The Rite of Cutting off the ‘Black Tongue’ — and Buddhist Protective Ritual: Contradictions of Ethical Grounds Analyzed

Introduction. The article analyzes the Buddhist protective ritual against slander popular among Kalmyk Buddhists in the form of the rite of cutting off the ‘black tongue’. Despite studies prove a direct connection between the rite and pre-Buddhist beliefs, its practice by clerics who actively promote the Buddhist ideas of compassion and non-violence seems extremely controversial. Goals. The study aims to discover ethical foundations of the rite of cutting off the ‘black tongue’ within the system of Buddhist protective rituals and its potential for personal spiritual  development. Materials and methods. The work employs a complex methodology that includes anthropological and interdisciplinary approaches, ethical analysis, hermeneutic method. An important addition is the systematic approach of cultural anthropology according to which the theoretical and methodological significance of Buddhist scholars’ developments should be duly recognized. The study focuses on the Oirat text titled ‘Xara kelen’ and its Russian translations, a Tibetan text of The Noble Mahayana Sutra Entitled ‘Pacification of Black Disputes’. Results. The rite of cutting off the ‘black tongue’ serves to protect from existential problems (disease, failures in study and work, problems in personal relationships, loss of property, etc.) verbally provoked by ill-wishers. The paper clarifies that in the system of Buddhist protective rituals, the rite of cutting off the ‘black tongue’ acquires features of a spiritual practice performed to acquire Buddhist wisdom and develop altruistic intention rather than a religious action as such. If a believer does not understand the essence of the rite, he/she resorts to it in order to eliminate real obstacles allegedly provoked by others — and only in this case the practice of this rite acquires visible contradictions with Buddhist ethics. Conclusions. If one adopts the Buddhist approach to semantic interpretations of protective rituals, the consistency of the rite of cutting off the ‘black tongue’ to Buddhist ethics becomes obvious. With such interpretations and a corresponding practical application, the protective rite can serve a path for personal development of believers.

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