Buryatia has initiated the International Forum "Traditional Buddhism and Modern Challenges" whose purpose is to become a platform for a comprehensive discussion on the development of Buddhism, Buddhist culture, philosophy, and practice.
The emergence of a new platform for international dialogue will contribute to the development of scholarly, educational and cultural cooperation between Buddhist organizations of different countries. Buryatia offers valuable knowledge and experience along with all the necessary basis for in-depth discussion of these issues. We hope that the First International Buddhist Forum held in Buryatia will become an important point of attraction for the entire Buddhist world community.
Forum participants will be able to get acquainted with the rich history of Buddhism in Russia and to see the relics of the entire Buddhist world, which are carefully preserved in Buryatia. It is here that the largest monastery complex in Russia and the spiritual capital of the Buddhist traditional Sangha of Russia is located, namely Ivolginsky Datsan.

Here, in Ivolginsky datsan, there is a precious Incorruptible body of Pandito Hambo Lama Itigelov whose phenomenon has not yet been solved by the scientists of the world. Buryatia is home to the only lifetime image of Shakyamuni Buddha – the statue of Zandan Zhuu, designed in the V century.
Buryatia is also the largest Buddhist scholarly and educational center. Buryatia is home to the only Buddhist University in Russia – Zayaev Dashi Choynkhorlin Buddhist University – where students are taught philosophy, medicine, arts, and tantric practices.
In Buryatia, we have an authoritative scientific institution – Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences – which houses one of the world's largest collections of the ancient Tibetan and Mongolian manuscripts, among which there is Kangyur edition produced by the Imperial Printing House of Beijing of the Qin era. The National Museum of the Republic of Buryatia has a valuable collection of Buddhist art whose pearl is the Atlas of Tibetan Medicine, which is the only complete copy of the Tibetan original of the XVII century.
Having such a historical legacy in our hands, we not only preserve it, but also revive it. The Center of Oriental Medicine is one of the successfully functioning institutions in Buryatia, where the practices of ancient healing are intertwined with contemporary methods of medicinal treatment, and where the medications are made according to the ancient recipes.
Dear friends, we are honored to invite you to participate in the First International Buddhist Forum held in Buryatia and to discover Buddhist Russia, to meet Buddhist masters and scholars from all parts of the world and, most importantly, to visit the world treasure – Lake Baikal.

Aleksey Tsydenov
Head of the Republic of Buryatia

Buddhism became the second officially recognized religion in Russia, which happened thanks to the manifesto of Empress Elizabeth of Russia in 1741. According to this document, some 11 datsans were established on the eastern borders of the Russian Empire, on the territory of contemporary Buryatia. In 1764, Empress Catherine the Great established the post of Pandito Hambo Lama, the head of the Lama Church of Eastern Siberia and Transbaikalia therefore establishing autonomous status of Buddhism in our country. The first Pandito Hambo Lama became Damba Darzha Zayaev.

It is no surprise that in the very same year the Russian Senate has issued a decree establishing four Buddhist Cossack military regiments. These regiments have recruited the best representatives of the Buryat ethnic clans who lived on the border of the Russian Empire, and each regiment was attached to its natal datsan. Thus, back in the middle of the XVIII century, Buryats were given a great honor, while preserving their religion, to defend the borders of our motherland.

In 1766, the Buddhists recognized Empress Catherine the Great and Empress Elizabeth, and later all other emperors of Russia as the embodiment of one of the main Buddhist deities on Earth – the goddess White Tāra. Each new Pandito Hambo Lama took an oath of allegiance to the incumbent leader of Russia. This continued until 1917, and this tradition has been restored now.
Buddhism is one of the four main religions of Russia, and despite the fact that Buddhism is traditionally the state religion in several regions (the Republic of Buryatia, Transbaikalia, Irkutsk Province, the Republic of Kalmykia, the Republic of Tyva, the Republic of Altai, and the Republic of Khakassia), adherents of Buddhism live almost in all parts over Russia, and Buddhist communities are established in different cities of the country while Buddhist temples being built in some of them. After all, the development of Buddhism does not undermine the unity of Russia, which is a country of multiple ethnic groups and religions.
Since 1970, Russian Buddhists have been actively participating in the functioning of the Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace. No matter which Buddhist schools we belong to, we always share the common idea of following the instructions of Buddha and strive for what he has achieved.
I am happy to welcome the participants of the First International Buddhist Forum, which is not coincidentally taking place on the land from where Russian Buddhism began its development, and on the land where our Great Teacher Pandito Hambo Lama Dashi-Dorzho Itigilov resides. His feat of preserving his Precious Inexhaustible Body is a great achievement in Buddhist practice and an example for all of us.

Damba Ayusheyev
XXIV Pandito Khambo Lama of the Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia

Sincerely and with all purity and joy, I welcome the participants of the Buddhist Forum! You always experience great joy when well-known leaders and masters, representatives of various Buddhist communities, people from different countries of the world, scholars, educators, and researchers come together to discuss the most pressing issues of the development and scholarship of Buddhism and to offer their support of Buddhist education.
Among the most important areas today are the improvement of Buddhist education and research, the restoration of the best traditions of Russian Buddhism Studies, the strengthening of Buddhist communities, the publication of new annotated translations and research findings. The Foundation for the Support of Buddhist Education and Research is always ready to support these areas.
Buddhism in Russia, while being established here centuries ago, has become an important part of the Russian civic identity, a moral reference point for hundreds of thousands of people. And the great joy is that the Russian government provides considerable support to Buddhist communities and research and gives an impetus to their development. And today more and more people seek Buddhism to discover the most important foundations of moral perfection, self-regulation, forms of overcoming violence and observing ahimsa, and compassion along with harmonious interaction between people.
Constant self-improvement, purity, and peace of mind are the features that distinguish both the true Buddhists and the scholars of Buddhism. We are all distinguished by patience and willingness to help others, by a sense of unity of the sangha even when we are separated by borders and distances.
I wish patience, calm consciousness, and joyful conversations to all participants of the Forum!

Alexey Maslov
Professor, President of the Foundation for the Support of Buddhist Education and Research