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Batyr Elistaev, Stupas


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Video

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Authors

Okonov, Andzhur 
Seleeva, Tsagan 

Abstract

Batyr says that in the territory of the Orgakin Temple there are eight stupas dedicated to the Buddha Shakyamuni, each marking a certain period of life or certain miraculous deeds that he performed. These stupas are as follows: (1) The first meritorious deed that he did was he was born in Lumbini (now Nepal) in 624 BC. The Lotus stupa in the territory of the Orgakin Temple, which was built by the Buddhists of the dharma centre in Rostov-on-Don, is dedicated to the birth of Buddha. (2) The stupa of Enlightenment, built by the members of Badzhyakhn clan, is dedicated to the enlightenment of Buddha at 35. These type of stupas are the most popular in Kalmykia. (3) On the 49th day following his enlightenment, Buddha gave his first teachings to his five followers in Varanasi. All in all, Buddha left 84,000 teachings. The stupa of the Turning of the Wheel of Teaching, built by the members of the Boltakhn clan, is dedicated to this event. The founder of the Boltakhn clan was Orga. His three songs – Baadzh, Bolta and Onka – established the first three clans of the Orgakin aimak. It is the descendants of Bolta who built this stupa. (4) At the time of Buddha there were six philosophical schools in India. One day Buddha was invited for a scholarly dispute by the six Brahmans of these schools whom he defeated. The stupa of Miracles is dedicated to this event. This stupa, which is worshipped during Tsagan Sar in Kalmykia, was erected by the Onkakhn clan whose founder was the above mentioned Onka. (5) The Buddha’s mother, queen Maya, died during childbirth. In order to help his mother and other deities, Buddha ascended to the skies. When he was descending back to earth, all the people and gods greeted him. The stupa of the Buddha’s Descending to Earth has stairs that symbolize his descent. This stupa in Orgakin was built by the members of the Byugyasyud clan. This stupa contains the following objects: 100 small volumes of Gandzhur, rolls of mantras, as well as various ingredients associated with the local deities including wheat, fruit stones, water, gold, silver, precious and semi-precious stones, and clay statues of Buddha. (6) When Buddha was alive, India was rife with confrontations among various princes and lords. Buddha met with representatives of the warring sides and gave them his teachings. Thanks to his teachings peace descended upon six different worlds, including that of humans, gods, semi-gods, animals, hungry ghosts and hell. The stupa of Reconciliation, which was erected by the Syadud clan, is dedicated to this event. Consisting of only four families, the Syadud clan is the smallest in Orgakin. (7) When the time came for Buddha to leave this world, his disciples asked him to stay. By using a practice of the goddess of longevity Ushnishavidjaya, Buddha managed to prolong his life by several years. The stupa of Longevity is dedicated to the goddess of longevity. It was built by the members of the Iki-Burla clan who are Buzava of Don. 250 years ago their ancestors went to join the Don regiment. As it is known, General Basan Gorodovikov, who was from the Iki-Burla clan himself, later established the Iki-Burulskiy rayon in Kalmykia. (8) When he was leaving this world, Buddha said that he would be represented by his teachings (i.e. dharma). The stupa of Paranirvana that has the shape of a bell is considered to be the most precious among all the stupas. This stupa in Orgakin was erected by the Nyamsud clan. At the end Batyr says that in the Orgakin Temple they have started building a ninth stupa (i.e. the stupa of Kalachakra) which is connected with Shambala. According to a legend, when this world is destroyed by barbarians, warriors from Shambala will come to earth to save humanity.

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Keywords

Stupas, temples, clan, Buddha, Orgakin

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Sponsorship
Sponsored by Arcadia Fund, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin.