Oldal 46 [46]
SUSAN C. BYRNE
not understand. This is how Informant 3 explained it: "There are few monks who
continue or keep traditional way of Buddhism and most of the young now study
Buddhism in Tibet and India. Once they study in the mentioned countries they learn
also Tibetan or Indian traditions or ways. Even though the Dharma itself is the same
thing, it also carries lots of cultural and traditional aspects of the country where it
spread. The old / previous way of Buddhism in Mongolia was closer or more adapted
into livelihoods and tradition of the Mongols. For instance: love each other, be kind
to each other and respect each other. Nowadays Buddhism became too religious and
too philosophical. As I observe at the current development of Buddhism." One of
my friends in Mongolia who is an accomplished Buddhist dsod practitioner trained
by the Ninth Jebtstindamba khutagt, explained to me how she consciously talks to
Tibetans / Mongolian monks trained in Tibetan monasteries in India in a different
way to how she talks to Mongolian Buddhists in Mongolia.
Note how implicitly Informant 3 refers to the indigenisation of Buddhism in Mon¬
golia — how Buddhism when it came to the country adapted to the way of life and
tradition of the Mongols. He and Informant | use examples of how this has happened
in other countries when Buddhism spread there: Informant | “That’s what I meant by
saying that the minds that receive / perceive the Buddha’s teachings differ from each
other. This also shows that how societies / cultures also adopt Buddha’s teachings
into the practices.” Note also how in the quotation above Informant 3 recognises
“the Dharma is the same thing” wherever it is practised — neither he nor Informant
1 dispute that the central teachings of the Buddha are different between, say, Tibet
and Mongolia, but they do believe there are real differences in the detailed way in
which Buddhism is practised in these two countries. They certainly would not agree
with Sir Charles Bell who had spent many years serving as the British political
officer for Bhutan, Sikkim and Tibet during which time he is said to have become
friends with the Thirteenth Dalai Lama. He explained why he had wanted to visit
Inner Mongolia in 1935 “Tibet and Mongolia have a close connection ... especially
in their religion, which is identical and a very strong tie between them." The asser¬
tion that the Buddhism in the two countries is ‘identical’ is something I have often
heard from Tibetan monks and lay friends (with ties in Mongolia) but rarely hear
from Mongolians.
Certainly these two informants feel that the traditional Mongolian Buddhist
practice is under threat from what they see as the modern-day Tibetanization of
Buddhism and this makes them defensive. They both felt quite strongly that Mon¬
golia has its own form of Buddhism albeit stemming from Tibetan Buddhism and
with a common core. They cite the distinctive rhythms of the Mongolian chanting:
as Informant 3 said: “For instance: reciting pronunciation / rhythm of the pujas of
Mongolian monks. For Mongols it will be closer when Mongolian monk recites pijas
and prayers. The Mongolian monks pronounce as Sanjaa but it will be pronounced as
Sangye, which is not very familiar for Mongols.” It could be that the emphasis both
3 Bell, Charles: The struggle for Mongolia. Journal of The Royal Central Asian Society 24 (1937), Issue
1, pp. 46-72.
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