Buddhism in Alaska (Russian America)

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Buddhism the third largest religion in Alaska making up approximately 10% of the population. Until the 1950's Tibetan Lamanism was the prominent school of Buddhism in the country. Unique to Alaska, New World Buddhism has developed an equally visible presence. The Chan school is also a reality in Chinese Alaskan enclaves. Geographically Buddhists are distributed throughout Alaska the largest concentration is in Validkakady the most Buddhist city in North America.

History

See History of Alaskan Buddhism

Alaskan Buddhism traces its origins to Kalmyk soldiers serving the Imperial Army. during the Russo-Spanish war. On one such occasion before battle with the Spanish the Kalamyk built a steel marker and meditated for balance in battle. According to Kalmyk legend this handed the Russians victory for that day. After the war many of the Kalmyk choose to stay in the newly taken Sonora while some reportedly returned to Eurasia to bring back their families. Originally using their new homes as pasture land in Yurts the Kalmyak settled, clustering around a temple by 1845. At first many Kalmyk clergy were reluctant to leave because of the unreachable distance from their Tibetan spiritual homelands. Teacher and Bodhisattva Sants Nemaev differed with the hope t hat enlightenment could be found everywhere. Teacher Nemaev became the first spiritual leader of the Russian Kalamyk, building the first Alaskan Buddhist monastery. Namev's main teachings emphasized generosity, scholasticism and family kinship as vehicles important to successful meditation.

Traditionally students to Kalamyk priesthood would have traveled to Tibet for their training but as this became impossible new spiritual grounds were established in Sonora. Farther out into the west locations in Oregon would become Kalamyk locations of meditation where students would spent part of the year in relative solitude to become closer to enlightenment. Among many Alaskan Buddhists especially Lamnatists this custom continues to the present day.

The Gold Rush brought new waves of Buddhist affiliated Chinese men, unlike the Kalamyk they came with the intention to make gold fortunes and leave. After the rush abated some discovering the Kalmyak merged into their community intermarrying with them. Others took to the coastal English and Russian cities to start fraternities and enterprise. Much later Cantonese and Han women would arrive giving the Chinese permanence. Young Chan monks took interest in the expanding Alaskan colony and arrived by the 1860's. Manchurians, Buryats, Turvans and Oriats followed suit in immigrating to Alaska. Fraternal Societies were the foundation for Chan beliefs in Alaska.

While the majority of Russian Alaskans were contemptuous or outright hostile to the Asian Alaskan immigrants, there were exceptions. A small fraction of Russian families fresh to Alaska converted to Buddhism, but adding their own interpretations becoming the foundations of New World Buddhism. Russian Buddhist scholar Fyodor Stcherbatsky took personal interest in this phenomenon and traveled to Alaska at the turn of the century. Many Western Scholars came to see the Buddhists in Sonora. New World Buddhism would eventually add elements to make the religion more applicable for former Christians.By the turn of the 20th century there were more than 200 temples and dozens of monasteries throughout Alaska.

The first quarter of the 20st century saw Buddhists unite nation wide in several organized sects. Prior to the 1910's Buddhists organized exclusively on a local level. Major organizations that exist to the present day include the Yellow Hat Dharama, the Lotus Union, and the Nirvana Church and others. These groups existed to standardize theology for their sects, promote Buddhist schools and also build strong ties for laymen that were spread throughout Alaska.

The Russo-Japanese War attracted suspicion from colonial imperial authorities for all Alaskan Buddhists. Colonial officials enacted many discriminatory laws limiting their movement, rituals, and night curfews for alleged involvement in "Japanese Sabotage". This caused some Alaskan Buddhists to convert to Orthodoxy in an attempt to evade harassment from authorities. Discrimination and the forcible expansion of the Russian Empire and East Asia created a short boom of additional immigration in the first decade of the 20th century. Abroad many second and third generation Alaskan Buddhists saw Asia for the first time in their lives fighting in Manchuria for the empire. Bringing home many artifacts, texts and some sages the years before the Alaskan wars was a time of spiritual renewal for Buddhists that otherwise been very far away from the roots of their faith. Lamanists went to great lengths to bring ritual into their faith. Many Alaskans, particularly those from Somona traveled on pilgrimage to holy sights in Tibet and Nepal. Bringing back with them their own interpretations of their doctrine.

The outbreak of civil war in the Russian Empire ruptured fledgling Buddhist groups on political lines. Early on Buddhists showed reluctance but pockets supported white, blue and red factions. Such decisions were typically based one's local political environment and the best way for a noticeable and estranged minorities to avoid being targeted by majority white Christian populations or communist vanguards. In 1922 communists in New Irtsuk and the far north issues edicts forcing Buddhists to renounce their faith or face expulsion. Most able bodied men were drafted into Bolshevik armies. As many as 5,000 Buddhist men, women and children were executed by the Alaskan Socialist Republic for charges of espionage for the New Archangel government. At least fifty temples were destroyed between 1920 and 1925. Hundreds were sent to labor camps for reeducation throughout the 1930's, some of these prisoners were imported from the Soviet Union.

Old World destruction of Buddhist culture led to massive Buddhist white emigres, perhaps as many of 100,000 by 1930. Many came willing to fight for the Alaskian National Republic and English Colombia but faced suspicion from both. A.N.R fighters believed that such foreign people could be infiltrated with red agents and often barred them from jobs and military service. Colombia closed their border to the emigres, and sectioned off existing Buddhist communities from mainstream life. The English classified all those practicing Eastern Cults and of oriental origin as a danger to a proper Anglo society.

Fortunately The Alaskan Democratic Republic that replaced the A.N.R took a more forgiving position of Buddhists, even while still discriminating on basis of origin the A.D.R saw the need to in cooperate minorities for the sake of unity. Buddhists were brought back into public life to some extent and were permitted entrance into military service and some government jobs. For this reason Sitka still hosts some of the largest Buddhist minorities by percentage in Alaska today.

Buddhist Alaskians found their Alaskan identity in supporting the unification of all of Russian America. In the 1930's several Buddhist Monks become well known in the general mainstream for their calls of unity. Also an middle class of Russian speaking Buddhist Entrepreneurs, Educators, Doctors and Lawyers became better known in the coastal cities. Modern Schools, businesses and clinics became common. While this by itself strengthened the economic power of Buddhists many Buddhists converted to Orthodoxy in order to further assimilate into the Alaskan identity.

The reunification of Alaska in 1942 led to official recognition of Buddhists to practice their faith everywhere in 1944 by the state. The rise of university education for the next twenty years piked more interest in Buddhism by the general Alaskan population. From the early 50's New World Buddhism became popular in Alaskan Youth as it was taught in government universities. Elements such as Buddha idols, and prayer flags became mainstream elements of pop culture. Buddhism benefited in the 1960's by anti discrimination laws in work place and education enacted by the Kardash administration.

The 60's and 70's saw Buddhists split on racial lines segments of Asian Alaskans switched out as many whites joined existing groups and made new ones. Asian Buddhists that remained increasingly united with each other to preserve their heritage. White Buddhists were generally more interested in meditation and combining certain aspects with New Age Spirituality. The Nirvana Church increasingly became dominated by Russian students. Isolating the Nirvana Church from all other Buddhists in Alaska. While older and Asiatic laymen became conservative the young became more impassioned with their beliefs. Certain organizations titled towards recent immigrants while others catered to students and unconventional philosophers. Young pupils began to be expelled from established organizations by the hundreds

By 1985 problems threatened to unravel the entire Buddhist community, a sizable but also fragile minority at this point. In Vladikakaday a conference between the the largest organizations and monasteries tried to resolve the differences in practices and doctrine with limited success. Afterwards open division subsided but participation and membership in institutions slumped. While still an important cornerstone toward Asian Alaskans, Buddhism was no longer a function for Asians alone.

The dissolution of the Soviet Union brought the most recent surge in Buddhist from Eurasia, of both laymen and practitioners. Many people from Buryatia, Mongolia, Kalmakya and other nations had freedom of movement for the first time. Arriving to Alaska the 90's immigrants arguably brought Alaskan Buddhism closer back to that of Mahanya Buddhism in Asia. The immigration has spurred the construction of several new projects. Such as the Tseveer Gegeerel monastery recently finished in 2011.

The first fifteen years of the 21st century continues to see the rise of a spiritually and ethnically diverse movement but still has unity in its impact on Alaskan society as a whole.

Variants

Lamanism

A school Based out of Tibet, Lamanism has historically been the primary faith of the Mongol, Buryat, Manchurian and other Siberian-Mongolic Alaskans. In contrast to Lamanism in Asia Lamanism in Russia has begun to use Mongol as well as Tibetan as holy languages. While other schools have emerged in recent years the Geluge school was traditionally the prominent Lamanist School and still holds prominence. Lamanists in Alaska has its own spiritual head independent from the spiritual head of the Tibet. However Lamanists in Alaska still give official acknowledgment to the Tibetan Dali Lama as the reincarnation of the Bodhisattva of compassion but not as a political leader. Recently with the rise of globalization the Alaskan lamanists are working on forging closer spirtual ties with Tibet to enrich study and debate in Alaska.