UKRAINIAN BUDDHISM AND NEOBUDDHISM IN WAR CONDITIONS

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the peculiarities of the functioning of Buddhist and neo- Buddhist movements in the conditions of the war in Ukraine. It is noted that the modernization of Ukrainian culture, which is accompanied by the development of post-secular trends, manifests itself not only in the revival and transformation of religious beliefs traditional for our people, but also in the spread of non-traditional and neo-religious teachings and movements, among which Buddhism and Neo-Buddhism occupy a special place. The revival of Buddhism in Ukraine in the 90s of the last century took place mainly with the mediation of Russia. In the situation that developed at that time, Buddhism acted as a kind of "agent" of Russian cultural expansion. In the conditions of the war against rashism, it largely became independent from Russian influence. Among the most striking manifestations of Buddhism in Ukraine is the sangha of the Mahayanist direction of the Nipponzan Myōhōji Order, whose representatives have suffered from racist aggression since 2014 and until today. As a result of the occupation by Russian terrorists of parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, neo-religious groups, including Buddhists, were displaced from these territories. Seeking refuge, Ukrainian Buddhists were directly faced with the need to form a clear position in relation to Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, not hiding behind the general Buddhist notion of the absurdity of any war as a way to resolve conflicts. During the analysis, it was also established that under the influence of transformational processes in Western European Buddhism, domestic Buddhism is being modernized. In Ukraine, neo-Buddhist practices are identified with such directions and schools as Karma Kagyu, Zen Buddhism, Nittiren, White Lotus, as well as with Protestant and cyber Buddhism. Within the boundaries of neo-Buddhist teachings, the problem of Russia's aggressive war of aggression against Ukraine is discussed sporadically, but it is already possible to distinguish certain trends in the understanding and interpretation of its essence and the preference for a negative assessment of the moral component of rashist aggression, which certainly indicates positive shifts in the ideas of domestic followers of the doctrine and hope on the useful application of Buddhist methods and practices to improve the spiritual and psychological state of the Ukrainian community, as well as on the further development of antitotalitarian tendencies and tolerance towards non-traditional religious phenomena in its environment.