Oldal 377 [377]
Two HAMBO LAMAS IN THE DISCOURSE OF BUDDHIST REVIVAL IN BURYATIA
As his reputation remained clean, in 1913 Itigelov as the head of the recognized
religious community was invited to St. Petersburg to take part in the celebration of
the tercentenary of the House of Romanovs, and during a solemn dinner he gave
a congratulatory speech on behalf of all Buryats. During a private audience with
Emperor Nikolai II, Itigelov was awarded with the Order of Saint Stanislaus, 3"
class.° Being a staunch monarchist and a loyal subject of the Empire, in the days
of World War I, Itigelov initiated foundation of the All-Buryat Society with the aim
to gather money for the support of the state, of soldiers at war, wounded men, and
families of the fallen warriors. He also initiated the dispatch of emchi-lamas (medical
monks) to front hospitals.
Being sincerely loyal to the Russian Emperor and government, Itigelov promoted
the same sentiments into Buryat public minding with the aim that the central authori¬
ties would never suspect Buryats in any subversive activity. One can conclude that
in the public sphere he was a pragmatically minded person: more a bureaucrat then
a Buddhist monk far from the worldly vanity. For his efforts on supporting Russia
in war, Itigelov was awarded with the Order of Saint Anna, 2‘ class.’ In a whole,
Itigelov’s activities of this kind show two interdependent attempts on his side: first,
to strengthen the positions of Buddhism in the Russian state and second - to de¬
monstrate his own loyalty and devotion to the Russian monarchy. Nevertheless, with
the coming of new times after the Bourgeois February Revolution of 1917 that led
to the Tsar’s abdication and the abolition of Tsarism and Russian Empire, Dashi¬
Dorzho Itigelov entered the political developments with enthusiasm and hopes. For
example, he was a chairman of the 2™ All-Buryat congress, which was held in July
1917 in the Tamchinski Datsan. Among the topics of discussion at the congress were
the new Regulations on the Spiritual Management of the Buddhists of Siberia that
had to replace the imperial Regulations on the Lamaist Clergy of Eastern Siberia
(1853). The new document declared full and unlimited freedom of religion and ritu¬
als, formation of parishes, holding of religious festivals and processions. Together
with cleric and lay delegates, Hambo Lama Itigelov took part in the discussion on
inner life of datsans and in particular on prohibition to gather donations other then
purely religious and refusal of luxury.* Notwithstanding all of his social and politi¬
cal activities, spiritual search as well as scientific and educational activity appeared
° Order of Saint Stanislaus was a mark of distinction in the Russian Empire from 1831-1917. In the
hierarchy of state awards, this order occupied the last position. Similarly, the 3 class of the order
was of lowest importance: it was given to practically any civil servant (including non-Russians and
non-Christians) for the length of service.
Order of Saint Anna was established for heroic deeds on the state service. The importance of the order
was higher than that of St. Stanislaus order’s but lower than other imperial orders.
According to the new Regulations, Buddhist monasteries and clergy received equal with other con¬
fessions rights in land tenure, landownership, and receiving state financial support (Gjerasimova,
K. M.: Obnovljenceskoje dvizjenije burjatskogo lamaistskogo duhovjenstva. Burjatskoje kniznoje
izdatel’stvo, Ulan-Ude 1964, pp. 24-27). The previous Regulations of 1853 were thus cancelled to¬
gether with their articles that for example strictly prohibited the construction of new datsans besides
the existed 34 and limited the number of not taxable lamas at the rate one lama to 200 believers or 285
regular lamas. The rest lamas had thus pay taxes as peasants (Terentjev A. A.; Rossijskij Buddhism v
XIX-naëale XX wv. Buddhism Rossii 36 (2004), http://www.buddhismofrussia.ru/sangha/50/).
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