The Eternal Body of Khambo Lama Itigelov

Ivolginsky Datsan is the center of Buddhism in Buryatia. It was founded in 1946, and while it hardly made up for the hundreds of monks who were purged and the scores of datsans destroyed less than a decade earlier (in 1937), it did serve as a center of Buddhism in the Soviet Union following its construction. Whether it is still the center of Buddhism in the Russian Federation is up for debate; I would argue that there exists a geographic division, between Buddhism as practiced in Buryatia and as practiced in western Russia in Kalmykia, but also in St. Petersburg and Moscow, which each have their own Buddhist communities (the former has its own temple). There seems to be a power struggle going on between leading lamas both within Buryatia and between regions, at least this is the impression given by the academic literature.

While Buddhism’s internal politics remain to be sorted out, noticeable at Ivolginsky Datsan is the fact that Soviet ‘patronage’ has resulted in a more integrated and complete religious community. In addition to the main datsan (see photo right), the current version of which was built in the 1970s after the previous building burned, there are a number of smaller temples, and visitors make a clockwise circle of the edge of the complex. The photo at left shows prayer flags tied to trees outside the complex’s walls. There is also a Buddhist university, for novices entering the monastic order, and dormitories that house the monks and pilgrims who have made the trip to Ivolginsky.

The importance of the Datsan as a spiritual center was greatly enhanced in 2002, when, following a decree by the current Khambo Lama (the religious head of Buddhism in Buryatia), the body of Khambo Lama Itigelov (1852-1927) was exhumed from its sarcophagus. Prior to his death in 1927, Itigelov instructed his disciples to exhume his body both 30 years and 75 years after his death, with the latter exhumation being permanent. The Lama had been disinterred twice before, in 1955 (they didn’t quite make it to 30 years) and 1973, in order to check the condition of the body. Both times, it was unchanged, with the Lama still sitting in the lotus position; some claim that his hair, for example, continues to grow at an astonishingly slow rate.

Currently, the body is displayed to pilgrims eight times a year. Khambo Lama still sits in the lotus position, in a glass container (no photos are allowed, but a picture can be found here). The front of the container is open. Visitors are ushered quickly up to the Lama, where they bow their heads and touch his scarf, before being led away. It is important to both approach and move away from the Lama while facing forward; there was a monk in place to make sure visitors didn’t turn their backs. He was part of a retinue of lamas (about 15), who helped make sure that the pilgrims don’t dawdle, both in front of the lama and while praying to the statues and photos (for example, of the Dalai Lama) to the Lama’s side. At the same time, about forty lamas are seated in four rows, reading prayers written by visitors and chanting in Tibetan. There was also the more prosaic task of taking their morning tea while we were there, at around 10 am.

The experience of seeing the Lama was unique, and not totally explicable. Obviously, the body is of religious significance for Buddhists in Russia and elsewhere. At the same time, there remains a need, both within Russia and more broadly, to rationalize religious processes that are not easily explained. The scientific tests done here in Russia have not returned a verdict or offered a counter-explanation for the uncorrupted state of the body. At the same time, the lack of a definitive scientific statement enhances the sacredness of the body for pilgrims and believers. To paraphrase from the Simpsons, in the case of science vs. religion, perhaps a restraining order should be issued for science, to stay at least 500 feet away from religion at all times. This is a quite progressive idea; thanks, Matt Groening.