Buddhism Photo Show
The photo show was held by the Consulate General of India in St. Petersburgwith support from Karma Kagyu School Diamond Way Buddhist Center
in Smolny exhibition hall during the period from 9th through 20th of August, 2005.
Authors:
Benoy Behl, Anastasia Beltyukova, Vladislav Lyashuk, Irina Shunyaeva, Andrey Samoylov, Fillip Dronov, Svetlana Belyaeva, Olesya Tomasova. And also the photographs from the library of Diamond Way Buddhist Center were exhibited there.
Supervisor: Anastasia Beltyukova
This exhibition is one more step made by two great cultures towards each other on the grounds of one of the most ancient doctrines of humanity. The roots of friendship between Russia and India lie deep, and the Buddhism is one of the numerous tangent points of our interaction.
One of the main world religions, the Buddhism was born in India, the land which nurtured a lot of great teachers and visionaries which affected the whole humanity. India gives unapproachable opportunities for spiritual seeking and development. However the Buddhism emerged sufficiently long ago in Russia too, as the territory of our country embraces such traditional Buddhist regions as Kalmykia, Buryatia and Tuva. As early as 1740 the Buddhism was acknowledged by the empress Elisabeth as the official religion in Russia. And now Russia may become a venue where the ancient philosophy of the East and millennia old methods for working with mind meet clear and practical mentality of the West.
Now we can observe the constantly growing passion for Buddhism both in the West and Russia. The Buddhist values – compassion, joy and fearlessness – are becoming more and more popular in the Western world. In our time of intolerance, violence and deadly wars in a name of faith, the compassionate message of Buddha is never more relevant.
The Buddhism as an experiential religion had more than a once descended from one culture to the other. In a good time, both in Western countries and Russia, it will take the form suitable for our civilization and lifestyles. Tsechu Rinpoche, the master of Tibetan meditation from Bhutan who is also well known in the West said: "The Buddhism always takes the form which suits to this or that particular culture. It can be compared to a diamond which shines red if it rests on the red surface and blue if it is on the blue one though at the same time it always remains the diamond".
The exhibits presented by Benoy Behl, the Indian photographer and historian, give us the basic idea of the Buddhist heritage in India and Nepal, and set us on the way of the visual pilgrimage to the world's most sacred Buddhist shrines – the places of birth, enlightenment, first teachings and death of Buddha. The exhibits presented by the Buddhists and travelers from Russia are more the attempts to show an intangible atmosphere or 'an air' of the Buddhist places, live Buddhism in India and Russia, personal impressions and experiences of the Western people having met the Buddhism.
Diamond Way Buddhism in Russia – www.buddhism.ru
