140. Datsan Gunzechoinei: Tibetan Buddhism in St. Petersburg

The Datsan Gunzechoinei temple is the northernmost Buddhist temple in Russia, and one of the most northerly in the world (there are temples planned for Reykjavik, Iceland and Fredrika, Sweden that will be at a higher latitude). The name in Tibetan means "The Source of the Holy Teaching of All-caring Lord-Hermit". The temple is located on the northern bank of the Bolshaya Neva River, across from Yelagin Island. It is more than 100 years old, so the history of Buddhism in St. Petersburg reaches back before the Russian Revolution. The temple helped to unite followers of Tibetan Buddhism from across Russia (unfortunately, just a few years before all religion was suppressed by the Soviet authorities). The beautiful building was designed by Russian architect Gavriil Baranovsky.

I've been to a few Buddhist temples in Singapore on a business trip a decade ago, but not often enough to really understand the etiquette. There were a bunch of visitors here when I arrived. Some were probably here for a meal in the basement cafeteria, others undoubtedly to talk with the bhikkhū (monks) on the top floor, several to pray in the main worship area (sorry, I don't know the correct terminology), and probably a few people like me who were just there to look around. A bunch of people were hanging out in a small room on the second floor and I could not figure out what they were doing. There were a few signs in the lobby near the entrance, but I didn't have the Russian vocabulary to make sense of them. Although, I imagine the language barrier was less of an issue than my simple lack of familiarity with appropriate behavior for visits to a Buddhist temple. Nevertheless, I appreciated the beautiful building.