Term Papers by Students of Kazan Theological Academy as a Buddhist Learning Source: Analyzing Materials from the State Archive of Tatarstan. Part 2

Introduction. The article continues to analyze research essays authored by students of Kazan Theological Academy. Materials. The study examines a total of 62 newly introduced archival documents from Catalogue 2 of Collection 10 (‘Kazan Theological Academy’) at the State Archive of Tatarstan. The classification method and that of descriptive analysis have proved instrumental enough in identifying certain features inherent to archival sources of the investigated collection. Results. Works on Buddhism from Catalogue 2 of Collection be divided into six thematic sections, namely: 1) on essentials and various systems of the Buddhist doctrine — 16 files; 2) comparative analyses of Christian and Buddhist faiths — 19 files; 3) analyses and critical insights into Buddhist texts — 11 files; 4) Russian-to-Kalmyk translations of Christian texts — 3 files; 5) conversion of Kalmyks to Christianity — 9 files; 6) reviews and comments by professors on the aforementioned works — 4 files. All archival documents of the specified catalogue have been duly reviewed and analyzed. Materials covering various aspects of Buddhism and translations of Buddhist religious texts proper are of undoubted interest. Conclusions. The paper resumes the appeals to the theme of Buddhism were fuelled by practical concerns. Missionary activities among Kalmyks required thorough knowledge of Buddhist religious texts and a deep understanding of the harmonious Lamaist system. To facilitate these, departments of Kazan Theological Academy would introduce disciplines helpful in learning the target language and dogmas of Buddhism. The quality of term papers, their thematic contents, use of works authored by leading Russian and Western European scholars with expertise in the history and various aspects of Buddhism attest to decently high training standards at Kazan Theological Academy. The remarkable cohort of brilliant scholars within the Academy’s walls contributed a lot to that students became engaged in the study of Buddhism. The shaped school of comparative religious studies made it possible to adopt theoretical and methodological foundations of European religious teachings and comparative theology, explore Buddhist texts, undertake enormous translation and research efforts that have no analogues in Russian theological science to date.

1. State Archive of the Republic of Tatarstan.

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