Home page » Topics » Communities » Buddhists from Donbas One of the oldest Buddhist communities in Ukraine is located not far from the village of Kryvopillia in the Carpathians They were compelled to leave their region and move to the Carpathians after the military conflict in Donbas broke out The monks dream about the war being over and the occupied lands to be returned to Ukraine They have shaved heads and wear white gowns with orange cloaks angsa (traditional dress of Biddhist monks — editor) They wake up at dawn and read prayers to the sun They have unconventional appearance and lifestyles from the standpoint of Ukrainians they live in the Carpathians and speak Ukrainian Despite historical affiliation of Ukrainians to Christianity Buddhism has quite old historical connections with our country Common fashion for eastern practices got widespread in the second half of the 19th century among the circles of intellectuals there are mentions about connections of Cossacks with Kalmyk Buddhists as early as in the 18th century The first Buddhist religious community was officially registered in Donetsk in 1991 As of 2017 there are more than 59 communities registered the activity of Buddhist centers in independent Ukraine mostly was focused in Slobozhanshchyna: in Donetsk After the occupation the adherents of eastern practices had to resettle to different corners of Ukraine This story is about religious migrants that now reside in the Carpathians Serhiy Filonenko is the monk of the Lotus Sutra order He says it is their community that is the oldest in Ukraine It was founded right after Ukraine proclaimed its independence and it was registered with the help of Ukrainian theologist Ihor Kozlovskyi who had to stay in Donetsk during the occupation and go into captivity and in December 2017 was released together with other captives but in the village that is way older than Donetsk people came and settled there and started digging mines There was a small miners town and my mother moved there from Luhansk region the members of the Buddhist community traveled the world a lot Serhiy confessed that in Donbas people perceived them differently some people even teased them: Krishna go into mine though ironically there are real miners among the monks Buddhists do not divide people into “own kind” and “outsiders” that is why Filonenko expresses a middle position on a complex issue of “east-west”: — I see that Ukrainians have something in common And they have more in common than differences People do not differ that much deep inside that is why in the world view of every disciple are absent such notions like “enemy” and a feeling of hatred: — In my consciousness it never happens that I consider someone a stranger I do not hate people that took away my Donbas but I do not have hatred towards those people The war interrupted the construction of the Sacred Mound of Peace that the monks were erecting on the hill next to the Siverskyi Donets and made them search other “places of power” following the advice of the Mentor Terasawa Junsei the monks bought a house on the Dnipro river bank in Cherkasy region In the Carpathians the disciples of the order have been staying for more than a year Serhiy says that to call their settlement or the house in which they meditate a shrine would be wrong: those who practice karate or kendo also call their places (for trainings — editor) “dōjō” They also practice their way: the way of sword or the way of karate In the Carpathians the search for suitable location lasted longer the monks built a new one in just seven months and started their life anew They are planning to make a traditional Buddhist garden in Japaneese style in the yard later on: — We have been looking throughout the Carpathians for almost three years He liked local landscapes: from Kryvopillia heights up to Verkhovyna Iltsi and Kryvopillia have very softly shaped mountains and pleasing views when we were on the way back and were crossing the Kryvopillia heights a big deer crossed our way and Sansey said that it was a sign that the spirit of the forest pointed us where to be And we started to look around and finally dwelled here Serhiy tells that at first local people treated with caution the newcomers with unusual faith There were even problems with local nationalists and orthodox community but with time people got used to and accepted the Buddhists on their land The monk is convinced that if to communicate with people they open up and stop being hostile towards strangers: “Aren’t Hutsuls indeed the best people in the world?” and you… I am here for quite a long time and you haven’t invited me yet.” And she says back Serhiy goes to Kryvopillia village very seldom: once a week to get some groceries or for some other errands salespeople and other local people the monks communicate often and without any problems: they greet everyone do not wish to live in complete isolation from the world that exists outside the notion “Sangha” (harmony — editor): — Some people understand that it is a prayer They like that we meet the sun and see it off There is one local man… he drinks a bit too much He does not need to be explained some complex things He just hears the prayer and knows that we meet the sun and that it is important 20 monks reside on the mountain and all of them are old-timers of the Order Serhiy hopes that with a move to a new place they will attain more followers since the religious practice should be supported it is no good if everything ends up on them Serhiy Filonenko came to Buddhism during the times of the Perestroika and when he became a monk he was already 30 years old During uncertain political times he got interested in eastern practices A chance helped him to make up his mind when he wrote a letter to St Petersburg datsan that was the biggest and the oldest center in USSR and later on he was invited to come There an idea appeared to register in Donetsk the first Buddhist community in Ukraine Among Ukrainian communities the most popular is Tibet line of Buddhism The line the Serhiy belong to is called the Order of Lotos Sutra or the Order Nipponzan-Myōhōji the mentor of the order is Sansei Terasawa Junsei It is a far eastern buddhism that before reaching Ukraine made its way through Central Asia where the mentor of Serhiy and other Ukrainian-speaking monks comes from The personality of the Mentor has a great meaning because he decides whom to give a chance of becoming a monk Actually this line (Nipponzan-Myōhōji – editor) Chinese Buddhism used to be the most powerful According to history Chinese Buddhism reached the highest level Tibet Buddhism is very popular in the world there is no official hierarchy in Buddhism like in other religions of the world Even Dalai Lama is an ordinary monk just like anyone else Monks differ from one another only by the age and experience since those who are older have gained more wisdom and deserve respect of others: — The older ones sit down closer to the altar and the younger ones sit down on the other side the Mentor puts them round himself in order to develop them Everyday the Carpathian monks fulfill religious practices At six o’clock in the morning if the weather is fine they climb the mountain and start the ceremony: they meet the sun with a special prayer they complete the morning ritual with a Lotus Sutra that is read mostly in Russian there is also partial translation into Ukrainian Then the monks get to household activities: cook food The Buddhists try to find at least two hours every day for individual learning: reading of philosophical and scientific texts The day is concluded by an evening ceremony To pray in harmony with nature is the main aim of conducting religious practices: — We have a beautiful mountain of Kostrycha A beautiful view on Chornohora mountain range opens up from there It would be great to go there once a week and to pray to the world around Besides generally accepted prayer practices the order of Lotus Sutra is famous for its peacekeeping activities Serhiy says that the representatives of Tibet buddhism often take part in political campaigns: — When between India and Pakistan there was tension and nuclear war was on the brim of break out It was not like we took flags ourselves and started marching on In Pakistan there was support from politicians and generals It was strongly supported in India as well Many people welcomed us and it was shown in mass media We did it with belief that our prayer could help stop it that Buddha’s teaching united the land long before Islam came there Ukrainian Buddhists have connections with other religious communities The mentor Terasawa Junsei was at the head of many peacekeeping initiatives He wrote a letter to Saddam Khuseyn with a request to save Iraq by resigning the authority of presidency and moving to another country Headed by the Sansey the monks also went to Chechnya when the conflict with Russia got toughened again it was canonical Islam that lead to tragic outcome on its territory: but then… Right before our eyes it started happening The canonical Islam was brought there and it ruined Chechnya because this is very aggressive branch of Islam and it is not native to Chechens Serhiy is worried about current geopolitical situation on the planet Buddhism believes in notions of cycle and changeability: our Universe is expanding and it would disappear in order to give beginning to a new cycle of life They believe that humanity is not progressing According to this statement the period of human history is the last stage in this cycle of existence Despite numerous trips around Europe and Asia Serhiy cannot name any other place where he could live besides Ukraine the South America was interesting before it was discovered by the Europeans since indians had “universal wisdom” but now this part of the planet is not attractive to him anymore Europe is also not suitable for Buddhists’ residence The best micro climate for Buddhism practicing is in Asia since people have retained their ancient attitude to the world: I do not have such thoughts when somebody has gone somewhere and i think to myself It is without doubt that their faith is the most precious thing that has Serhiy and religious people like him For Buddhist monk believes not into soul salvation but that he can change the world just like Buddha or Jesus Christ — I can see in Ukraine some important roots we feel that we have discovered something important History of Scythians is very important period not only for Ukraine They could sacrifice own life for each other This trait of character got somewhat transferred to cossacks but in Scythians this spirit was from the Universe Buddhists have some kind of patriotism though it is rooted into notions “cosmicity” and “unity”: — I would like our Ukrainian people to be more united I do feel it that our country has very deep roots But everything that is going on is like foam having overcome the way from the steppes of Slobozhanshchyna to the mountain ranges of the Carpathians a couple of dozen of people keep carrying the prayer and believe into the world salvation Serhiy says that it is enough to have 4 monks so that a community could be created and the wisdom could be retained for descendants: — This way sprouts up through you and all the powers of the universe sprout up too That is why we are capable of changing this world It is not for self-improvement or achievement of some levels Involved in the preparation of the material 15 volunteers Project support: Fundacja Euromaidan-Warszawa Use of materials is only permitted upon providing the source: Ukrainer.net Дизайн — Артем Зубкевич Розробка — Deluxcode Russian military aircraft dropped four aerial bombs on settlements in the occupied part of the Donetsk region in one day. The bombs fell on villages with an interval of about one hour, reports the Russian edition Astra It is noted that this latest emergency descent of air bombs from planes occurred on January 22 one of the half-ton Russian bombs was discovered around 10 a.m in the occupied village of Monakhove (Makiivka city community) The bomb fell 700 meters from houses in this settlement another FAB-500 bomb was found 300 meters from houses in the Russian-occupied village of Verkhnia Krynka (Yenakiieve city council) another half-ton FAB was found in a field near the village of Novoselivka Another bomb was discovered in a field near the village of Nova Svitlo just half an hour later," the publication stated The mentioned settlements are located close to each other with a distance of no more than 4 km between them Russian media reported a random bomb drop from Russian aircraft on January 21 when a FAB-500 bomb fell 1.5 km from houses in the urban-type settlement of Nyzhnia Krynka there have been at least 165 cases of FAB air bombs falling on the territory of Russia and occupied parts of Ukraine in 2024 there have already been reports of 13 emergency descents of FAB bombs and one missile Earlier, it was reported that in early January, a Russian aircraft dropped a bomb on the house of a police major in the Kursk region This incident took place in the village of Sergeevka Also, at the end of December last year, Russian aircraft dropped two more FAB bombs in the Belgorod region, prompting evacuation measures in the area.