Bidia Dandaron
Encyclopedia
Bidia Dandaron (December 28, 1914, Soorkhoi, Kizhinga, Buryatia — October 26, 1974, Vydrino, Buryatia) was a major Buddhist author and teacher in the USSR. He also worked in academic Tibetology
, contributed to the Tibetan-Russian Dictionary (1959) and made several translations from Tibetan into Russian. He is mostly remembered as a Buddhist teacher whose students in Russia
, Estonia
, Latvia
, and Lithuania
continued both religious and scholarly work, and as an early Buddhist author who wrote on European philosophy, history, and science within a Buddhist framework. Among his students were Alexander Piatigorsky
and Linnart Mäll
.
of Gyayag Rinpoche (Wilie: rGya yag rin po che), a Buddhist master of Gelug
tradition from Kumbum Monastery
, who visited Buryatia several times and died not long before Bidia was born. Gyayag Rinpoche's tulku lineage starts from Vimalakirti.
However the Buryat lamas under Tsydenov did not submit the boy to the Tibetan search party that had recognized Dandaron as a tulku, on the pretext of Buryat lamas being capable to educate, and being in need of, their own religious leader. Tibetans then returned to Kumbum and chose a local boy (Blo-bzang bstan-pa’i rgyal-mtshan, 1916–1990), who as Gyayag Rinpoche was later a sutra teacher of the 10th Panchen Lama, and the head of the search party for the 11th Panchen Lama, this search resulting in choosing Gyaincain Norbu as the Panchen Lama.
In 1921, Buryat religious and secular leader Lubsan-Sandan Tsydenov proclaimed Dandaron heir to his throne of Dharmaraja.
In 1934—1937 Dandaron studied in the Aircraft Device Construction Institute in Leningrad
, and attended the Eastern Faculty of Leningrad State University as an auditor, studying Tibetan language with Andrey Vostrikov.
As religion was suppressed by the Soviets, Dandaron was brought to court three times and spent a significant part of his life in prison camps. First, he was arrested in 1937 and released in 1943, then arrested again in 1948 but released with political rehabilitation
in 1956. He actively wrote and taught on Buddhism while imprisoned, and some of his ardent followers started from camps. There, he also had a number of Russian philosophers and other scholars, as well as Buryat lamas, to exchange opinions and gain knowledge of European philosophy and history he widely refers to in his writings. Principally, Vasily Seseman
, a philosophy professor from Lithuania who was imprisoned from 1950 to 1956, became his friend and tutor in European philosophy, starting Danrdaron's appreciation of Kantian thought.
After 1956 his friends from the Oriental Studies Institute
in Leningrad
made attempts to give him a job in the institute library, but were not allowed to. In 1957, Dandaron began working for the Buryat Institute of Social Sciences in Ulan-Ude. He wrote extensively on Tibetan studies and translated religious and historical literature of Tibet into Russian, publishing over 30 articles and other works. His religious works came to public as samizdat
.
In 1960 - early 1970s the community of his followers grew to several dozen people, mostly from St Petersburg, Moscow, Tartu and Vilnius. His principal community was in St Petersburg (then Leningrad) where in 1972 he was arrested and tried for the organization of a Buddhist sect. Some of his students were arrested as well, but never tried. Mostly they were released, while some were placed in mental health clinic. Dandaron got 5 years of labor camp where he continued to write about, teach and practice Buddhism. Having warned his neighbors, in the camp in Vydrino he experienced samadhi
several times, stopping his heartbeat and breath at will for days. In 1974 he did not return from the samadhi.
Tibetology
Tibetology refers to the study of things related to Tibet, including its history, religion, language, politics and the collection of Tibetan articles of historical, cultural and religious significance...
, contributed to the Tibetan-Russian Dictionary (1959) and made several translations from Tibetan into Russian. He is mostly remembered as a Buddhist teacher whose students in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, and Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
continued both religious and scholarly work, and as an early Buddhist author who wrote on European philosophy, history, and science within a Buddhist framework. Among his students were Alexander Piatigorsky
Alexander Piatigorsky
Alexander Piatigorsky was a Russian philosopher, scholar of South Asian philosophy and culture, historian, philologist, semiotician, and writer. Well-versed in the study of language, he knew Sanskrit, Tamil, Pali, Tibetan, German, Russian, French, Italian and English...
and Linnart Mäll
Linnart Mäll
Linnart Mäll was an Estonian historian, orientalist, translator and politician.- Biography :Born in Tallinn, Estonia, Mäll graduated from the University of Tartu in 1962 with a major in general history...
.
Biography
Born to a Buryat Buddhist tantric practitioner named Dorji Badmaev, Bidia studied both secular and Buddhist subjects from an early age. Then, he was recognized as the tulkuTulku
In Tibetan Buddhism, a tulku is a particular high-ranking lama, of whom the Dalai Lama is one, who can choose the manner of his rebirth. Normally the lama would be reincarnated as a human, and of the same sex as his predecessor. In contrast to a tulku, all other sentient beings including other...
of Gyayag Rinpoche (Wilie: rGya yag rin po che), a Buddhist master of Gelug
Gelug
The Gelug or Gelug-pa , also known as the Yellow Hat sect, is a school of Buddhism founded by Je Tsongkhapa , a philosopher and Tibetan religious leader...
tradition from Kumbum Monastery
Kumbum Monastery
Kumbum Monastery is a Buddhist monastery in Qinghai province, China. Kumbum was founded in 1583 in a narrow valley close to the village of Lusar in the Tibetan cultural region of Amdo. Its superior monastery is Drepung, immediately to the west of Lhasa...
, who visited Buryatia several times and died not long before Bidia was born. Gyayag Rinpoche's tulku lineage starts from Vimalakirti.
However the Buryat lamas under Tsydenov did not submit the boy to the Tibetan search party that had recognized Dandaron as a tulku, on the pretext of Buryat lamas being capable to educate, and being in need of, their own religious leader. Tibetans then returned to Kumbum and chose a local boy (Blo-bzang bstan-pa’i rgyal-mtshan, 1916–1990), who as Gyayag Rinpoche was later a sutra teacher of the 10th Panchen Lama, and the head of the search party for the 11th Panchen Lama, this search resulting in choosing Gyaincain Norbu as the Panchen Lama.
In 1921, Buryat religious and secular leader Lubsan-Sandan Tsydenov proclaimed Dandaron heir to his throne of Dharmaraja.
In 1934—1937 Dandaron studied in the Aircraft Device Construction Institute in Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
, and attended the Eastern Faculty of Leningrad State University as an auditor, studying Tibetan language with Andrey Vostrikov.
As religion was suppressed by the Soviets, Dandaron was brought to court three times and spent a significant part of his life in prison camps. First, he was arrested in 1937 and released in 1943, then arrested again in 1948 but released with political rehabilitation
Political rehabilitation
Political rehabilitation is the process by which a member of a political organization or government who has fallen into disgrace, is restored to public life. It is usually applied to leaders or other prominent individuals who regain their prominence after a period in which they have no influence or...
in 1956. He actively wrote and taught on Buddhism while imprisoned, and some of his ardent followers started from camps. There, he also had a number of Russian philosophers and other scholars, as well as Buryat lamas, to exchange opinions and gain knowledge of European philosophy and history he widely refers to in his writings. Principally, Vasily Seseman
Vasily Seseman
Vasily Seseman was a Russian and Lithuanian philosopher, a representative of Marburg school of Neo-Kantianism...
, a philosophy professor from Lithuania who was imprisoned from 1950 to 1956, became his friend and tutor in European philosophy, starting Danrdaron's appreciation of Kantian thought.
After 1956 his friends from the Oriental Studies Institute
Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences , formerly Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences, is Russia's leading research institution for the study of the countries and cultures of Asia and North Africa...
in Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
made attempts to give him a job in the institute library, but were not allowed to. In 1957, Dandaron began working for the Buryat Institute of Social Sciences in Ulan-Ude. He wrote extensively on Tibetan studies and translated religious and historical literature of Tibet into Russian, publishing over 30 articles and other works. His religious works came to public as samizdat
Samizdat
Samizdat was a key form of dissident activity across the Soviet bloc in which individuals reproduced censored publications by hand and passed the documents from reader to reader...
.
In 1960 - early 1970s the community of his followers grew to several dozen people, mostly from St Petersburg, Moscow, Tartu and Vilnius. His principal community was in St Petersburg (then Leningrad) where in 1972 he was arrested and tried for the organization of a Buddhist sect. Some of his students were arrested as well, but never tried. Mostly they were released, while some were placed in mental health clinic. Dandaron got 5 years of labor camp where he continued to write about, teach and practice Buddhism. Having warned his neighbors, in the camp in Vydrino he experienced samadhi
Samadhi
Samadhi in Hinduism, Buddhism,Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools is a higher level of concentrated meditation, or dhyāna. In the yoga tradition, it is the eighth and final limb identified in the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali....
several times, stopping his heartbeat and breath at will for days. In 1974 he did not return from the samadhi.
Sources
- Dandaron, Bidia Dandarovich, an entry in: The modern encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet history, Volume 7. Bruce F. Adams (Ed.), Academic International Press, 2006, ISBN 0875691420, 9780875691428 pages 177-179
- Dandaron, Bidija Dandaronovič, an entry in: Biographical dictionary of dissidents in the Soviet Union, 1956-1975. By S. P. de Boer, E. J. Driessen, H. L. Verhaar, Universiteit van Amsterdam. Oost-Europa Instituut. S. P. de Boer (ed.). BRILL, 1982. ISBN 9024725380, 9789024725380
- Stephen Batchelor. The awakening of the west: the encounter of Buddhism and Western culture. Parallax Press, 1994. ISBN 0938077694, 9780938077695 pages 283-
- John Snelling. Buddhism in Russia. Element, 1993. ISBN 1852303328, 9781852303327 pages 260-264
- A Chronicle of human rights in the USSR., issues 7–12, Khronika Press., 1974 (page 52 Dandaron Necrology)