Online Posters
Ecological Values of Traditional World View in the Contemporary Buryat Literature
Online Poster Galina Dondukova, Irina Bulgutova
The rise of global environmental awareness results in searching for new sources of ecological values not only in Western ones, but also in Eastern traditions, and Indigenous world views. Our study shows the traditional ecological values of the Buryat people in the contemporary Buryat literature. The Buryat people are an ethnic group living in Southeastern Siberia, on the shores of Lake Baikal, Russia. They represent the major northern subgroup of the Mongolian people and are one of the largest ethnic groups of Siberia. The Buryat literature embodies a certain set of ethno-ecological concepts based on the combination of mythological ideas and Buddhist philosophy and ethics. The image of the mother nature has become one of the fundamental ideas in the Buryat culture and is widely used by the Buryat authors. Sacralization of the natural world is embodied in the genres of chanting and glorification of nature and its spirits. Rooted in Buddhist philosophy, the motif of harmony between the man and nature is inherent to the traditional Buryat worldview and allows the Buryat writers to build the plot of their works with the constant reminder of human responsibility, karmic interdependence of all phenomena in the world.
Public Discourse of the Buddhist Leaders in the Context of Forest Fires in the Republic of Buryatia, Russia
Online Poster Bato Dondukov
Nowadays, the role of religious leaders in dissemination of ideas contributing to the ecological thinking in society is increasing. For instance, in 2013 the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) initiated the program “Sacred Earth: Faiths for Conservation”. Buryatia is one of the three Buddhist regions of Russia along with Kalmykia and Tuva; for more than three centuries the Buryat people confess Buddhism, have a developed network of Buddhist temples and plenty of Buddhist leaders. Today, along with other environmental problems in the republic of Buryatia the forest fires are one of the major. For example, in 2015, about 900 thousand hectares of forest were burned in Buryatia. Anthropogenic factor remains the main reason of fires in these places, that is why following the request of the local government, the Buryat Buddhist leaders started to exert ideological influence towards ecological spirituality of the society. The study presents an analysis of Buddhist leaders public discourse. It answers such questions as: What ideas do Buddhist leaders use in their messages?; What principles of Buddhism have environmental potential and can be used to influence the population?; What is the peculiarity of the Buddhist worldview on environmental problems and what are the local characteristics of Buddhism which contribute to the effective perception of their messages?
