Popular Buddhism and Sangaril Ritual of Buryats
The aim of this article is to study vital but not well investigated problem that is important from theoretic and practical points of view. Popular Buddhism and the tradition of joint reading at prayers' homes, sangaril have never attracted the attention of researchers. Nine hypotheses are put forward in the article, they have been tested by a number of reliable and complementary sources and have allowed coming to valid conclusions. Popular Buddhism in modern Buryatia preserves its fundamental characteristics, but on the other hand, despite of the global rise of educational level of the population, we can reveal insufficient volume of religious knowledge among population. Followers of Buddhism in Buryatia are presented by three groups: ethnic Buddhists, Buddhists by religious identity, and practitioners. The first two groups reveal the vagueness of religious definitions in the mass consciousness, lack of knowledge of the basic tenets of Buddhism (symbolism of “the three jewels”, the value of Lama and others). Against this background, the group of Buddhist practitioners stands out in the modern Buryat rural society, mostly elderly women, often involved in sangaril. This group of people that is constantly replenishing, promotes intergenerational transmission of basic postulates of Buddhism. Buddhist practitioners with the Buddhist clergy contribute to further revival of religion. Sangaril is the innovative folk Cultural studiesreligious practice of popular Buddhism that appeared in the USSR in order to preserve Buddhism and it increased significantly in Russia. The article might be useful for BTSR (Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia), ordinary laymen and specialists.