Mongolica. Vol. XXVII, No. 2. Materials of the 1st international conference for young scholars “Modern Buddhist education, historical, cultural and philosophical studies” / Ed. by I. V. Kulganek (editor-in-chief), D. A. Nosov (secretary), M. A. Kozintcev (deputy secretary). St Petersburg, 2024. 92 p. ISSN 2311-5939.

CONTENTS

International Conference of Young Scholars “Modern Buddhist Education, Historical, Cultural and Philosophical Studies” (St. Petersburg, November 22–24, 2023) (From the Editorial Board) — 5


Dilshod N. Azizov. Analysis and Reconstruction of Wall Painting in the Buddhist Temple of the City of Zar-tepе — 20
According to archaeological finds, life in Zar Tepe flourished from the 4th–2nd centuries BCE until the 5th–7th centuries CE. The inhabitants of the Zar Tepe settlement mainly worshiped Buddhism. During the research, Buddhist temples were also discovered in Zar Tepe. During excavations here, the head and other parts of a golden Buddha statue were found. In 1977, as a result of archaeological excavations in Zar Tepe, a unique sample of paintings on the wall and ceiling was found. These paintings were discovered by the archaeologist Shakir R. Pidaev. The Zar Tepe wall painting is unique in its free interpretation on the territory of the former Kushan Empire. This, in turn, indicates that ancient artists were provided with good opportunities for free creativity.
Keywords: Uzbekistan, Bactria, Kushan, Zar Tepe, Buddha, fresco, painting, Garuda, Vishna, reconstruction, size, artist, restoration, archaeology.

Yuliya I. Elikhina. Tibetan Buddhist Art of the 11th to Early 20th Centuries: A Textbook for Universities (a draft) — 24
Despite the fact that Buddhist collections are presented in various museums, there is still not a single serious study in Russia devoted to the Buddhist art of Tibet and all its components. Tibetan art is based on compliance with the canon and iconography, the objects are made using complex casting techniques, paintings are created on canvas. The article discusses a draft textbook dedicated to Tibetan Buddhist art. The textbook will be intended for university students.
Keywords: Tibetan Buddhist art, canons, iconography, composition.

Tsyrenzshap D. Zambalov (Yonden Sodnam). A Summary Commentary on the Adornment of the Attainments of Prajnaparamita. Omniscience — 27
The article presents the publishing project of the first chapter of the multi-volume work “Summary Commentary on the Decoration of the Attainments of Prajnaparamita”, containing a total of 8 chapters. The study includes bilingual texts in Tibetan and Russian, Tibetan texts and quotations are given in the original and are accompanied by translations. To date, these texts have not been translated into Russian. The book both in the size of the initial chapter, and in a full multivolume edition, is intended for use as a basic educational and scientific publication for religious and secular, Buddhist and Buddhological, educational organizations of higher and additional education.
Keywords: Buddha, Shakyamuni, Maitreya, Prajnaparamita, Madhyamika, Je Tsongkhapa, Gelugpa school, Jamyan Shedpa, Arya Asanga.

Julia N. Kulikova, Maria A. Shikunova. Saint-Petersburg State Roerich Family Museum And Institute and Datsan Gunzechoyney: From the Experience of Collaboration — 34
Buddhism played a significant role in the worldview of the Roerich family. Throughout their life journey, they constantly addressed this topic, each in their own way, but in the end, this family made a tremendous contribution to the dissemination and study of Buddhism. The paper focuses on the experience of collaboration between the Museum and Institute of the Roerich Family and the Datsan Gunzechoyney. This collaboration takes place in various forms, including creating exhibitions and participating in international conferences. Since 2018 Buda Balzhiyevich Badmaev, the abbot of the Buddhist temple in St. Petersburg, has been delivering public (free) lectures at the Museum-Institute. This interaction with the Datsan allows the Museum-Institute to expand its audience of listeners through internet broadcasts of lectures and visual posters.
Keywords: N. K. Roerich, the Museum and Institute of the Roerich family, Datsan Gunzechoyney, B. B. Badmaev, lectures.

Rustam F. Nabiev, Garif G. Tazeev, Igor A. Sabirov. To the Question of Researching Ethnonyms: even-yuyven-imen-mani — 44
In the article, the authors propose a version that a number of similar ethnonyms belonging mainly to the Manchu-speaking peoples (ethnonyms even-yuyven-imen-mani) have a common origin among themselves and with the designation of the Mongol dynasty of medieval China — yuan/yuwen. This assumption is based on a number of testimonies about the closeness of the ethnocultures of the Mongols and the Manchus. The similarity of these ethnonyms and politonyms may be due to the former unity of the proto-Mongols and the Tungus-Manchus with a single designation of this community. This corresponds with the version of the final separation of the Mongols from the Tungus-Manchu community during the formation of the Mongol Empire. In our opinion, the adoption of the term Yuwen by the Mongol dynasty as the official designation, was intended to create a cohesive elite community of the new empire on the basis of deep cultural and dynastic ties and a common origin from the even-yuyven-imen-mani community. This approach allowed the Mongols to create a sufficiently broad base of former “barbarians” to organize sustainable control over the conquered China. It is important to note that the Manchus recognized this cultural affinity. The article uses the materials and methods of source studies, oriental studies, ethnography and comparative linguistics. The material of the article can be used by comparative linguists, orientalists, ethnographers, historians of the North Eurasian powers.
Keywords: tungus; manchus; even; yuwen; imen; mani; community; Northern Eurasia.

Tatiana I. Norina. The Famous Paintings of Kalmyk Artist Garry Rokchinsky Through the Digital Prism of Kandinsky 2.2 — 50
Kalmyk folklore is diverse and unique. It is impossible to imagine the history of Kalmykia without epics, fairy tales, legends, songs and poetry. The paintings of the Kalmyk artist Garry Rokchinsky are a prime example of the modern culture of Kalmykia. His works express ethnic identity and the idea of nomadism. The article describes 5 famous paintings of Garry Rokchinsky through the prism of digital technologies, namely the neural network Kandinsky 2.2, giving a brief comparison of real and digital works.
Keywords: modern art, national traditions, Kalmykia, Garry Rokchinsky, Kandinsky 2.2, digital technologies.

Bair L. Tushinov. Chahar Geshe Losang Tsultim (1740–1810): The Education of Je Tsongkhapa in Central Tibet — 54
The paper deals with some unknown facts concerning the history of the teaching of the outstanding Buddhist figure Je Tsongkhapa Losang Dakpa (rje tsong kha pa blo bzang grags pa, 1357–1419) in Central Tibet on the basis of the work “The Source of All Goods and Happiness: biography of the great omniscient Je Tsongkhapa, presented in an easy to understand way” (rje thams cad mkhyen pa’i tsong kha pa chen po’i rnam thar go sla bar brjod pa bde legs kun gyi ‘byung gnas) written in Mongolian and Tibetan, of the famous Mongolian scholar Chahar Geshe Losang Tsultim (cha har dge bshes blo bzang tshul khrims, 1740–1810).
Keywords: Buddhist education, Chahar-gebshi, Great Namtar, biography of Tsongkhapa, Losang Tsultim.

Ejincairang (Ogyen Tsering). Training of a Lay Person in a Tibetan Monastery: Personal Experience — 66
The author describes his studies at a Buddhist monastery in the Qinghai Province of China during high school vacations in 2014 and 2015. For those lay people who wish to study their native Tibetan culture more thoroughly, a simplified curriculum of traditional subjects and texts is organized. Traditional teaching methods are used and lama teachers take no fee from their students.
Keywords: Tibetan Buddhism, Buddhist monastery, traditional sciences, pedagogics, Qinghai.

Roman L. Chilchigashev. The Sacred Architecture of Datsan Gunzechoinei — 69
In this paper, an attempt is made to discuss the canonical principles of constructing a copy of the St. Petersburg Datsan Gunzechoinei in Lumbini, Nepal. Since there is a standard, in this case the task of the design is reduced to solving the problem “from the reverse”, when the correct answer is known. Datsan Gunzechoinei is a spatial mandala dedicated to Kalachakra. The temple geometry is clearly traced, both in plan and in volume — everything falls into a certain structure — the dimensions of the building, the placement of the inner planes of the walls, the external dimensions (including the width of the cornice), floor level marks for the floors and even the height of the ganjir. Clear functional zoning, location on the cardinal directions, the exact position of the light lantern, drawings on the floor, details of decoration, patterns, colors — everything follows the canonical laws of the construction of the Datsan mandala.
Keywords: Datsan Gunzechoinei, Dorzhiev, Shcherbatskoy, Roerich, Lumbini, Shakyamuni Buddha, tangka, mandala, bumba bookmark.

ACADEMIC LIFE

Liubov I. Kriakina, Kristina V. Korosteleva. The Exhibition of Buddhist Written Monuments from the Collection of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Dedicated to the International Conference of Young Scholars “Modern Buddhist Education, Historical, Cultural and Philosophical Studies” (St. Petersburg, November 22–24, 2023) — 78
Keywords: Buddhist written monuments, restoration, conservation.

REVIEWS

Natalia V. Yampolskaya. Rev. of the book: Ondřej Srba. Мongolian Ritual Texts in Manuscript Collections in the Czech Republic. Рart 1 / Ed. with Michal Schwarz. — Brno: Masaryk University Press, 2022. — 497 p.: ill. — ISBN 978-80-280-0238-1 — 85

Natalia S. Yakhontova. Rev. of the book: B. V. Meniaev. Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Khoshuts of Kalmykia: Research and Materials. Elista: Kalmyk University Press. 2023. — 544 p. ISBN: 978-5-91458-432-7 (in Russian) — 89

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