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Paper abstract:

Throughout its long history, Buddhism has been greatly influenced by historical, political, and cultural events and circumstances wherever it has spread and been promulgated. Russia is a good example. Despite periods of turbulence in Russian history, Buddhism has managed to establish deep roots in Russian culture. Moreover, until recently, there was talk of a revival of Buddhism there—especially in the Buddhist Republic of Kalmykia.

The institution of shajin lama (Kalm. Хальмг таңһчин Шаҗн лам) played a significant role for the revival of Buddhism in Kalmykia and Russia. It was formed after the liquidation of the Kalmyk Khanate as part of the state system of the Russian Empire. During the imperial period, a candidate was appointed to the post of shajin lama by order of the imperial administration. In the 1920s, the position became elective, during the period of repressions against the Kalmyk clergy it was liquidated, and again restored in the early 1990s.

The list of shajin lamas includes twenty supreme lamas of the Kalmyk people, starting with the prominent Oirat Buddhist scholar Zaya Pandita (1599-1662) who was taking this position for twenty-three years (1639-1662). In 1992, Telo Tulku Rinpoche (Erdne Ombadykow) was approved as shajin lama by the Extraordinary Conference of Buddhists of Kalmykia and the Astrakhan Region. On 29 January 2023, he announced his resignation in response to being added to the Russian government’s list of “foreign agents”, as a result of his speaking out against Russia’s war in Ukraine. After him, the title was taken by Mutul Ovyanov, who is the current supreme lama of the Kalmyk people.

Among the twenty shajin lamas, Telo Tulku Rinpoche, who is also an honorary representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Russia, Mongolia, and the Commonwealth of Independent States, has a greatest contribution to the Buddhist revival in the region. He is the longest-serving shajin lama of the Kalmyk people and one of the most influential Buddhist teachers of our time.

The paper will examine the institution of shajin lama from historical perspective and will focus on the achievements of Telo Tulku Rinpoche over the period of 30 years (1992-2023) as a significant sign of the revival of Buddhism in Russia.