33 meter Buddha statue in Buryatia. Zandan zhuu. Buddhist legend about the appearance of the statue

1901 The night cover over the huge eastern city is being torn apart by fires. The streets are filled with smoke and the heady smell of gunpowder. Shots, screams, moans are heard from everywhere

From the burning Sandan-Sy monastery, several military men carefully carry out a huge bundle and place it on a cart. On their high-cheeked, dark faces there are drops of sweat and joy mixed with anxiety. These are the Cossacks of the 6th Hundred of the 1st Verkhneudinsk Regiment of the Transbaikal Cossack Army in Beijing, engulfed by the Boxer Uprising, implementing the Buddha’s prediction. A 2,500-year-old prediction. Now let's talk about everything in order.

Inscription on the stone

Immersing the inquisitive traveler in the mysterious atmosphere of these places, the road, not far from the Egituysky datsan, has turned into a forest lane, leads to a mysterious stone that one of my hunter friends, Vladimir Nikolaevich Safeev, found in the taiga. Once, while chasing a wapiti wounded during a hunt, he sat down to rest and was surprised to find that he was sitting next to unusual stone. On one side, facing the taiga thicket, it looks like an ordinary boulder. On the other side, which looks out from the wild rosemary onto the forest road, it seems to have been cut with a huge sharp knife and has a smooth matte surface in the shape of two semicircles, located one above the other. In the center of this site, it is unknown how a strange sign was made.

My friend, who was born and lived in these parts all his life, who walked the length and breadth of the local taiga, had not heard anything about this stone, just as other old-timers had not heard of it.

As it turned out later, this is a sign from the Sanskrit alphabet, read as “om”. It is with this that one of the most popular and significant mantras in Buddhism, “Om mani padme hum,” begins. My friend began to ask the local lamas what the presence of this stone could mean here. The answer he received was: “This is a strong place.” This means that these places have very powerful energy and are nourished by some higher forces. And when I tried to somehow clarify with other clergy the origin of the inscription on the stone, I was told: the inscription was not made by hands. The rest is a mystery, the solution to which has not yet been solved.

Six steps towards

The Egituisky datsan itself, which has the Tibetan name “Damchoy Ravzheling”, is an ancient architectural complex on the banks of the Marakta River, founded in 1820. It once consisted of twelve buildings. There were philosophical, medical and astrological dugans.

Photo: anonim03.ru

More than three hundred Khuvarak students studied science there. They say that when they whispered a prayer, it could be heard at a distance of three kilometers. It’s hard to imagine, but this “bear corner” already had its own printing house at the beginning of the 19th century.

And this is not what the datsan was famous for. Its main attraction was and remains to this day the statue of Zandan Zhuu (Sandalwood Buddha). Well, here we come to the main secret. The history of Zandan Zhuu began 2500 years ago, when this only image of Buddha was created during his lifetime. It is now difficult to say how one of the first works of Buddhist art actually came into being, there is too much here that is not ordinary, but this Indian prince Siddhartha Gautama was also an unusual person.

I don’t know what to believe: either that the masters sculpted it from a reflection in the river, because the light emanating from it blinded them, or that they had to visit heaven, where Buddha was at that time... But, somehow be that as it may, his image came into being. It is said that when the Buddha approached the statue to compare the likenesses, it took six steps towards him. They say that this is what prompted the Buddha to make the following prophecy: the statue will move to the north, and where it is located, Buddhism should flourish.

You can believe it or not, but the prophecy came true. And in the chain of events that will be discussed further, there are no accidents.

Nail on the foot

Over these 2500 years, the statue slowly but confidently moved north. First, in the 4th century, the monks, saving the statue from internecine wars, transported it to the city of Kucha in Central Asia. Then she came to China. Afterwards, as a gift, it migrated to Tibet, and during the time of Genghis Khan - to Mongolia. And wherever the statue appeared, Buddhism began to flourish everywhere. The following story is connected with Zandan Zhuu’s stay in China. When the clergy of the monastery left the room where she stood for the night, her face was turned to where the people turned the statue, but every morning she invariably looked north.

She remembered Buddha's prediction. This problem was solved very simply - a nail was driven into the statue’s foot. From Mongolia, it again moved to China, where it was located before the events that began this story.

Miracles of Sandalwood Buddha

Someday history will name the names of the Transbaikal Cossacks who saved the Buddhist shrine from fire, but for now they are unknown to us. However, the names of other people who risked their lives to save Zandan Zhuu are known. This is the head of the Russian post office Gomboev and Lama Erdeniin Sorzho of the Egituy datsan.

The statue was securely hidden on a cart and brought across two borders - Chinese and Mongolian - to Russia. When the priceless cargo was leaving Mongolia, the guards asked why it was so securely wrapped. And they received an answer from those accompanying them: this is a relative who died of the plague. There were no more questions.

In 1934, during the persecution of datsans, Zandan Zhuu was transported to the Odigitrievsky Cathedral of Ulan-Ude. At that time, the funds of the anti-religious museum were located there. In the early 80s of the last century, it was there that I had the opportunity to see it for the first time. On September 22, 1992, the statue was again returned to the believers and was now forever located in the Egituisky datsan. Thus ended the centuries-long wanderings of the Sandalwood Buddha. And only the hole from the nail in the statue’s foot reminds of its difficult fate. But the miracles didn't end there. One of the respected lamas told me that Zandan Zhuu stands without touching the surface of the pedestal: a thread runs freely between the base of the statue and the pedestal. Everything can happen in our extraordinary lands.

People come here from afar to worship the Sandalwood Buddha and ask him for health and long life for themselves and their loved ones. And the statue helps. Helps everyone who believes.

A small touch from the modern history of Zandan Zhuu

In 2012, I had the opportunity to visit the locations of Buryat police officers in the North Caucasus. We drove through Chechnya and Dagestan. So, in Kaspiysk, at the location of the combined detachment in the so-called cockpit, I saw at the head of a row of beds a slightly crumpled image of Zandan Zhuu cut out from some magazine. At the head - where icons are usually located - there was an ordinary piece of paper attached. But there was a shrine on it, from which the guys asked to help them return home. And they returned safe and sound.

Addition from the editors

This is how an unknown author described the story and his impressions of Zandan Zhuu. Let's add one more case. September 22, 1991, the day when Zandan Zhuu was returned to the datsan, turned out to be very cold. It was raining and snowing. A landing site for a helicopter was prepared in front of the datsan. He was late, there was a fear that due to such weather he might not arrive. But the wet people waited patiently in the bitterly cold wind. And then the long-awaited helicopter emerged from behind the clouds. After it landed, people formed a long living corridor. Many could not hold back their tears of joy. Especially those who were children during the terrible years of religious persecution. Those, before whose children's eyes, they destroyed the Egituisky datsan so fiercely that the entire Egituisky valley was strewn with the pages of sacred books.

The pilots opened the cargo compartment, and the lamas carefully carried the sacred Burkhan Zandan Zhuu onto the Eravna land and carried it through the open doors of the datsan. The dream of returning the shrine of the then Khambo Lama Munko Tsybikov to his native datsan came true. He carried this dream through years of arrests, prison camps and long exile in Kolyma.

“We gladly accepted the order to deliver Zandan Zhuu.” It was difficult to fly. Wet snow, poor visibility. When we flew over Khorinsk, the ground was covered with snow. We chose a low flight ceiling. My colleagues Sergei Boyko and Vasily Bayusheev are experienced pilots. The responsible mission is completed. Let the prayers made in your datsan be heard by everyone. May God help everyone! - said then the commander of the Mi-8 crew A.V. Vatulin regional newspaper "Ulan-Tuya".

Almost 14 years later, on September 20, 2005, the helicopter made a circle of honor for the second time and landed at the Egituysky datsan. Imagine the surprise of the greeting villagers when they recognized the crew as the same pilots who had returned the shrine in extreme conditions in September 1991. This time, Mikhail Slipenchuk, who was getting acquainted with Buryatia, asked them to take them to the shrine. Seeing the enthusiastic curiosity of the children surrounding the helicopter, he asked the pilots to take the children for a ride. The children crowded into the cabin with joyful cries and for the first time in their lives flew around their native valley in a circle. And below at this time, a new guest, impressed by Zandan Zhuu, decided to help in the construction of a palace for the shrine.

Hello, dear readers – seekers of knowledge and truth!

An amazing monument to Buddha, created during the lifetime of Teacher Shakyamuni himself, has survived to this day. The monument is called Sandalwood Buddha. What’s even more surprising about this fact is that it is located in Russia, namely in one of the datsans in Buryatia, so we simply have to tell you about it.

The centuries-old history of the statue, its appearance, features – the article below will tell you everything. You will also learn a wonderful legend about the creation of the monument. And for those who are already preparing to travel to see the shrine with their own eyes, we have collected useful information about where the datsan is located and how it works.

What kind of statue is this

Sandalwood Buddha, Sandalwood Lord or, in the Buryat manner, Zandan Zhuu is the most valuable relic of Buddhism. The fact is that this is the only statue created during the life of Shakyamuni.

Of course, there are skeptics who claim that other statues and paintings were also created before his parinirvana. This may be true, but in any case, Zandan Zhuu is the only one of them that has survived to this day.

Now Zandan Zhuu is located in the Egituisky datsan of the Buryat Republic. He is identified with the living Buddha. It is believed that the energy of Shakyamuni is concentrated in it, and therefore the statue is capable of bestowing goodness. Many of those who happened to visit her confirm this action.

Zandan Zhuu has powerful energy: some visitors leave, unable to stay near the shrine for a long time, while others, on the contrary, can sit in front of it for hours without noticing the time.

According to Buddhist views, the statue promotes purification, a happy long life, full of health and successful events. The main thing is to sincerely believe in it, combine it with regular practice and a lifestyle worthy of a Buddhist.

In addition to the undeniable reverence of Buddhists around the world, the sandalwood Buddha has earned the title of a monument of Russian culture at the federal level.

Legend of the appearance

According to the Buddhist text "Anutara Nikaya", written in the 4th century AD by the priest Dharmanandi, the appearance of the lifetime statue of the Teacher has an interesting mythical history. Shakyamuni was in the Tushita heaven, where he shared the basics of teaching with his mother Maya. At this time, the Indian king Prasenajit wanted to see the Teacher, but this was not possible.

Then the master architects who met with Gautama were sent to heaven. Returning to earth, they sculpted the body of the Buddha from sandalwood with amazing accuracy from memory.

Returning to the human world himself, Shakyamuni saw that his sandalwood copy had taken 6 steps towards him. Then the Teacher predicted that the statue would gradually move further and further north, and Buddhism would begin to flourish in that area. And so it happened - crowds flock to the Egituysky datsan, which carefully preserves the all-Buddhist shrine.

Egituisky datsan in Buryatia

Another version, less legendary, but obviously more reliable, says that the statue was ordered by the Indian Raja Udiyana more than 2.5 thousand years ago. Shakyamuni was then 38 years old.

Historical reference

Over the years, the statue has undergone many movements. They can be traced on a map of Asia.

Created on ancient Indian territory, in the 3rd century it was moved to Chinese lands. She remained there for a relatively short time - in the 4th century, hostilities began in the Celestial Empire, and one Kashmiri monk took her with him to the former Buddhist country - Kucha, where he himself took the post of chief confessor.

By the 8th century, the wife of the ruler of Tibet brought the monument with them to the future Lhasa. Very soon the Buddhist teaching conquered the Tibetans with its truth. By the 13th century, the location of the statue was called Mongolian steppes, where she stayed for several centuries, and then - the Chinese monastery of Sandan Sy.

Tibet, Lhasa

With the advent of the 20th century, there was unrest in the capital of China, and in January 1901, a fire broke out in the monastery where the Sandalwood Lord was kept. Cossacks originally from Buryatia rescued him from the fire and brought him to their small homeland. This is how the sculpture ended up in the Egituisky datsan.

There is a version that Buryat craftsmen created a copy of the shrine from metal, exhibited it in the datsan hall, and hid the original. When the Japanese found out where the Buddha statue was kept, they came to the datsan to take it away, but found only a copy.

IN Soviet time religious sites were destroyed, temples and churches were closed, and Buddhist datsans were no exception. Then Zandan Zhuu was sent to the Buryat capital - Ulan-Ude. It was stored in local history museum and only half a century later he returned to the Buddhists.

In September 1991, an important event occurred - the statue on air transport returned to the datsan. At the beginning of this century, it was ranked among the Buddhist shrines of the Russian Federation.

Appearance

The statue of the Sandalwood Lord looks very majestic - 2 meters 18 centimeters. It is made of sandalwood, but some researchers claim that in reality the material is linden, coated with sandalwood-based paint.

Sandalwood Buddha in Egituysky datsan, Buryatia

Zandan Zhuu's arms are long: the right one is raised and bent at the elbow, symbolizing greetings and good intentions, and the other is lowered down, parallel to the body, but the palm faces outward. The Buddha's eyelids are peacefully closed, and his eyes look slightly upward.

Temple for shrine

The Zandana Zhuu Temple is located in the Egituisky datsan, which in Tibetan is called Damchoy Ravzheling. Built in the 19th century, it did not survive the 1930s. By the early 2000s it was rebuilt.

Some visitors are surprised by the facade of the building, made according to the generally accepted canons of Tibetan temples, but made of ceramic tiles. This architectural solution is caused by fire safety considerations.

Around the same time, a separate one-story dugan was built specifically for storing the statue. The trends are observed there modern architecture, and the implemented technologies help maintain the required temperature, humidity, and lighting. This temple was consecrated in the summer of 2008.

Today datsan is a pleasant place in the middle picturesque nature, where Buddhist pilgrims come, as well as simply curious tourists. The territory is quite vast, there are bells and other attributes all around, immersing you in the atmosphere of Buddhism. Khurals are held on certain days.

Helpful information

How to get to the Egituisky datsan: from the capital Ulan-Ude, 280 kilometers along the eastern road to the Khara-Shibir area near the Marakta River. The full address that the navigator will help you find: Buryatia, Eravninsky district, Egita village, Datsan street, building 3.

The datsan is open to visitors every day from 10 am to 7 pm. The schedule of khurals can be viewed on the official website.

Conclusion

The Sandalwood Buddha statue is a unique heritage of its kind and the main shrine in Buddhism. Therefore, it is especially pleasant that it is located in our country, in the Buryat Egituisky datsan. The statue was created under the Teacher himself, and subsequently traveled hundreds of kilometers over the course of 2.5 thousand years. It was where the statue appeared that the teachings of Shakyamuni spread.

Thank you very much for your attention, dear readers! I would like to believe that after reading our article, you will certainly want to visit the datsan, where the statue is sacredly kept, to see it with your own eyes.

Join us - subscribe to the blog to receive new interesting posts in your email! We will be glad to see you!

See you soon!

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

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

According to the 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 some Buddhist organization in China. These are probably private individuals of foreign origin, and accordingly they should be dealt with by the Russian special services,” noted Bilikto Dugarov.

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

Lifetime image of Buddha

According to the famous Russian Buddhist scholar Andrey Terentyev, in the Mahayana Buddhist tradition there are several sculptural and painted portraits made during the life of the Buddha. However, only one of these images is considered to have survived to this day. This is precisely the famous statue of the Sandalwood Buddha Zandan Zhuu, which is located in the Egituisky datsan.

It was originally a “life-size” (that is, about 2 m) sculpture made of goshirsha (a type of sandalwood), commissioned by Raja Udayana in the 38th year of Shakyamuni’s life.

This story was first recorded in writing in the Chinese translation of the Ekottara Agama Sutra, an expanded Mahayana version of the An Guttara Nikaya, compiled by the Tocharian monk Dharmanandi in 385. The oral tradition must be much older than this year, since already in Kushan times another version of this legend was known, 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, wanting 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 Kuchi 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 taken to China along with this statue. The statue remained in Chang'an until 417, 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, 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 Sandalwood Buddha.

In 970, another copy was made at the request of a Japanese pilgrim. Chōnen(938-1016) and taken to Japan. There it is still considered the holiest relic of Japanese Buddhism to this day. In 1018, it was installed in the Shaka Hall of Seikaji Temple, where it remains to this day.

He spoke about the history of the Sandalwood Buddha and the famous Zhang-zha Khutukhta Rolbi Dorje(1717-1786): “...And then they erected the Zandan Zhuu shrine in the great monastery of “Mingzhunsi” - a city located on the site of present Beijing during the Dai Zhin dynasty of Jurchen. Subsequently, all the emperors who inherited the throne gave her the highest honors, building many temples... And during the great Mongol dynasty Dai Yuan, Zandan Zhuu was installed in the Shen'ansi monastery. By order of Emperor Kublai Sechen (the Wise), they built a vihar monastery on the site of the present great White Stupa (Baitasy) and established a large monastic order, rendered unparalleled and unceasing honors and held prayer services. Subsequent Yuan (Mongol) emperors and the kings of the Ming dynasty prayed and worshiped equally diligently and diligently. The time has come for the Chin (Qing) Dynasty, the fourth year of Emperor Kangxi. 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 the precious Zhuu was transferred there.”

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

How Zandan Zhuu got to Buryatia

In 1900, during the Boxer uprising in China, the Sundansy monastery was destroyed, and the statue was transported to the temple of the Buryat village of Eravna - to the Egituisky datsan.

There are three known versions of the transportation of the statue to Russian territory. So, Bazaar Baradin reported that the Chinese monks themselves transported her there, saving her from French pogroms during the suppression of the Boxer uprising in Beijing. According to the second version, set forth by A. M. Strelkov, the monks took her to Utaishan, and there were Buryats, namely the Egitui lama Erdeni Sorzho(his real name is Gombo Dorje), she was bought and brought to Eravna. According to the third version, the Buryat Cossacks took the precious statue out of the monastery during a fire 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 remaining from the burnt monastery into several large jugs. These jars are a religious relic that is still worshiped today.

Be that as it may, in January 1901 the statue was installed in the Egituisky datsan. In 1935, the Soviet government destroyed the datsans, and the statue ended up in the collections of the Anti-Religious Museum of Ulan-Ude. At the same time, they took out the diamond that had been inserted there thousands of years ago from the Buddha’s ur-na-koshi and broke the ushnisha of the statue, after which the sacred investments stored there disappeared. The statue itself, which, according to the Bolsheviks, had no “currency value,” survived.

Return to Egituisky datsan

On September 25, 1991, the statue was returned to the newly rebuilt Egituysky datsan. As the famous journalist and writer Alexander Makhachkeev, who then worked at the Ministry of Culture of Rb, told Baikalskaya Pravda, he had to participate at that time in the process of transferring the statue to the Egituisky datsan.

It is said that when the Sandalwood Buddha was taken out of Eravna, people threw money into the truck. Then this made a huge impression on law enforcement officials, because the truck arrived in Ulan-Ude literally filled with money. – told Alexander Makhachkeev.

According to him, when the decision was made to transfer Zandan Zhuu to the 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 scuffed its side against a stone pillar and my fingers were 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, a lifetime sculpture of a standing Buddha actually existed, and it was this that served as the prototype for the artists of Gandhara, Mathura and Bamiyan. By the 9th century there were at least four copies of this statue in China. It is difficult to say now which of them ended up in Beijing.

Currently, in the Egituisky datsan there is the same statue that stood for more than a thousand years in Beijing. The Buryat Zandan Zhuu, looking up in a completely unusual way, covered with dark sandalwood paste and three layers of Chinese gold leaf, exactly matches the description Rolby Dorje and other eyewitnesses who mention these features.

(from Tib. tsan dan jo bo), or Sandalwood Buddha, is a statue of Shakyamuni Buddha that is perhaps the most valuable relic of the entire Buddhist world. Buddhist legendary tradition claims that the lifetime sandalwood image of Shakyamuni Buddha was made in heaven, where the Buddha miraculously moved to teach the teachings to his mother, who was reborn as a goddess.


Photo © Buryad-Mongol Nom

The ruler of one of the small Indian states of that time, Raja Udayana, grieved for the missing teacher and ordered several sculptors to go to heaven and sculpt an exact copy of him there. Buddha liked the statue, and after his return to earth he declared it his deputy.



Representatives of the troops of the eight coalition powers in 1900. From left to right: Great Britain, USA, Russia, British India, Germany, France, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Japan.



The same fate awaited the Sandalwood Buddha Temple with its precious contents. However, the Buryat Cossacks from the Transbaikal Cossack Army who were part of the Russian contingent, at the request of the Mongol lamas, managed to secretly remove the statue from 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 well-known and omnipresent Agvan Dorzhiev, and the rector of the Egituy datsan, Lama Zodboev. As reported in the research: “She was transported on a sleigh, covered with straw, matting, disguised with provisions and postal details.” When the statue was brought to Buryatia, it was decided to place it in a remote datsan so as not to attract undue attention to it. The Russian authorities had no idea about the daring act of the Buryat Cossacks, and if they had found out, they would probably have regarded it as a dangerous malfeasance. The operation did not go beyond the “Buryat circle”.

The Sandalwood Buddha statue is a 2m 18cm tall image of Shakyamuni Buddha along with a small pedestal. Contrary to the name, the statue itself, as analysis showed, is made of linden and covered with a layer of sandalwood paste.

There is information that the upper part of Zandan-Zhuu’s head was originally decorated with a ruby ​​or diamond, and the relics of Buddha were placed inside the statue.

Tradition also claims that the statue does not rest on a pedestal, but seems to float in the air, a hair's breadth away from it. Therefore, it is supposedly possible to verify its authenticity by passing a silk thread between the soles of the feet and the base. However, such a check has not been carried out, as well as a full scientific analysis of the age of the wood. And this despite the fact that the statue was for some time in storage in the Odigitrievsky Museum, which served as a museum storage facility, and under restoration in the Hermitage. In 1991 of the last century, the statue was returned to the Egituisky datsan.





Photo © Buryad-Mongol Nom

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Screenshot from the website yelo-rinpoche.ru, press service of the datsan "Rinpoche Bagsha"

Thousands of believers presented offerings to the Great Teacher [photo, video]

On Saturday, September 10, Venerable Yeshe Lodoy Rinpoche performed a ritual to consecrate the 33-meter-high image of Buddha Shakyamuni, carved on the Bayan Khongor rock. Last year, a statue of Buddha, custom-made in India, was erected on a hill near the village of Bayangol, and three stupas of reconciliation were consecrated. The following year, the people of Bayangol asked for help in building 8 stupas around Lake Mogoi. It is planned to place 4 thousand figurines of various Buddhist deities in the suburgans.
Buddha Shakyamuni on Mount Bayan-Khongor near the village of Bayangol is a unique creation. It will be awarded the title of the largest Buddha image in Russia and will be included in the list of the largest Buddha images in the world.

The idea of ​​erecting a giant Buddha was expressed by the residents of Bayangol at a village gathering. With this initiative they approached the datsan on Bald Mountain in Ulan-Ude by Yeshe Lodoy Rinpoche. The rector supported the people's proposal. Moreover, as it turned out, this was his long-time dream.

“About 15-16 years ago we visited the “heart” of Baikal for the first time - Olkhon Island, went on a boat along the Irkutsk shore,” recalls Rinpoche’s closest student Geshe Lharamba Tenzin Lama, “Majestic rocks growing out of the water surface and rushing into the sky , impressed Bagsha with their beauty and power. And then he had an idea - to make a large statue of the World Precious Teacher Buddha Shakyamuni in the rock. IN Asian countries This is an ancient tradition, and there was nothing like it in Russia.”

Help website: The world's largest and oldest Buddha carved into a rock is located in Chinese province Sichuan. Its height is 71 meters, age is about 1200 years. It took almost 90 years to build. The largest statue in the world is also of Buddha. And it is also located in China, in Henan province. The 128-meter monument depicts Buddha Vairochana, one of the five sacred Buddhas who personify wisdom. The idea to create a grandiose shrine came to the Chinese after the Taliban barbarically destroyed two huge Buddha statues in Afghanistan in 2001. Their age was dated to the 6th century AD.

“Then we began to look for a suitable object. On Baikal it was difficult to do this purely technically. They also searched in other areas. Sometimes there were rocks that were too low, sometimes too high, sometimes too prominent. And last year, when we also installed a statue of Buddha near Bayangol, but a small one, one meter high, made to special order in India from onyx, I noticed the neighboring rock. It was ideal for realizing the Teacher’s idea - smooth, beautiful and quite high, about fifty meters. And most importantly - ideally located!

Typically, Buddhist shrines are built “facing” south, be they temples, stupas or statues. We consciously wanted to move a little away from this tradition and make sure that the Buddha’s gaze was directed towards Moscow and other large Russian cities. In such a difficult time, it was simply necessary to do this for the benefit of the entire country and all living beings! At all times, the construction of Buddha statues, stupas, and datsans was considered a very beneficial deed. In the places where they appear, everything comes into harmony. In nature, various kinds of disasters cease, mutual understanding comes into people’s relationships, they get sick less and die from accidents, all living things find peace and tranquility,” says Tenzin Lama.

“But the Teacher then said that the time had not yet come. And now, a year later, the residents of the Khorinsky district themselves came up with this proposal. The Bayan-Khongor rock has long been considered among the Khorin Buryats sacred place. Here, residents of the village of Bayan-Gol 2 times a year - in the summer and on the second day of Sagaalgan - hold oboo, and throughout the year they often come to worship the shrines. The so-called munkhanas are installed here - small houses containing thangkas and figurines of Buddhist deities. Last year a Buddha statue and 3 stupas appeared. Rinpoche thought about it for a long time and finally agreed. Moreover, this is the birthplace of his root Teacher.

Website reference: Venerable Yeshe Lodoy Rinpoche was born in Tibet in 1943. At the age of three he was recognized as the fourth rebirth of Yelo Rinpoche. In Tibet, such people are called tuluku - it is believed that they consciously continue the chain of their rebirths, devoting their lives to helping all living beings.
From the age of seven, Yelo Rinpoche devoted himself to monasticism and the study of Buddhist philosophy. In 1959, due to the occupation of Tibet by China, he left his homeland and moved through the kingdom of Bhutan to India, where he continued his studies.
The root Teacher of Yeshe Lodoya Rinpoche is Lama Dulva-hambo Thubten Choki, a Buryat by nationality. The renowned tantra master taught Yelo Rinpoche a course in vinaya - monastic discipline. Also, under the leadership of a lama from Buryatia, the Venerable Agwan-Nima, in 1979 Yelo Rinpoche defended the title of “Geshe-lharamba” - the highest Buddhist academic degree. In 1993, at the request of the Buryat clergy and on behalf of His Holiness, he arrived in Buryatia, in the Ivolginsky datsan to teach at the Tashi Choinohrling Buddhist Institute. Since then, Yeshe Lodoy Rinpoche remained to live and work in Buryatia, for the benefit of all living beings and the prosperity of the Dharma.

In 1999, at an audience with the Dalai Lama, Yelo Rinpoche conveyed the requests of believers from Buryatia to open a Buddhist center and received His Holiness’s blessing to begin construction. 5 years later, in 2004, the opening of the Rinpoche Bagsha datsan took place on Bald Mountain in Ulan-Ude.

The plan was implemented quite quickly. All necessary approvals have been passed. Sponsors, craftsmen, and artists were found. Locals actively helped during construction. The image of Shakyamuni Buddha was made as majestic as possible, but with minimal impact on nature. They did not carve a full-fledged statue or bas-relief. They just removed the top layer of the rock, drew the outlines of the World Teacher seated in the lotus position and painted it.

The height of the image is exactly 33 meters. In Buddhism, this number also has its own sacred meaning. It is believed that there is the most high world on Earth, the so-called Trayastrimsha - “World of 33 Gods” or “Collection of 33 Gods”, which is located on the top of Mount Sumeru. Trayastrimsha is often mentioned in Buddhist texts when the Buddha ascends to the Thirty-three Gods, or the gods of this world themselves descend to earth to meet the Buddha.

“The creation of the statue of Shakyamuni Buddha is not accidental. Buddha Shakyamuni, the highest nirmanakaya, was born in our world, performed twelve feats, including turning the Wheel of the Teaching. All the time that the Buddha’s Teaching remains in the world, it is an incomparable, limitless cure for the diseases of our obscurations and suffering. Let the statue of Buddha Shakyamuni become a symbol of the unification of our pure intentions in the implementation of the teachings and a symbol of the fact that the Buddhist teachings - the dharma that the Buddha gave 2500 years ago, and now resides in our world,” says the teacher.

About 4 thousand people attended the Ramney ritual. 80 buses transported pilgrims from the Square of Soviets free of charge. After the consecration ritual, a festive concert and sports competitions took place.

Interview with Venerable Yeshe Loda Rinpoche:

- At the end of the ritual, a symbolic million flowers were offered to the image of Buddha? Is this some kind of tradition?

When a Buddha statue is created, the image of Buddha is a great virtue. And when an image of such a gigantic size is created, it is also a huge, incomparable virtue! Accordingly, the larger, richer and more beautiful the offerings, the more good merit we accumulate. And flowers in Buddhism are a traditional type of offering, along with white food, sweets and fruits.

- Why is the height of the Buddha image exactly 33 meters?

In the Buddhist tradition there is such a good attitude towards the number “33”, there is even an abode of the gods of 33 deities. Initially, it was not planned to make the image so large, but when they measured the rock, it turned out that it was about 55 meters high. Then they decided to make it exactly 33 meters. It fits in very harmoniously. This is also a kind of sign.