Russian Digital Buddhism: Strategies of Buddhist Communities in New Media

Russian Digital Buddhism: Strategies of Buddhist Communities in New Media


Оstrovskaya Е.А.

Dr. Sci. (Sociol.), Prof., Faculty of Sociology, Saint Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia e.ostrovskaya@spbu.ru

Badmatsyrenov T.B.

Dr. Sci. (Sociol.), Assoc. Prof., Head of Department of Politology and Sociology, Dorzhi Banzarov Buryat State University, Ulan-Ude, Russia batorovitch@mail.ru

ID of the Article: 9210


The reported research was funded by RFBR project No. 20-011-00531


For citation:

Оstrovskaya Е.А., Badmatsyrenov T.B. Russian Digital Buddhism: Strategies of Buddhist Communities in New Media. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2022. No 7. P. 109-119




Abstract

The paper is devoted to the consideration of the dynamics of digitalization of communities of various Buddhism traditions in Russia and the construction of strategies by them for building relationships with the Internet and new media. As a methodological framework, the authors have chosen Heidi Campbell’s “socio-religious technology formatting” approach, which makes it possible to identify the correspondence between the history, tradition, beliefs of the religious community and the strategies they choose to use media technologies to construct their own identity, authority and boundaries. Based on interview materials and data from the analysis of online texts, the authors analyze the correlations between the sociocultural consolidation of specific areas of Russian Buddhism and the maturation of media niches of Russian-speaking Buddhism. 


Keywords
Digital Buddhism; Karma-Kagyu; Dzogchen; new media

References

Aktamov I.G., Badmatsyrenov T.B., Dorzhieva T.B. (2015) Buddhism on the Internet: a methodology for studying virtual religious communities. Vestnik Buryatskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta [Bulletin of the Buryat State University]. Series: Philosophy. No. 6: 86–91. (In Russ.)

Aktamov I.G., Badmatsyrenov T.B., Khandarov F.V. (2018) Features of the development of virtual Buddhist communities in Runet. Vlast [Power]. No. 2: 100–105. (In Russ.)

Badmatsyrenov T., Rodionov V. (2020) Buddhist revival and construction of the Buddhist community in modern Buryatia. Gosudarstvo, religiya, tserkov’ v Rossii i za rubezhom [State, religion, church in Russia and abroad]. No. 1 (38): 62–85. (In Russ.)

Badmatsyrenov T.B., Skvortsov M.V., Khandarov F.V. (2018) Topological characteristics of the Buddhist community in the VKontakte social network. Sotsiologicheskiye issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. No. 8: 74–82. (In Russ.)

Vanchikova Ts.P. (2012) Tibetans in Buryatia: a new phenomenon in the ethnic and cultural diversity of the republic. Uchenyye zapiski Zabaykal’skogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta [Scientific notes of the Transbaikal State University. Series: Philology, history, oriental studies]. No. 2: 128–135. (In Russ.)

Dondukov B.Ts., Dondukova G.P. (2017) Prerequisites for the formation of the Buddhist segment of the Internet. Kontekst i refleksiya: filosofiya o mire i cheloveke [Context and reflection: philosophy about the world and man]. Vol. 6. No. 6A: 200–210. (In Russ.)

Dorzhigushaeva O.V., Dondukov B. (2016) Influence of information technologies on the development of Buddhist communities in Russia. Nauchnyye vedomosti Belgorodskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya: Filosofiya. Sotsiologiya. Pravo [Scientific bulletins of the Belgorod State University. Series: Philosophy. Sociology. Law]. Vol. 35. No. 3 (224): 110–114. (In Russ.)

Campbell H. (2020) To the question of the religious and social formation of technology Gosudarstvo, religiya, tserkov’ v Rossii i za rubezhom [State, religion, church in Russia and abroad]. No. 38(2): 124–158. (In Russ.)

Ostrovskaya E.A. (2016) Buddhist communities of St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg: Aletheya. (In Russ.)

Campbell H. (2010) Considering the Religious-Social Shaping of Technology. In: When Religion Meets New Media. New York: Routledge: 41–63.

Ostrovskaya E., Badmatsyrenov T., Khandarov F., Aktamov I. (2021) Russian-Speaking Digital Buddhism: Neither Cyber, nor Sangha. Religions. No. 12.

Terentiev Andrey (2015) “The Dalai Lama’s translator.” YouTube channel “Save Tibet”. https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=bG8uySvoi2I (accessed 11.02.22).

Content No 7, 2022