Oldal 46 [46]
OCR
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 Mongolia — 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 assertion 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 Mongolia 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. 44
