The publication of this grandiose book can be regarded as an amazing phenomenon. The publication was prepared by the Institute of Religious Science and Culture at the Seirinji Temple of the Jodoshu School. Translations and editions of the Sutra texts are supplemented by numerous essays written in three languages: Russian, English, and Japanese. This publication was the result of a working group of 15 specialists at the Institute working on a project to translate the sacred Heart Sutra into various languages. Since 1996, similar books have been published in English, French, German, Italian and other languages. Figuratively speaking, this is a noble gift of the Seirinji Temple to the Buddhists of Russia called "Heart Sutra".

The actual text of the Sutra, in addition to translations, is presented photographically from a Sanskrit manuscript (siddha matrika) and from a scroll in Chinese translated by the famous Xuanzang (602-664). The palm-leaf manuscript dates from the sixth century and is part of the collection of Horyuji Books in Sanskrit, which was presented to the Horyuji Temple in 609 and brought from the continent by the monk Ono-no-Imoko, who studied in China. Both the Sutra and the entire collection are now preserved in the Horyuji Treasure Gallery, Tokyo National Museum (see T. Tanaka, pp. 40-51).

Xuanzang's translation of the Heart Sutra is not the first in the Chinese Tripitaka. Experts note "a number of discrepancies" with the Sanskrit version of Horyuji (p. 42). There was already a good translation of Kumarajiva (344-413), made from a different, more complete Sanskrit version of the Sutra. But it is the text in the translation of Xuan Tsang that "sounds in Japanese temples" from those distant times to our time (p. 80). This is also explained by historical lines passed down from ancient times from generation to generation. Thus, the translation of Xuan-tsang was brought from China in 661 by his direct disciple Dose (629-700), who founded the Hosso school in Japan - followers of the Chinese Fasiang school and the Indian Yogachara. Doce introduced the custom of reading this text every day. Later, this custom became the rule and spread to other temples and schools in Japan.

According to the "Continuation of the Annals of Japan", the Sumidera Temple (also known as Kairyuoji and Sumiin) was founded by imperial decree in 731, the first abbot of which was the monk Gembo, who studied in China for 18 years from 717, and was also initiated into the Hosso school. When he returned to Japan in 734, he began to perform "state rituals based on the full version of the Sutra", during which he read the Chinese translation of the Xuan Tsang (although this temple now belongs to the Shingon Rissu school). In addition, Gembo established a tradition of "reverent handwriting of Sutras". "In Buddhism, there are five important practices: copying, following the rules (of conduct), reading, memorizing, and interpreting the sutras. The sutra, written in calligraphy and without mistakes, is an offering to the Buddha. Since the Nara era, the rewriting of this Sutra has become very popular in Japan as a way to protect yourself from illness or fire, ward off misfortune and attract good luck " (p. 32).

Rewriting the Sutra - "a short text containing only 262 characters, but with a deep meaning, has become commonplace and remains so to this day. In Sumidera Temple, there is a special hall for what is called " transcribing the Sutra... following the Kobo-daishi brush." At the end of the scroll containing the text of this Sutra, kept in Sumidera, are attributed the following words: "This Sutra cleanses all impure things and grants all the blessings of the Buddha. Read it day and night, hundreds and thousands of times, with your eyes fixed on Kannon (Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva)." Since the beginning of the sixth century, additions of this kind have become widespread. We can say that the Sutra... Sumidera Temple owes its appearance to people's prayers for an end to the turmoil and pacification of the country " (p. 36).

The ritual practice of transcribing dates back to India in the N-W centuries. It is in Mahayana Buddhism, as evidenced by other sutras of the same section of the Buddha's Word as the "Heart Sutra" -Prajna paramita, or Perfection of Wisdom. In Japan alone, there are 60 different sutras in this collection (p. 84). Scholars believe that the first mention of the practice of copying the Buddha's Word occurs in the Diamond Sutra (15), or Vajra-chhedika.-

prajna paramita." The first Mahayana patriarch Nagarjuna (N-W centuries) also spoke about this practice in the third chapter of his "Instruction to the King, called Precious Stanzas" ("Ratnaavali raja-parikatha", stanza 39): "Gifts are offered to the best of the wise by the Word that He has spoken and [knowledge] of His teachings, but they are not given to the best of the wise. first set out in verse And correctly written down with pen and ink" [Androsov, 2000(1), pp. 206, 628-629].

Ritual practices of working with sacred text began to take shape in the early monuments of the Pali canon, according to which the five practices of learning and comprehension are to listen, memorize, keep in mind, explore the meaning and achieve perfection in understanding the teachings. In the same "Diamond Sutra" (15), it is said that "an incalculable amount of virtue" is created by those who write down, assimilate, preserve, communicate and explain in detail to others (Androsov, 2000, 2008). Thus, the Japanese five practices can be considered the oldest legacy of Buddhist communities.

It must be recognized that the Heart Sutra belongs to the root texts not only of the early Mahayana, but also to those for all the times of the Great Chariot along the entire path of its distribution. Even today, it is chanted or recited daily in communities around the world where Mahayana Buddhism is practiced. Today they are traditional China, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Tibet, the Himalayan countries, Mongolian peoples, including Russia, communities of Europe, North America, Australia and other countries.

The Sutra is the most important text of Russian Buddhists also because it is highly revered and constantly quoted by the Dalai Lama XIV, the spiritual head of traditional Buddhist schools in Russia. It is by chanting the "Heart Sutra" that he usually clears the mind when starting to practice Buddhism, and practical success in them can be achieved by contemplating voidness as the Sutra advises [Dalai Lama XIV, 2007, pp. 183, 261-263]. It is a Word of absolute meaning and ultimate truth. According to the greatest scholar of Wisdom Cultivation literature, Edward Konze, " The Heart Sutra is one of the greatest spiritual monuments of mankind. It re-declares and interprets the four Noble Truths in the light of the dominant idea of voidness" [Conze, 1978, p.11]. Much has been written about the historical and theoretical interpretations of the idea of voidness (sunyata), so I will not focus on it.

The book about the" Heart Sutra " opens with a foreword by the master of world Buddhology Prof. Hajime Nakamura (1912-1999) (pp. 4-5).

The readers are also addressed with warm words by Telo Tulku Rinpoche, the head of Buddhists in Kalmykia. As a Buddhist scholar, I highly appreciate the breadth of the religious leader's view: "Some people perceive Buddhism as a faith or religion, but I think that today Buddhism is branching out into several types of attitudes towards it. These are Buddhism as faith, Buddhism as philosophical wisdom, or the way of life, Buddhism as the subject of academic study, and Buddhism as the science of consciousness" (pp. 7-9). This is exactly how the scientific world treats the oldest of the world's religions of humanity today.

E. V. Molodyakova and her brief report on the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (pp. 10-13), which studies Japanese studies, scientific Buddhology, and many other Oriental disciplines, including religious studies, in relation to both ancient and modern beliefs, are equally important. We must admit that, despite the growing number of believers and deeply interested citizens of Russia in Buddhism, the situation with its study remains extremely difficult. If under the Soviet regime the obstacles were ideological, now they are more likely financial.

Readers of the Heart Sutra were approached by T. Tanaka, who presented two historical essays on the Sutra and its place in Japanese culture (pp. 28-51), and Zen teacher T. Matsubara, who briefly reviewed the content aspects of the text (pp. 14-25).

On the quality of the Russian translation of the Sutra by A. Nakorchevsky (pp. 62-78) I can't judge without being a Japanese person. Nevertheless, some names and terms raise questions, primarily due to the fact that there is a certain tradition of translating Buddhist terminology in Russia. Therefore, the very name "Sutra on the essence of cultivation in the great higher knowledge" is very difficult to perceive not only by a Sanskrit or Tibetan scholar, but also by any student of Buddhism.

The most complete name of the original Sanskrit text, arya-prajna-pāramitā-hrdayā-sūtra, is translated as " The Noble Sutra of the Essence of Perfect Wisdom "(hrdayā-sūtrd for short - "The Essence Sutra" or more figuratively - "The Heart Sutra"), because the root" hrd "means"heart".

It is under the name "Heart Sutra" that this sacred text is known to all Mahayana believers and Buddhist scholars.

The name "Bodhisattva Seeing Freely" can hardly be accepted both terminologically and meaningfully. We are talking about the main character of the Sutra - Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, an enlightened being who made a vow, having achieved Enlightenment, not to go to nirvana and not become a Buddha, so that here, in samsara, out of Compassion (karuna) for the living, to help on the Path of liberation from suffering. It is believed that it is reliable to the prayers of believers. The power of his mercy for the suffering reaches even the most painful of the subterranean circles of the Buddhist hell (avichi). In any trouble or danger, Mahayana devotees have turned to him and are still turning to him. The Lotus Sutra (XXV) is very revealing in this respect [Sutra on Innumerable meanings..., 1998, pp. 282-288]. Here Avalokiteshvara was called " the bodhisattva Who Listens to the sounds of the world." But translated from Sanskrit, Avalokita-ysvara means "The Lord who looks down on beings with mercy", another reading (rather from Tibetan) means "The Lord who listens to the pleas of suffering beings".

In Mahayana mythology, Avalokiteshvara is extremely active. Their religious functions are performed by them through numerous incarnations among the creatures of hell, then among animals (lions, horses), then among the elements of nature (tornado). In the sutras, Avalokiteshvara is the personification of the ideal of Compassion and the " doer of Buddhas "(buddha-kara), because he contributes to the attainment of this higher spiritual state; sometimes he is also credited with the functions of the creator of the world (in Karanda-vyukha, see: [Androsov, 2000(2), pp. 290-292]), which by and large uncharacteristic of Buddhism. The Buddhas of the Great Chariot remain in unbroken peace, being objects of contemplation; the bodhisattvas are the active side of the higher forces, the " sons of the Buddhas."

Avalokiteshvara belongs to the family of Buddha Amitabha, in India he was known for 32 forms of incarnation, including in the form of the main deities of Hinduism-Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Ganesha. The cult of Avalokiteshvara developed from the first century, when temples were erected to him, sculpting him in human form with a lotus in his hand (an obligatory attribute), then four -, six - and thousand-armed, eleven-faced (or eleven-headed). Hands symbolize the willingness to assist each person who asks, for which it is necessary to pronounce the innermost utterance (mantra)properly: "Om mani padme hum". However, its translation: "Om, pearl in the lotus, glory" -does not convey the religious and cult meaning of the mantra at all, since the main thing when it was pronounced was the reproduction in the mind of certain spiritual images. Avalokiteshvara's head split in pain and Compassion into 11 parts (with a face on each of them), which then fused together so that the bodhisattva could be active in compassion for the suffering, especially in hell.

Avalokiteshvara is very popular in the countries of "northern" Buddhism. The Chinese call it Guan-shi-yin, the Koreans call it Kwangyeom, and the Japanese call it Kannon. The mythology of Avalokiteshvara was supplemented with the functions of local deities. Since they were more often female, responsible for the love of children, helping women in labor, etc., the bodhisattva is also depicted in the form of a woman. In the Himalayan countries and Tibet, it is called Chenresi (spyan ras gzigs). The cult of Avalokiteshvara was the first in these places, and he became their Patron Saint, and Tibet - his holy country. Here he acquired many new forms of incarnation, especially his living incarnations - the spiritual heads of Buddhist schools, who have been born again and again for several centuries. The Dalai Lamas of the Geluk school and the Karmapas of the Kagyu school are the most famous faces of Avalokiteshvara today. It is famous in Mongolia and among the Buddhist peoples of Russia, who call it Arya-Bolo (- Bala, - Bula) or Khonshim. His veneration among the Tibetans and Mongols is not inferior to that of the Buddha, for in the Vajrayana that these peoples follow, it is said that this bodhisattva is the main one on earth in the period between the nirvana of Shakyamuni Buddha and the birth of Maitreya Buddha in the future. In total, 108 forms of incarnation are attributed to him here.

The expression "To contemplate Freely" does not reflect these aspects of interpretation. One cannot also agree with the translation of the final mantra:

"Gate gate para-gate para-samgate bodhi matchmaker" - " Gone, gone, gone there, gone there altogether! Enlightenment! So be it!" (p. 78).

Formally, this translation corresponds to Sanskrit grammar. But Buddhist scholars know that even in the Pali canon and in specific contexts, "gate "is interpreted as"being." If we talk about the meanings of the Mahayana, in which the Buddha does not come anywhere and never leaves, but is always here and now, then it is clear that the formal translation distorts the essence (core, Heart) The Great chariot. Therefore, this translation is more consistent with the values:

"O being [Perfect Wisdom], O being, o being to the end, o consubstantial to the end, o blessed be Enlightenment."

The second half of the book about the Heart Sutra was composed of three essays by the Russian scholar V. Molodyakov: "Buddhism in Russia: History and Modernity "(pp. 88-109), " Studying Buddhism in Russia: a brief sketch" (pp. 110-133) and "Russia and the Russian Language: History and development" (pp. 134-193). These are informative and comprehensive works that describe the past and present of Russian Buddhism. Only some errors are allowed in them.

Thus, on page 88 it is said about" more than 20 datsan monasteries " in Russia. If we talk only about Buryatia, then there are much more of them there - 30 plus the datsan of St. Petersburg. Of course, monasteries are important institutions of religious culture, but they are far from the only ones. In Russia, Buddhist communities and centers of Buddhist education have developed, under the tutelage of various (mostly Tibetan) spiritual teachers. In addition, old and new temples (khuruli, khure), religious academies and institutes were revived in Kalmykia and Tuva. Students of Theravada and Tibetan Dzogchen, Vietnamese Amidaism and Karma Kagyu, Geluk monastery and Soto Zen, Russian Buddhist monks initiated by Terasawa Junsei of Nichiren-hsiu (Nippodzan Mehoji), and followers of the Rime Tibetan movement, adherents of Padmasambhava, Tsongkhapa, Sakya and Chan Buddhism, and Japanese Buddhism are cooked in a single "cauldron". Shingon and Sri Simha, Aryadeva schools, etc. Unlike the countries of the West and North America (where branches of Buddhism are represented in approximately the same way), Russia has its own traditional carriers of Buddhist ideas, moral precepts, and ritual and ceremonial ideas-this is more than half a million citizens.

As a rule, these directions and schools are secular " Dharma Centers "(Centers of the Buddha's Teaching), existing under various names, and tens of thousands of their adherents complement the historically formed world of Tibeto-Mongolian Buddhism in Russia. This whole world is united by Buddhist ideals, ideas, a set of meditative practices, and the desire to improve in the spiritual and moral way of Shakyamuni Buddha. All Buddhists learn to get rid of anger, greed, ignorance, envy, malice, lust, replacing them in their consciousness with Love, Compassion, Joy and Equanimity.

There are two typos on page 90 of the reviewed book. Earlier than others, Buddhism appeared among the Kalmyks, whose clans (belonging to the Western Mongolian and Oirat union of tribes) migrated at the beginning of the XVII century to the Lower Volga region and the steppes of the Caspian Region, which were part of the Moscow state, and under the treaty of 1608 (under Tsar Vasily Shuisky) began to voluntarily enter into Russian citizenship (in 1908-1909, they solemnly the 300th anniversary of this date was celebrated). In 1661, the Kalmyk Khan Puntsuk, on behalf of the entire nation, took the oath of allegiance to the Moscow tsar and at the same time kissed the image of the Buddha (Mon. Burhan) and the book of Buddhist prayers. The Kalmyks, like all Oirats, were well acquainted with Buddhism long before it was officially recognized by the Mongols in accordance with the decree of Altan Khan of Tumet (1576), since until then they had been in close contact with the Khitan, Tanguts, Uyghurs and Tibetans-Buddhist peoples among whom the Oirat clans roamed. Zaya Pandit (1599-1662), the creator of the Oirat literary language and writing todo bichig ("clear writing"), as well as a translator of sutras and other texts from Tibetan into Oirat, also came from the Kalmyks.

The new Russian subjects, among whom the teachings of the Tibetan Geluk school prevailed, arrived with their nomadic Buddhist temples on kibitkas-huruls. Since the 1730s, 17 Tibetan lamas were active in the Kalmyk steppe, participating in education, the formation of rituals, and the administration of rituals.

At the same time, the Kalmyks preserved elements of ancient shamanism both in everyday rituals and in Buddhist ritual festivals: Tsagan Sar, Zul, Uryus, etc. Although since 1640, real shamanism was fought and the activities of shamans were banned by Buddhist hierarchs. Since the end of the XVII century, stationary khuruls have been built, in the XVIII century there were 14 of them, in 1836 - 76, in 1917 - 92, and in 1936 - 13. Some of them developed into large and medium-sized monastic complexes inhabited by female monks (huvaraks) of three degrees: students and listeners (manji), who took 36 vows (getsul) and took 253 vows of the Buddhist Rule (galong). According to official data, in the middle of the XIX century there were about 1 thousand lamas here, but the "unofficial" ones were three times more. Kalmyk clergy studied in Tibetan monasteries to improve their education and obtain a higher ladies ' degree, although in the 19th century local higher spiritual schools, tsannit - choore (cherya), were established in Kalmykia. The largest hurul and Buddhist university was Tyumenevsky. By that time, the Kalmyks were followers of the Geluk school, respectively, at the head were the Dalai Lamas, to whom they obeyed

abbots of local monasteries. Although there was a Tibetan tradition of "incarnators" (earthly incarnations of heavenly Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and other religious figures), Tibetans did not choose such people from the Kalmyks. The current spiritual head, Telo Tulku Rinpoche, is the first Kalmyk (from the United States) to be recognized as a Tulku incarnation.

The article "Studying Buddhism in Russia"was very bright and multifaceted. It also evaluates the contribution of academician G. M. Bongard-Levin, an employee of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (p. 124). It seems that this essay should be published in Russia, as well as the third essay by V. Molodyakov "Russia and the Russian Language: history and Development". This article provides a panorama of the development of our homeland as a civilization that has been forming since the time of Ancient Russia (IX century). The essay leaves a very good impression.

So, here is a wonderful book, published on fine paper and in the best traditions of publishing. I would like it to enter Russian datsans, khuruls, khure, and at least the main Buddhist centers and communities, so that it can serve as a worthy example of the modern sacred Word of the Buddha and stay on temple altars. If there were funds in Russia to carry out such an enterprise, our culture would become even richer. This book is especially dear to me, since I myself once participated in a similar project of Kalmyk Buddhists (see: [Almaznaya Sutra..., 1993]).

I hope that such projects will continue to be implemented both in Russia and in Japan.

list of literature

The Diamond Sutra. Dorji jodwa. In Old Kalmyk, Kalmyk and Russian languages. from Old Kalmyk to Kalmyk A.V. Badmasva, from Skt. translated into Russian by V. P. Androsov. Elista: Kalmyk Book Publishing House, 1993.

Androsov V. P. Buddhism of Nagarjuna. Religious and Philosophical treatises, Moscow, 2000 (1).

Androsov V. P. Indian Buddhism: history and teaching. Voprosy metodologii i istochnikovedeniya [Issues of Methodology and Source Studies]. N.Y.: The Edvin Mcllcn Press / Lcwiston, 2000 (2) (Russian Studies on World History and Culture, vol. 12).

Androsov V. P. Buddhist classics of Ancient India. The Word of the Buddha and Nagarjuna's Treatises / Translated from Pali, Skt. and Tibet. yaz. s komment. M., 2008.

The Dalai Lama XIV. Kindness, clarity and comprehension of the essence / Trans. and notes by V. P. Androsov, Moscow, 2007.

The Sutra of innumerable meanings. The Lotus Flower Sutra of the Wondrous Dharma / Trans. from the book by A. N. Ignatovich. Moscow, 1998.

Conzc e. The Prajnaparamita Literature. Tokyo, 1978.

Permanent link to this publication: