om Mani Padme Hum ascend into space and delight all living beings.




Duganchiks on the territory of the datsan
























We were given a small tour of the datsan




The history of the emergence of the Sandal Buddha.


All guests from India and Tibet who come to the land of Buryatia strive to be at the Sandal Buddha. It is truly a world shrine. Dr. Nida Chtenattsang recites puja to the Sandal Buddha.
It is said that whoever sees the statue in their own eyes will not be reborn in the next life in hell.
The statue is recognized as a monument of federal significance and, along with the Atlas of Tibetan Medicine and the Imperishable Body of Hambo Lama D.-D. Itigelova, by the decision of the large All-Sami assembly (sugunda) of the Buddhist traditional Sangha of Russia dated April 22, 2003, was approved as a Buddhist shrine.

This requirement can be considered as unprecedented, since in the Buddhist tradition it is equated with a living Buddha and brings boundless blessings to the world.

Representatives of the Traditional Buddhist Sangha of Russia did not comment on this incident in any way. However, it is known that these Chinese citizens did not introduce themselves or present any documents.

According to a lawyer of the Traditional Sangha of Russia Bilikto Dugarova, most likely, these are scammers who attempted a provocation.

The goals of this provocation, most likely, lie outside the plane of religious relations. It is unlikely that these are representatives of any Buddhist organization in China. Probably, these are private persons of foreign origin, respectively, they should be dealt with by the Russian special services, - said Bilikto Dugarov.

Nevertheless, this is an occasion to remind the public again of the enormous significance of this Buddhist shrine.

Lifetime image of Buddha

According to the famous Russian Buddhist Andrey Terentyev, in the Mahayana Buddhist tradition, several sculptural and pictorial portraits are indicated, made during the life of the Buddha. However, only one of these images is believed to have survived to this day. This is exactly what it is famous statue Sandal buddha Zandan Zhuu, which is located in the Egituysky datsan.

Initially, it was a "life-size" (that is, about 2 m) sculpture made of goshirsha (a type of sandalwood), made by order of Raja Udayana at the 38th year of Shakyamuni's life.

This story was first recorded in writing in the Chinese translation of the Ekottara Agama Sutra of the expanded Mahayana version of An-guttara Nikaya, compiled by the Tocharian monk Dharmanandi in 385. The oral tradition must be much older than this year, since another version of this legend was already known in the Kushan times, according to which the making of the statue is associated with Raja Prasenajit, and not Udayana.

According to one version of this legend, in the 4th century, the Kashmiri monk Kumarayana, wishing to save this shrine from local wars, moved it to Central Asia, where Buddhism then flourished. He stopped in one of the oases of the Great Silk Road - in Kucha. The ruler of Kucha ordered him to marry his younger sister and become the spiritual leader of the state. And his son, Kumarajiva (344-413), became such a famous Buddhist sage that Chinese troops were sent to Kucha to capture Kumarajiva and bring him to China.

Sandalwood Buddha in China

In 384, Kucha fell and Kumarajiva was brought to China along with this statue. Until 417, the statue remained in Chang'an, then moved to Jiankang, where it was kept in a monastery until 588. During the hostilities, this monastery was destroyed, but the statue was saved by a monk named Zhu-li, who transported it to Yangzhou, in Jiangsu, and in 614 made a copy of this sculpture. Obviously, other copies were made, since the Japanese pilgrim Ennin, who visited China in 838, already mentions four statues of the Sandal Buddha.

In 970, another copy was made by order of a Japanese pilgrim. Choungana(938-1016) and taken to Japan. There, to this day, she is considered the holiest relic of Japanese Buddhism. In 1018, it was installed in the Shaka Hall of the Seikadzi Temple, where it remains to this day.

Told the story of the Sandal Buddha and the famous Chjan-chja hutukhta Rolbi Dorje(1717-1786): “... And after that they erected the Zandan Zhuu shrine in the great monastery“ Minzhongsi ”- a city that was located on the site of present-day Beijing during the Dai Jin dynasty of Chzhurchensky. Subsequently, all the emperors who inherited the throne showed her the highest honors by building many temples ... And during the great Mongol dynasty Dai Yuan Zandan Zhuu was installed in the Shengansy monastery. By order of the emperor Khubilai-Sechen (the Wise), a vihar monastery was built on the site of the current great White stupa (Baytasy) and a numerous monastic order was established, they rendered unparalleled and endless honors and held prayers. Subsequent Yuan emperors (Mongol) and kings of the Ming dynasty prayed and worshiped as diligently and diligently. It was time for the Ching (Qing) Dynasty, the fourth year of the Kangxi Emperor. The merciful chakravartin, the incarnation of the bodhisattva Manjushri, issued a decree to build a new temple called "Excessive Mercy" near the cherished city in the northwest in the halls of the yellow city, and they transferred the precious Zhuu there. "

Among the Russian researchers, D. Pozdneev was the first to write about this statue, who, in particular, noted that it was in the Sandal Buddha Monastery at the foot of this statue that the historical meeting of Zanabazar and the Kangxi Emperor took place. They both sat on the same carpet, recalling, probably, about the historical meeting of Pagba Lama with Emperor Kublai.

How Zandan Zhuu got to Buryatia

In 1900, during the boxing uprising in China, the Sandansy monastery was destroyed, and the statue was transported to the temple of the Buryat village of Yeravna - to the Egituysky datsan.

There are three versions of the transportation of the statue to the territory of Russia. So, Bazaar Baradin reported that it was transported there by the Chinese monks themselves, saving her from the French pogroms during the suppression of the Boxer uprising in Beijing. According to the second version, presented by A.M. Strelkov, the monks took her to Utaishan, and there the Buryats, namely the Egitui lama Erdeni Sorjo(his real name is Gombo Dorje), she was redeemed and brought to Yeravna. According to the third version, during the fire, the Buryat Cossacks took the precious statue out of the monastery and saved it from death. Then in the winter of 1901 they delivered the statue to Buryatia as a trophy.

After the fire, Chinese monks, according to various sources, collected the ashes left over from the burned down monastery into several large jugs. These jugs are a religious relic that is still worshiped today.

Be that as it may, in January 1901, the statue was installed in the Egituysky datsan. In 1935, the Soviet government destroyed the datsans, and the statue ended up in the funds of the Ulan-Ude Anti-Religious Museum. At the same time, they took out the diamond inserted there thousands of years ago from the ur-na-kosh of the Buddha and smashed the ushnisha statues, after which the sacred attachments stored there disappeared. The statue itself, which did not represent, in the opinion of the Bolsheviks, "currency value", survived.

Return to the Egituisky datsan

On September 25, 1991, the statue was returned to the rebuilt Egituysky datsan. As the well-known journalist and writer Alexander Makhachkeev, who was then working at the Ministry of Culture Pb, told "Baikalskaya Pravda", he had to take part in the process of handing over the statue to the Egituysky datsan at that time.

As they say, when the Sandal Buddha was taken out of Yeravna, people threw money into the truck. Then the law enforcement officers were greatly impressed, because a truck arrived in Ulan-Ude literally filled with money. - told Alexander Makhachkeev.

According to him, when it was decided to transfer Zandan Zhuu to Buddhists, he was instructed to organize this process.

The sacred statue was kept on the second floor of the current Odigitrievsky Cathedral - the Anti-Religious Museum was located there. With the greatest precautions, we lowered the statue down the stairs from the second floor and loaded it into the car. I believe that Zandan Zhuu saved me from severe injury. After all, the stone gates of the cathedral are very narrow, the car literally slammed its side against a stone pillar and my fingers almost cut off. But, apparently, thanks to the help of Zandan Zhuu, I caught myself in time and removed my hand.

According to Andrey Terentyev, the lifetime sculpture of the standing Buddha really existed, and it was she who served as the prototype for the artists of Gandhara, Mathura and Bamyan. By the 9th century, there were at least four copies of this statue in China. Which of them ended up in Beijing is difficult to say now.

Currently, the Egituysky datsan houses the statue that stood for over a thousand years in Beijing. Buryat Zandan Zhuu, looking upwards in an unusual way, covered with dark sandalwood paste and three layers of Chinese leaf gilding, exactly matches the description Rolby Dorje and other eyewitnesses who mention these features.

Sandalwood buddha

in Buryat Zandan-Zhuu, Sandal Sovereign- a unique and very ancient statue, a famous relic of the Buddhist world.
This sculpture of Buddha Shakyamuni is 2 meters 18 cm high, made of sandalwood, according to legend, around the 5th century BC, commissioned by Raja Uddiyana.

There is an opinion, shared by the majority, that she is the first and only statue made during the lifetime of the Buddha.

In the Buddhist tradition, she is equated with a living Buddha and brings boundless blessings to the world.

Currently, Sandalwood Buddha is recognized in Russia as a cultural monument of federal significance.

The history of appearance and the path traveled

There are different points of view and many legends about how the very first image of Buddha Shakyamuni originated. The Indian version says that it was performed by Viswamitra while the Buddha was giving the teaching. He carved a statue out of sandalwood, looking at the reflection in the water, as a bright radiance emanated from the Enlightened One himself.

There is also a mention in the history of Buddha Shakyamuni, indicating the existence of a statue that arose during his lifetime and is known as the "image from Oddiyana", a statue made at the request of the ruler of this amazing ancient Buddhist country.
This sculptural portrait is said to emanate "divine light."

In the later Mahayana sutras it is written about him: “Maidgalyayana Putra, a follower of the Buddha, transported the artist to heavenly spaces, where Buddha Shakyamuni retired for three months to convey the Teachings to his mother. There, the artist saw the excellent signs of the body of the Buddha and captured them in the form of a sandalwood statue. When the Tathagata returned from the heavenly palaces, the sandalwood image greeted the Lord of the World ”(3). Here we are talking about the Sandal Buddha.
According to A.A. Terentyev, according to the Chinese translation of the Ekottara-Agama-Sutra (from Anuttara-Nikaya), set forth by the Tocharian monk Dharmanandi (385 AD), the history of the appearance of the statue of Zandan-Zhuu is as follows:
Buddha Shakyamuni stayed in the Tushita heaven, preaching the Dharma to his mother Maya, who was reborn there after her death. At this time, Raja Prasenajit very much wanted to see the Enlightened Master. Then the closest disciple of the Buddha, Maudgalyayana, who attained miraculous abilities, brought the masters to the Buddha so that they could see him, and upon their return they sculpted a life-size statue of goshirsha sandalwood.
When Buddha Shakyamuni returned, the statue welcoming him, took six steps to meet him, and this served as the basis of the Buddha's prophecy about this statue: it will move to the north, and where it will be located, one should expect the flourishing of Buddhism.
Centuries later, the statue of Buddha really left India.

Chinese sources mention information about its further route in the northern direction.

China

So in the IV century, the monk Kumarayana from Kashmir, wishing to save the precious statue during the bloody local wars, took it to Central Asia. He settled in the oasis city of the Great Silk Road called Kucha, where he married the sister of the local ruler Jivaka and became a spiritual mentor. From that time, Buddhism began to flourish there. The son of that same monk, Kumarajiva, grew up in an environment conducive to Dharma study and became a famous Buddhist sage. His fame was so loud that in 384, troops were sent to Kucha from China to capture Kumarajiva. Together with him, the Sandal Buddha statue was taken to China. From that time on, China began to accumulate Buddhist wisdom.

Tibet

From China, the statue went to Tibet at the beginning of the 8th century. Then the Chinese and Nepalese Buddhist princesses married the Tibetan king Sronzangambo and brought Buddhist relics to the Land of Snows, among which was a statue of the Sandal Buddha. The Nepalese princess Bhrikuti was considered the embodiment of Green Tara, and the Chinese princess Wen-chen was considered the embodiment of White Tara. Already under the next ruler of Tibet, Tisrondecen, Buddhism became the state religion in this country.

Mongolia

According to other Chinese sources, during the reign of Genghis Khan, the Sandal Buddha ended up in Mongolia, at that time the first contacts of the Mongols with Buddhist philosophy took place, which later culminated in the adoption of Buddhism at the state level.

From Mongolia, the statue returned to China again. It was kept in Li province, in a temple Buddhist monastery, built especially for her - Sandan-Si "Sandal Buddha Monastery". In the 19th century, this monastery was located on the territory of the capital of China. All Buddhist pilgrims from Mongolia, Buryatia and Tibet worshiped the miraculous statue when visiting Beijing.

Russia

From China in 1901, the statue went to Transbaikalia, and has not left Russia since then.

This happened thanks to our Buryat Cossacks, who happened to be in China at that time, and it is not known exactly how.

Orientalist and Buddhist VM Montlevich wrote: “But scraps of information about the abduction itself have survived, and this information is more or less reliable, because the famous Russian orientalist Boris Ivanovich Pankratov, who had lived in China for thirty-two years (since 1916 to 1948) ".

In 1890-1901, the Ikhetuan Uprising broke out in Beijing, when the secret society I-he-chuan "Fist for Justice and Harmony" organized riots in the country, commonly known as the Boxing Uprising.

In June 1901, Beijing was captured by the rebels, burned and destroyed.

The world community reacted harshly to the uprising, the rebels were destroyed by the combined forces of England, Germany, Russia, Japan and France in September 1901. Our Buryat Cossacks, who happened to be in Beijing at this difficult time, also took part in these events.

According to one of the versions, during the fire, they carried the precious statue out of the monastery, and thereby saved it from death, then in the winter of 1901 they brought it to their native Buryatia as a trophy. According to another version, the sandalwood statue was bought by the lamas of the Egituysky datsan during the uprising and got to Yeravna thanks to the incredible efforts of the Sorzho Lama of the Egituysky datsan Gombo Dorzho Erdineev and many other people who risked their lives and took it out of China with great precautions. the precious statue of the Sandal Buddha went even further north, and ended up at the beginning of the 20th century in Transbaikalia, in the Egetuisky datsan of Russia. At the same time, a metal copy of the statue was prudently made, which was put on display in a special temple-dugan, as an object of worship and veneration, and the original itself was safely hidden. In search of the famous statue, Japanese experts soon came to Buryatia, who came to know that the statue located in the Egetuisky datsan. At the sight of a metal copy, they were deeply disappointed, they were forced to leave with nothing. Until 1935, the statue was reliably hidden in Buryatia, until the tragic times of anti-religious policy for Buddhism came in Russia, when the datsans were destroyed, many valuable relics were destroyed, and the lamas were repressed. But the statue survived even during this difficult time. She was among the relics that were transferred to the funds of the new Anti-Religious Museum, located in the Odigitrievskaya Church in Verkhneudinsk (now the National Museum of the Republic of Buryatia (Ulan-Ude), where it was kept under glass in a cabinet on the second floor. in the fire and without observing proper storage conditions, a huge number of wonderful religious relics and works perished. On September 25, 1991, the statue was returned to the Buddhists, passing it to the same Egituysky datsan, where a metal copy was once openly revered. This is regarded as a good omen for the development of Dharma not only in Buryatia, but also in our country as a whole.The statue contains a strong blessing of the Buddha, creating favorable conditions for the prosperity of the Teachings of the Buddha - Dharma, awakening interest in him.

Buddhist shrine of Russia

For some time, the statue was kept in the Dugan temple of the Egituysky datsan in Buryatia, in a small wooden one-story building, unsuitable for storing cultural and historical values... It was impossible to create the appropriate conditions for the storage of the world Buddhist shrine.

Therefore, the Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia has decided to build a special room for storing the statue while maintaining a constant microclimate. For 15 years, there was a fundraiser for the construction of a temple-palace for the Sandal Buddha. Thanks to donations from the parishioners of the Egituysky datsan and individual sponsors, the new Zandan Zhuu temple was opened on July 25, 2008. People from different regions of our country came to the ceremony of its consecration. The older generation of Buryats, driven by the desire to support and continue the traditions of their ancestors, sewed new festive national costumes especially for this celebration. From noon to eight o'clock in the evening, there was an endless line of people who came to the datsan to see the Buddha.
The long journey of the miraculous statue of Zandan Zhuu from India through China, Tibet, Mongolia, to Russia, from country to country, in the northern direction over the centuries became evidence of the fulfillment of the Buddha's prophecy. On April 22, 2003, the decision of the Buddhist traditional sangha of Russia was made Buddhist shrines of Russia: the statue of Zandan Zhuu,

Zandan Zhuu (Sandal Buddha)

Egituysky datsan. Photo: Arkady Zarubin

Zandan Zhuu, "Sandalwood Buddha" or "Sandal Lord" - a sculpture of Buddha 2 m 18 cm high, made of sandalwood, according to legend, 2500 years ago by order of Raja Uddiyana. It is located in the Egituisky datsan of Buryatia. It is a Buddhist shrine and is considered the only one made during the life of the Buddha (in literary sources, there are references to other lifetime portraits and sculptures, but there is no reliable confirmation). According to Buddhist tradition, he is considered a living Buddha - his images bring grace. The statue has a special iconography: Buddha stands, with long arms up to his knees, among flowers and a landscape, a "human" Buddha, similar to Maitreya Buddha.

History

According to tradition, Buddha prophesied the transfer of Zandan Zhuu to the North and, accordingly, the transfer of the center of Buddhism.

  • In the III century. the statue from India was transported to China.
  • In the IV century, the Kumarayana monk from Kashmir, in order to save the statue from local wars, took it to Kucha,

married the sister of a local ruler and became a spiritual mentor in the state. His son Kumarajiva became a famous Buddhist sage.

  • In the VIII century. - The wives of the Tibetan king Sronzangambo brought the statue to Tibet. Under the next ruler, King Tisrondetsan, Buddhism became the state religion of Tibet.
  • In the XIII century. - location presumably in Mongolia.
  • In the winter of 1901, the Sandal Buddha ended up in Transbaikalia. After the defeat of the Boxer Uprising,

Buryat Cossacks, taking advantage of the bustle and devastation in the city and the fire in the Sandan-sy monastery ("Sandal Buddha Monastery"), where the statue was kept at that time, took it out. The operation was led by the head of the Russian post office Gomboev. Upon arrival, a metal copy of the statue was made and placed in the Egituysky datsan, the original was hidden. The Japanese learned the location of the statue. Upon arrival, they were shown a metal copy and left with nothing.

  • In the 1930s it is kept in the Odigitrievskaya church in Ulan-Ude, where the funds of the Museum of Local Lore are located.
  • In the 1980s, the statue was returned to the believers and placed in the Egituysky datsan.
  • April 22, 2003 Decision of the Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia (Ivolginsky Datsan): “To approve Russia as Buddhist shrines:

Buddhist legend about the appearance of the statue

According to the Tocharian monk Dharmanandi (385 AD) (Ekottara Agama Sutras from Anuttara Nikaya), the Buddha was in the heavens of Tushita preaching the Dharma to his deceased mother Maya. Prasenajit wanted to see the Enlightened Lord and ordered to make him a statue. Maudgalyayana took the masters to heaven, where they met the Buddha. Upon their return, the craftsmen sculpted a life-size statue of sandalwood. When Buddha Shakyamuni returned to earth, the statue took six steps towards him, then he made a prophecy that it would be moved to the north, and Buddhism would flourish there.

Impact of the statue on believers

Not everyone can stay at Zandan Zhuu: some cannot stand it, they leave the datsan. Others, on the other hand, find that several hours have passed since they sat down opposite the Sandal Buddha. It is believed that the shrine eliminates negative deeds, bestows a long life, gives an attitude towards good luck, happiness, health, if the prayer hopes for it and believes in it from a pure heart.

Sources of


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Books

  • The Sandalwood Buddha of the King Udayana, A.A. Terentyev. An ancient Buddhist legend said that even during the life of the Buddha, his sculptural image made of sandalwood. Over time, this statue was transported to China, where ...

In the distant Buryat datsan there is a statue of Buddha Shakyamuni, which is perhaps the most valuable relic of the entire Buddhist world. We are talking about the Sandal Buddha, which in the distorted Buryat pronunciation is called Zandan-Zhuu in Tibetan. This statue can be compared with the Turin Shroud or with the Black Stone of the Kaaba. But to go far, its significance for the Buddhist world is comparable to the Bodhi tree in Bodhgaya or the Sinhalese tooth of the Buddha. But unlike all the above-mentioned religious relics, the Buryat Zandan-Zhuu is almost unknown in the Buddhist world. What's the matter? Buryatia can hardly be called a "bear's corner", a god-forsaken place, information about which can only be found in the notes of rare travelers. The era of the Internet has leveled everyone, and travel agencies compete in sophisticated methods of "promotion" of brand objects of the Republic. Why, in this case, the Sandal Buddha remains a shrine of local importance, in contrast to, say, the Imperishable body of Itigelov, the pilgrimage to which is already acquiring an international scale?

To answer this question, you need to figure out whether the statue of Buddha kept in the Egituysky datsan is so unique and sacred. In recent years, two serious scientific works of the Czech religious scholar Lubos Belka and the famous St. Petersburg Buddhist figure Andrei Terentyev have been published about her. Much of what will be said in this article is gleaned from these works.

The history of the wanderings of the Sandal Buddha.

Buddhist legendary tradition claims that the lifetime image of Buddha Shakyamuni from sandalwood was made in heaven, where the Buddha miraculously moved in order to teach the teachings to his mother, who was reborn as a goddess. The ruler of one of the small Indian states of that time, Raja Udayana, yearned for the missing teacher and ordered several sculptors to go to heaven and sculpt an exact copy of him there. The Buddha liked the statue, and after his return to earth, he announced her as his deputy. Subsequently, for two and a half thousand years, the Sandal Buddha wandered across Asia. In the III century. the statue comes from India to China, from where, in turn, it was transported to Central Asia, to the city of Kucha, the capital of the state of the ancient Indo-Europeans Yuezhi. Later, the statue may have visited Tibet, where a copy was removed from it, which Tibetan Buddhists consider their main shrine. Another copy of the Sandalwood Buddha was taken to Japan, where it is still kept in one of the temples in Kyoto. The statue was worshiped by Kublai Khan, on whose instructions the Sandal Buddha was brought to Khanbalik by Marco Polo himself. Famous statue standing Buddha in Afghan Bamiyan, destroyed by the Taliban, is also its enlarged copy. Finally, Zandan-Zhuu found a temporary refuge in Beijing, where it became the main treasure of the Manchu imperial court.

Flaming Beijing.

1900 was a disastrous year for the decrepit Qing empire. Outraged by the aggressive colonial policy of the European powers and Japan, the Chinese peasants and artisans began to unite in detachments and smash the embassy quarters. Russia was among 8 other powers that suffered from the actions of the rebels, and added its troops to the foreign punitive contingent. As a result, the punitive forces broke into the capital and subjected the imperial quarter of Beijing - the Forbidden City to a uniform plunder. Europeans plundered palaces and, covering their tracks, burned them. The recollection of one of the eyewitnesses of the robbery that took place: “The soldiers, burying their heads in chests of red varnish, dug into the things of the Empress, others stirring up piles of brocade and silks, who stuffed in their pockets or simply poured into their shirt or cap rubies, sapphires, pearls, rock crystal ; who hung with precious pearl necklaces. They pulled the clocks from the fireplaces, removed the clocks from the walls; sappers wielded with axes, smashing furniture into chips to choose gems with which the palace chairs were inlaid. One of them tried very diligently to cut through a lovely Louis XV style clock in order to extract a dial on which crystal numbers glittered; he imagined they were diamonds ”(link).

Operation "Urgent evacuation".

The same fate awaited the Sandal Buddha Temple with its precious contents. However, the Buryat Cossacks who were part of the Russian contingent from the Trans-Baikal Cossack Army, at the request of the Mongol lamas, managed to secretly take the statue out of the city. For several years they took her to Buryatia. The operation was coordinated by the head of the postal service of the Russian embassy, ​​Nikolai Gomboev, the notorious and ubiquitous Aghvan Dorzhiev, and the rector of the Egituysky datsan, Lama Zodboev. As reported in the research: “She was carried on a sleigh, covered with straw, matting, disguised with provisions and postal props” (link). When the statue was brought to Buryatia, it was decided to place it in a remote datsan so as not to draw undue attention to it. The Russian authorities had no idea about the daring act of the Buryat Cossacks, and if they did, they would probably regard it as a dangerous malfeasance. The operation did not go beyond the "Buryat circle".

Floating statue

The Sandalwood Buddha is a 2 meters 18 centimeters high image of Shakyamuni Buddha along with a small pedestal. Contrary to the name, the statue itself, as shown by analysis, is made of linden and covered on top with a layer of sandalwood paste. There is information that the upper part of the head of Zandan-Zhuu was originally decorated with a ruby ​​or diamond, and the relics of Buddha were placed inside the statue. These valuable artifacts were probably stolen in 1935 when the statue was being transported from Egita to Ulan-Ude. Tradition also states that the statue does not rest on a pedestal, but as if it hovers in the air a hair's breadth from it. Therefore, you can check its authenticity, supposedly, by drawing a silk thread between the soles of the feet and the base. However, such a check was not carried out, as well as a full scientific analysis of the age of the wood. And this is despite the fact that the statue was kept for some time in the Odigitrievsky Museum, which served as a museum repository, and under restoration in the Hermitage. In the 80s of the last century, the statue was returned to the Egituysky datsan.

China demands the return of shrines

Visiting the Far Eastern art departments in the Louvre or the British Museum, you can see the ancient porcelain vases and panels that ended up there as a result of the sack of the Forbidden City in 1900. China has long been demanding Western countries and Japan return of values. If an agreement fails, the Chinese authorities and big business buy back the lost items at auctions. So, to date, about 200 units have been bought out for a total amount of 33 million US dollars (link). It is a matter of honor for the PRC government to restore the Forbidden City to its former form and close the shameful page in the history of its country. This, however, is only a drop in the bucket, since the number of such exhibits, according to some estimates, equals one and a half million. China understands this and sets a goal to return at least the most valuable thing.

Strange situation

In the case of the Sandal Buddha, the situation is strange, if not insoluble. In fact, in this story, the Buryats have cheated both China, leaving it without a masterpiece of world importance, and Russia, which will have to solve this problem if the authorities of a neighboring state pay attention to it. Officially in China, it is believed that the Sandal Buddha Statue burned down along with the temple in which it was kept. But you never know the masterpieces, considered irretrievably lost, returned to their owners?

In 2003, the Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia recognized the statue of Zandan-Zhuu one of the three Buddhist shrines in Russia. However, at the federal level, the recognition of the Aegitu shrine as a genuine monument of Buddhist art, exported from China, faces issues of cultural diplomacy.

The wanderings are not over?

One of my Petersburg colleagues once expressed the idea that it is neither in the interests of Buryatia nor in the interests of Russia to promote the issue of the Sandal Buddha in the media. Sooner or later, this will lead to the PRC sending its experts and demanding the return of the shrine to Beijing. But, on the other hand, such progress has already begun. The studies of Belka and Terentyev that I mentioned are written in English language and are probably already known to their Chinese colleagues.

Is Zandan-Zhuu destined to remain a shrine of local importance, an “internal Buryat affair,” or will the issue of the Sandal Buddha someday be included in the agenda of Russian-Chinese relations? One thing is clear, the sandalwood statue of Buddha is a hostage of the situation, which means that her wanderings have not yet been completed.