Zandan zhuu sandalwood buddha. A statue of the Buddha of Compassion will be installed in Buryatia

Sandalwood Buddha

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

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

In the Buddhist tradition, she is equated with the living Buddha and brings limitless blessing to the world.

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

History of appearance and path traveled

About how the very first of the images of Buddha Shakyamuni arose, there are different points sights and many legends. The Indian version says that it was performed by Vishwamitra while the Buddha was giving a teaching. He carved the statue from sandalwood, looking at the reflection in the water, as a bright radiance emanated from the Enlightened One himself.

There is also a known mention in history of Shakyamuni Buddha, indicating the existence of a statue that arose during his lifetime and is known as the “Image from Uddiyana,” a statue made at the request of the ruler of this amazing ancient Buddhist country.
It is said that this sculptural portrait emitted “divine light.”

In the later Mahayana sutras it is written about him: “Maidgalyayana-putra, a follower of the Buddha, transported the artist to the heavenly spaces, where Shakyamuni Buddha retired for three months to convey the Teachings to his mother. There the artist saw the excellent signs of the Buddha's body 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). We are talking about Sandalwood Buddha here.
According to A.A. Terentyev, according to the Chinese translation of the Ekottara-agama-sutra (from the Anuttara-nikaya), set forth by the Tocharian monk Dharmanandi (385 AD), the history of the origin Zandan-Juu statues is this:
Buddha Shakyamuni resided in Tushita heaven, preaching the Dharma to his mother Maya, who was reborn there after death. At this time, Raja Prasenajit very much wanted to see the Enlightened Lord. Then the closest disciple of the Buddha, Maudgalyayana, who had achieved miraculous abilities, took 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 Shakyamuni Buddha returned, the statue greeted him and took six steps towards him, and this served as the basis for the Buddha's prophecy about this statue: it will move to the north, and where it is located, Buddhism should flourish.
Centuries later, the Buddha statue actually left India.

Chinese sources mention information about her further journey in a northern direction.

China

So in the 4th century, the monk Kumarayana from Kashmir, wanting to save the precious statue during bloody local wars, took it to Central Asia. He settled in an oasis city along the Silk Road called Kucha, where he married the sister of the local ruler, Jivaka, and became a spiritual mentor. From that time on, Buddhism began to flourish there. The son of that same monk, Kumarajiva, grew up in an environment conducive to the study of the Dharma, and became a famous Buddhist sage. His fame was so loud that in 384 troops were sent from China to Kucha to capture Kumarajiva. Along with him, the Sandalwood Buddha statue was also 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 Srontsangambo and brought Buddhist relics to the Land of Snows, among which was a statue of the Sandalwood Buddha. The Nepalese princess Bhrikuti was considered the incarnation of Green Tara, and the Chinese princess Wen-chen was considered the incarnation of White Tara. Already under the next ruler of Tibet, Tisrondetsen, Buddhism became the state religion in this country.

Mongolia

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

From Mongolia the statue returned to China. It was kept in the province of Li, in the temple Buddhist monastery, built especially for her - Sandan-Sy “Sandalwood 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 wonderful statue when visiting Beijing.

Russia

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

This happened thanks to our Buryat Cossacks, who found themselves in China at that time, but exactly how is not known.

Orientalist and Buddhist V.M. Montlevich wrote: “But fragments of information about the abduction itself have been preserved, and this information is more or less reliable, for it was told to me in 1969 by the famous Russian orientalist Boris Ivanovich Pankratov, who lived in China for thirty-two years (since 1916 to 1948)".

In 1890-1901, the Yihetuan Uprising broke out in Beijing, when the secret society I-he-quan "Fist for Justice and Harmony" organized unrest in the country, commonly known as the Boxer Rebellion.

In June 1901, Beijing was captured by 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 found themselves in Beijing at this difficult time, also took part in these events.

According to one version, during a fire they took the precious statue out of the monastery, and thereby saved it from death, then in the winter of 1901 they delivered it to their native Buryatia as a trophy. According to another version, the sandalwood statue was bought by the lamas of the Egitui datsan during the uprising and came to Eravna thanks to the incredible efforts of the Sorzho Lama of the Egitui datsan Gombo Dorzho Erdyneev and many other people who risked their lives, taking it out of China with great precautions. One way or another, the precious statue of the Sandalwood Buddha went even further to the north, and ended up at the beginning of the 20th century in Transbaikalia, in the Egetui 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 securely hidden. In search famous statue Soon Japanese experts arrived in Buryatia and received information that the statue was in the Egetui datsan. When they saw the metal copy, they were greatly disappointed and were forced to leave with nothing. Until 1935, the statue was reliably hidden in Buryatia, until the tragic times of anti-religious policies for Buddhism came in Russia, when datsans were destroyed, many valuable relics were destroyed, and lamas were repressed. But the statue survived even during this difficult time. It 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 closet on the second floor. At the same time a huge number of wonderful cult relics and works perished in the fire and without proper storage conditions. On September 25, 1991, the statue was returned to the Buddhists, transferred to the same Egitui datsan, where the metal copy was once openly revered. For the first time in Russia, only now the Sandalwood Buddha appeared before. people. This is regarded as a good omen for the development of the Dharma not only in Buryatia, but also in our country as a whole, the statue contains a strong blessing from the Buddha, creating favorable conditions for the prosperity of the Teachings of the Buddha - Dharma, awakening interest in it.

Buddhist shrine of Russia

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

Therefore, the Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia decided to build a special room to store the statue while maintaining a constant microclimate. For 15 years, funds were raised for the construction of a temple-palace for the Sandalwood Buddha. Thanks to donations from parishioners of the Egituisky datsan and individual sponsors, the new temple Zandan Zhuu 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 ones especially for this celebration. national costumes. From noon to eight o'clock in the evening there was a never-ending line of people who came to the datsan to see the Buddha.
The long journey of the wonderful Zandan Zhuu statue from India through China, Tibet, Mongolia, to Russia, from country to country, in a northern direction over the centuries has become evidence of the fulfillment of the Buddha’s prophecy. On April 22, 2003, the decision of the Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia was made “to approve as Buddhist shrines of Russia: the statue of Zandan Zhuu,

Friday, February 07

13th lunar day with the element Fire. Auspicious day for people born in the year of the Horse, Sheep, Monkey and Chicken. Today is a good day to lay the foundation, build a house, dig the ground, start treatment, buy medicinal preparations, herbs, and conduct matchmaking. Going on the road means increasing your well-being. Unfavorable day for people born in the year of the Tiger and Rabbit. It is not recommended to make new acquaintances, make friends, start teaching, get a job, hire a nurse, workers, or buy livestock. Hair cutting- to happiness and success.

Saturday, February 08

14th lunar day with the element Earth. Auspicious day for people born in the year of the Cow, Tiger and Rabbit. Today is a good day to ask for advice, avoid dangerous situations, perform rituals to improve life and wealth, move to a new position, buy livestock. Unfavorable day for people born in the year of the Mouse and Pig. It is not recommended to write essays or publish works on scientific activity, listen to teachings, lectures, start a planned business, get or help get a job, hire workers. Going on the road means big troubles, as well as separation from loved ones. Hair cutting- to increase wealth and livestock.

Sunday, February 09

15th lunar day with the element Iron. Benevolent deeds and sinful acts committed on this day will multiply a hundred times. A favorable day for people born in the year of the Dragon. Today you can build a dugan, suburgan, lay the foundation of a house, build a house, start a planned business, study and comprehend science, open a bank account, sew and cut clothes, as well as for tough decisions on some issues. Not recommended move, change place of residence and work, bring a daughter-in-law, give a daughter as a bride, and also hold a funeral and wake. Hitting the road means bad news. Hair cutting- to good luck, to favorable consequences.

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 background

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 - hostilities began in the Celestial Empire in the 4th century, and one Kashmiri monk took her with him to the former Buddhist country of 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 era 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 desired temperature, humidity, and lighting. This temple was consecrated in the summer of 2008.

Today datsan - nice place in the middle of 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.

Useful 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 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.

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Zandan Zhuu (Sandalwood Buddha or Sandalwood Lord) - a sculpture of Buddha 2 m 18 cm high, made of sandalwood, according to legend, 2500 years ago by order of Raja Uddiyana.

Finding of Zandan Zhuu by the Egitui datsan

In the winter of 1901, the Sandalwood Buddha found himself in Transbaikalia. After the defeat of the Boxer Uprising, the Buryat Cossacks, taking advantage of the turmoil and devastation in Beijing, and the fire in the Sandan-sy monastery (“Sandalwood Buddha Monastery”), where the statue was kept at that time, took it out. The operation was led by the head of the postal and telegraph service Russian embassy in China N.I. Gomboev. The Buryat Cossacks carried the precious statue out of the burning monastery, and thereby saved it from death in the fire. As a trophy, the sculpture was taken with great care on a sleigh to Buryatia.

According to another version, Zandan Zhuu was brought to Eravna thanks to the incredible efforts of the Sorzho Lama of the Egitui datsan Gombo Dorzho Erdyneev and many other people who risked their lives. Upon arrival, a metal copy of the statue was made and placed in the Egituisky datsan, but the original was hidden. During the Civil War, Japanese invaders learned of the location of Zandan Zhuu. Upon arrival, they were shown a metal copy, and they left with nothing.

In the 1930s, the Sandalwood Buddha was kept in the Odigitrievsky Cathedral in the city of Ulan-Ude, where the funds of the Museum of Local Lore were then housed.

In the 1980s, the statue was returned to believers. On September 25, 1991, Zandan Zhuu was transported by helicopter to the Egituysky datsan.

On April 22, 2003, the Decision of the Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia was issued: “To approve as Buddhist shrines of Russia: the statue of Zandan Zhuu, Atlas of Tibetan Medicine, Precious body of Hambo Lama Itigelov.”

Sandalwood Buddha Temple

For some time, the statue was kept in the dugan of the Egituisky datsan, in a small wooden one-story building, not suitable for storing cultural and historical values. In this regard, the Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia decided to build a special storage room maintaining a constant microclimate. On July 25, 2008, the Sandalwood Buddha Temple was opened.

Buddhist legend about the appearance of the statue

According to the Tocharian monk Dharmanandi (385 CE, Ekottara Agama Sutras from the Anuttara Nikaya), the Buddha was in Tushita heaven, preaching the Dharma to his deceased mother Maya. Prasenajit wanted to see the Enlightened Lord and ordered a statue of him to be made. Maudgalyayana transported the masters to heaven, where they met the Buddha. After returning, the craftsmen sculpted a life-size statue from 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 be at Zandan Zhuu: some can’t stand it and leave the temple. Others, on the contrary, find that several hours have passed since they sat down opposite the Sandalwood Buddha. It is believed that the shrine eliminates negative deeds, bestows long life, and provides guidance for good luck, happiness, and health, if the worshiper hopes for it and believes in it from the bottom of his heart.

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Notes

Literature

• Buryats /Ans. ed. Abaeva L. L., Zhukovskaya N. L.; Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology named after. N. N. Mikhlukho Maclay. - M.: Science, 2004

Excerpt characterizing Sandalwood Buddha

“Oh, that would be so terrible...” she began and, without finishing from excitement, with a graceful movement (like everything she did in front of him), bowing her head and looking at him gratefully, she followed her aunt.
In the evening of that day, Nikolai did not go anywhere to visit and stayed at home in order to settle some scores with the horse sellers. When he finished his business, it was already too late to go anywhere, but it was still too early to go to bed, and Nikolai walked up and down the room alone for a long time, pondering his life, which rarely happened to him.
Princess Marya made a pleasant impression on him near Smolensk. The fact that he met her then in such special conditions, and the fact that it was her at one time that his mother pointed out to him as a rich match, made him pay special attention to her. In Voronezh, during his visit, the impression was not only pleasant, but strong. Nikolai was amazed at the special, moral beauty that he noticed in her this time. However, he was about to leave, and it did not occur to him to regret that by leaving Voronezh, he would be deprived of the opportunity to see the princess. But the current meeting with Princess Marya in the church (Nicholas felt it) sank deeper into his heart than he foresaw, and deeper than he desired for his peace of mind. This pale, thin, sad face, this radiant look, these quiet, graceful movements and most importantly - this deep and tender sadness, expressed in all her features, disturbed him and demanded his participation. Rostov could not stand to see in men the expression of a higher, spiritual life (that’s why he did not like Prince Andrei), he contemptuously called it philosophy, dreaminess; but in Princess Marya, precisely in this sadness, which showed the full depth of this spiritual world alien to Nicholas, he felt an irresistible attraction.
“She must be a wonderful girl! That's exactly the angel! - he spoke to himself. “Why am I not free, why did I hurry up with Sonya?” And involuntarily he imagined a comparison between the two: poverty in one and wealth in the other of those spiritual gifts that Nicholas did not have and which therefore he valued so highly. He tried to imagine what would happen if he were free. How would he propose to her and she would become his wife? No, he couldn't imagine this. He felt terrified, and no clear images appeared to him. With Sonya, he had long ago drawn up a future picture for himself, and all of this was simple and clear, precisely because it was all made up, and he knew everything that was in Sonya; but it was impossible to imagine a future life with Princess Marya, because he did not understand her, but only loved her.
Dreams about Sonya had something fun and toy-like about them. But thinking about Princess Marya was always difficult and a little scary.
“How she prayed! - he remembered. “It was clear that her whole soul was in prayer. Yes, this is the prayer that moves mountains, and I am confident that its prayer will be fulfilled. Why don't I pray for what I need? - he remembered. – What do I need? Freedom, ending with Sonya. “She told the truth,” he recalled the words of the governor’s wife, “except for misfortune, nothing will come from the fact that I marry her.” Confusion, woe maman... things... confusion, terrible confusion! Yes, I don't like her. Yes, I don’t love it as much as I should. My God! get me out of this terrible, hopeless situation! – he suddenly began to pray. “Yes, prayer will move a mountain, but you have to believe and not pray the way Natasha and I prayed as children for snow to become sugar, and we ran out into the yard to try to see if sugar was made from snow.” No, but I’m not praying for trifles now,” he said, putting the pipe in the corner and, folding his hands, standing in front of the image. And, touched by the memory of Princess Marya, he began to pray as he had not prayed for a long time. Tears were in his eyes and in his throat when Lavrushka entered the door with some papers.
- Fool! Why do you bother when they don’t ask you? - Nikolai said, quickly changing his position.
“From the governor,” Lavrushka said in a sleepy voice, “the courier has arrived, a letter for you.”
- Well, okay, thank you, go!
Nikolai took two letters. One was from the mother, the other from Sonya. He recognized their handwriting and printed out Sonya's first letter. Before he had time to read a few lines, his face turned pale and his eyes opened in fear and joy.
- No, this cannot be! – he said out loud. Unable to sit still, he holds the letter in his hands, reading it. began to walk around the room. He ran through the letter, then read it once, twice, and, raising his shoulders and spreading his arms, he stopped in the middle of the room with his mouth open and eyes fixed. What he had just prayed for, with the confidence that God would grant his prayer, was fulfilled; but Nicholas was surprised by this as if it was something extraordinary, and as if he had never expected it, and as if the very fact that it happened so quickly proved that it did not happen from God, whom he asked, but from ordinary chance.
That seemingly insoluble knot that tied Rostov’s freedom was resolved by this unexpected (as it seemed to Nikolai), unprovoked by Sonya’s letter. She wrote that the latest unfortunate circumstances, the loss of almost all of the Rostovs’ property in Moscow, and the countess’s more than once expressed desires for Nikolai to marry Princess Bolkonskaya, and his silence and coldness lately - all this together made her decide to renounce him promises and give him complete freedom.
“It was too hard for me to think that I could be the cause of grief or discord in the family that had benefited me,” she wrote, “and my love has one goal: the happiness of those I love; and therefore I beg you, Nicolas, to consider yourself free and to know that no matter what, no one can love you more than your Sonya.”

We were taken to the border of the Eravninsky district to a poetic rock garden dedicated to the poets of Buryatia.

This is how Eravninsky district greets

I'll write more about this a little later. Next we went deep into the Eravninsky district to the Khara-Shibir area, where on the banks of the Marakta River there is the Egituisky datsan with the sacred statue of the Sandalwood Buddha - Zandan Zhuu.

I admit, it was only on this trip that I learned that there is a statue of the Sandalwood Buddha in Buryatia. And this is not just a statue, but according to legend, the only lifetime sculpture of Buddha Shakyamuni that is recognized Buddhist shrine Russia. It is a world shrine of Buddhists, made entirely of sandalwood, the height of the statue is 2 m. 18 cm. The statue was made by order of Raja Uddiyana 2800 thousand years ago.

The statue came to the territory of Russia in Eravna thanks to the incredible efforts of the Sorzho Lama of the Egitui datsan Gombo Dorzho Erdyneev and many other people who risked their lives. The sandalwood statue was purchased by the lamas of the datsan during the Boxer Rebellion in China. According to another version, in the winter of 1901, after the defeat of the uprising in Beijing, the Buryat Cossacks carried out a precious statue from a burning monastery during a fire, and thereby saved it from death in the fire. As a trophy, the statue was taken with great care on a sleigh to Buryatia. At the same time, a metal copy of the statue was made, and the original was hidden. Until 1935, the statue was located in one of the sumes of the Egituisky datsan and was an object of worship and veneration. During the period of anti-religious repressions, the statue was transported to Ulan-Ude and kept in the funds National Museum history of Buryatia. ()

Before entering the temple-dugan of the Sandalwood Buddha, we were told the history of the Egitui datsan and the history of the Zandan Zhuu statue.

They also warned that the expression on the Sandalwood Buddha’s face changes depending on the viewing angle, and maybe on his attitude towards you, who knows :) Personally, when I walked in and looked at the Sandalwood Buddha’s face for the first time, it seemed to me that he was looking at us somewhat dissatisfied.

His lips were pursed in displeasure and the squinting of his eyes did not bode well. When I prayed and made offerings in the form of sweets and coins, my face seemed to become kinder and a slight smile appeared. Right there in the datsan there is a wooden board for prostrations, smoothly polished by the prostrations of those praying. I also did 21 prostrations praying for health, happiness and prosperity.

Someone may ask why exactly 21 times? The fact is that in Buddhism the numbers 3, 7, 21 and 108 have sacred meaning. Therefore, you need to read prayers, do goroo or prostrations exactly this number of times.

After the prostrations, the Sandalwood Buddha, it seemed to me, smiled with satisfaction. I shared my observations with a friend with whom we went on this trip together. And you know, our feelings and observations agreed on almost everything.

At the end of the visit, we had a lecture-discussion of Buddhism in general and Buddhism of Buryatia in particular. It turned out that pilgrims travel from Buryatia to Tibet every year. Tibetan lamas, having learned from which places they come, are very surprised and ask why they are traveling so far, when in their homeland there is the greatest shrine of world Buddhism - the statue of the Sandalwood Buddha Zandan Zhuu. I am more than sure that half of the population of Buryatia does not even know about its existence, not to mention other regions of Russia. I was convinced of this when I interviewed my relatives and friends. But many of us have already been to Thailand and seen statues of the reclining Buddha, jade Buddha and many others. It’s somehow sad that we don’t appreciate and don’t notice what we have nearby.

More articles about a trip to Buddhist datsans and holy places of Buryatia:

• Holy places of Buryatia

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1. - a world-famous search engine where you can find and book accommodation from guesthouses to luxury villas. Have used it many times and highly recommend it.
2. Hotellook is a service for searching and booking accommodation from the creators of Aviasales.
3. Airbnb - booking and renting apartments, rooms, houses local residents. Tested on ourselves, everything is honest, we recommend. When booking using our link, you will receive a bonus of RUB 2,100, which you can use to pay for your accommodation. To do this, you will need to create your AirBnB account.

Car rental
- a great alternative to traveling to intercity buses and trains across Russia. Prices are often lower public transport, and comfort is significantly higher.

Service aggregator for car rentals from local rental companies. You choose a car as if at a local rental, but through the service, booking by bank card, from which only 15% of the cost is charged. The guarantor is MyRentacar. You can choose not only the class of the car, but also a specific car, down to the color of the body and the type of radio. But most importantly, the prices on this service are the same as if you went to your local rental company yourself!