Tibetan-Mongolian Traditions of the Maitreya Cult in Buryat Buddhism: Consecration of the Maitreya Statue at Aninsky Datsan

Abstract

Introduction. The article describes an archival document stored at the Center of Oriental Manuscripts and Xylographs (Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies, SB RAS) and reviewing the temple’s construction and the Maitreya statue’s erection at Aninsky  Datsan. The study provides insight into origins of the Maitreya cult dating back to ancient India. Goals. The paper aims to determine the authenticity of the data reported by Ven. Lodon and trace origins of the Maitreya cult, including those related to the consecration of relics. Materials. The essay entitled ‘History (Description) of the Burkhan (Bur. ‘deity statue’) at Big Maidari Aninsky Datsan’ was written by Ven. Lodon, ethnic Buryat, in 1915. The former is a garchak — inventory list — of various relics and objects embedded inside the statue. The written monument is valuable due to that it contains unique source materials and data on the history of Buddhism in Buryatia which reveal the inner life of the Buddhist monastery and its community, shows the relationships between the monastic sangha and lay believers, the Buddhist clergy and state authorities. Materials describing the festive events dedicated to the 1897 consecration of the Maitreya statue and the temple are interesting enough. Results. The examined ‘History of Burkhan’ is important not only because sources on the history of Buryat Buddhism are scarce enough and it gives an opportunity to reconstruct the long and convoluted history of the statue, but also because the original Maitreya statue itself never survived and was dramatically destroyed in the late 1930s.