Abstract: The subject of the study is a methodological toolkit for a comprehensive study of ethical ideas contained in the creed of traditional Russian Buddhists — Kalmyks, Buryats, Tuvans, Altaians. The purpose of this study is to substantiate philosophical understanding of the ethical component of the text “Refuge”, recited by traditional Buddhists of Russia. The choice of methodological approaches, principles and methods is determined by the philosophical orientalist paradigm, when Buddhist materials are considered in their integrity, in their inextricable connection with human and culture. Important addition is taking into account ideas of Buddhologist O. O. Rosenberg, who advocated the study of the “living” tradition of Buddhism. The novelty of the study lies in substantiation that a holistic understanding of the ethical component of the Russian Buddhists' creed can be obtained by combining three approaches: philosophy of culture, philosophy of religion, and philosophical anthropology. Philosophical cultural dimension will allow focusing on categories of Buddhist ethics set out in the text “Refuge” and taking into account comments of Buddhist authors in accordance with the principle of “cognitive modesty” of intercultural philosophy. The philosophical religious approach allows to consider the ethical component of the text “Refuge” in a soteriological context and show its place in the Buddhist religious complex. Philosophical anthropology will make it possible to identify the probable subjective meaning of the ethical component of the text “Refuge” for Buddhists. Such a comprehensive philosophical analysis of Russian Buddhists' creed will lead to the discovery of the foundations of their spiritual and moral values.

Keywords: Four Immesureables, philosophical oriental studies, research methodology, Buddhist culture, Tibetan Buddhism, Buddhist ethics, Three Jewels, Refuge, Buddhist creed, Buddhism in Russia

Abstract: This article presents a previously unpublished manuscript of a lecture on Schopenhauer's philosophy from archival materials of the famous Russian Buddhist scholar and Buddhist teacher B.D. Dandaron (1914–1974). It is part of a series of texts containing notes from lectures and books, his own notes as well as translations that are referred to as his “philosophical notebooks.” They date from 1953-1954, the time when B.D. Dandaron was in a Gulag camp in Taishet (Irkutsk region). This text is part of the materials of a philosophical seminar held by prisoners in their free time from work. The active participants of the seminar were B.D. Dandaron and V.E. Sesemann (1884-1963), a historian of philosophy, follower and colleague of L.P. Karsavin in the Eurasian movement. Sesemann was known for his work in Kantian philosophy and aesthetics. The manuscript argues that Schopenhauer's philosophy represents a unique attempt to combine Kant's epistemology with the ethics and metaphysics of Buddhism. The author notes that an attempt to synthesize such disparate principles should have led to significant intentional reinterpretations of these two very different systems of thought. The content of the work is to determine what new elements Schopenhauer (who considered himself a follower of Kant) introduced into Kant’s philosophy, on the one hand; and the fundamental differences between his philosophy and the teachings of Buddhism, on the other. The text will be of interest both to researchers of V.E. Sesemann (as the probable author or co-author of the work) and B.D. Dandaron. It allows us to understand the philosophical background of the religious and philosophical teaching of neo-Buddhism that they created, which had a great influence on the revival of Buddhism in Russia in the second half of the twentieth century.

Keywords: transcendental aesthetics, German philosophy, philosophy of Schopenhauer, history of Buddhism, neo-Buddhism, Sesemann, will to live, Dandaron, Buddhism in Russia, aesthetic contemplation

Abstract: The subject of the study is the cultural code of "Numbers", covering numerical symbols and their embodiment in the pictorial semiosis of the Jews of the Crimea. The object of the study is the traditional compositions and images associated with the symbolism of numbers in the pictorial practice of the Jews of the Crimea. The research uses methods of semiotic and semantic analysis in deciphering the meanings of numeric symbols and their embodiment in the Jewish pictorial semiosis of the Crimea, the method of analyzing previous research on the topic, the synthesis method in generalizing the meanings of numeric symbols. In the article, the authors consider such aspects of the topic as: the codes of the pictorial semiosis of the Jews of the Crimea are defined, their system, etymology, key meanings and the main code are indicated. The code of the Number and its features are considered in detail.     The main conclusions of the study are: 1. The result of the consideration of the traditional culture of the Jews of the Crimea was the definition of five codes of the Jewish pictorial semiosis, including groups of images: phytomorphic, zoomorphic, skewomorphic, numerical. The Sefer code (Book) is a generalizing one. The interrelationships of the codes are structured, as a result of which the key meanings are revealed – Creation, Paradise, Torah persons, Messianic aspirations. The semantic center of the codes is defined – Aron Hakodesh - the repository of the Torah, which is the source of all Jewish doctrine. 2. The considered Number code includes images, the number of which has a symbolic meaning, the basis of which lies in the Torah. The main numbers mentioned in the Torah, their meanings and their embodiment in traditional pictorial practice are considered. In addition to the direct mention of numbers in the Torah, the meanings of numeric symbols follow from Kabbalah, which translates alphabetic values into numeric ones (due to the same spelling of numeric and alphabetic symbols in Hebrew). Scientific novelty of the study: for the first time, the interrelationships of cultural codes in the pictorial semiosis of the Jews of the Crimea were determined. The author's concept of the sacred geometric code of numbers in Judaism is presented on the basis of the study of the Torah, as well as the classical philosophy of the Pythagoreans and Platonists.

Keywords: pictorial semiosis, numbers, Kabbalah, Torah, Aron Hakodesh, religion, Judaism, Crimea, Cultural code, sacred geometry

Abstract: The subject of the study is the reflections of prot. Alexander Schmeman on the fate of Russia and the Church in exile. The image of pre-revolutionary Russia, having survived the processes of recommoration, takes on the features of the golden age, becoming an ideal space in memory, the story of which is based on "memory points" - oral and written speech, traditions, a narrative about the lost homeland. It is impossible to ignore the image of the Russian Church, which is also being idealized, becoming a universal Church from a strictly national Church, which leads to the substitution of the foundations of Christianity and Orthodoxy. With the beginning of emigration, there is a transfer of space (translatio imperii) – and this is accompanied by a decrease in the amount of space and a rupture of history, which just provokes the priority of the national, since the national becomes borders, a house with its walls, a promise of inviolability, an appeal to history, in particular to the history of the Church, can be understood as a work that results in the liberation of a person from incessant looking back at the past as the only true and lasting "place". With the help of the work of understanding, one can achieve the removal of time and, having passed this path, go out to the timeless, infinite, in order to see the true Church. The problem of understanding the concept of the lost Homeland in the historical consciousness of the first wave of Russian emigration is extremely important, since the choice of a certain mode creates a particular narrative in which the paths leading from the "transcendent" golden age to the fate of the real space - Russia today are revealed.

Keywords: agonality, historical anti-space, Grecophile tradition, closed topos, hierotopos, historical memory, historical consciousness, Russian emigration, golden age, translatio imperii

Abstract: The subject of the research is the experience of building a non-religious and pseudo-religious faith as a new Christian anti-tradition. The object of research is post–secularism as a phenomenon of modernity. Comparative, descriptive and content analysis served as the methodological basis of the study. The idea of F.Nietzsche's "death of God" gave rise to a natural backlash from the bearers of religiosity, those for whom the existence of God is a reality. However, this answer was twofold. On the one hand, traditional apologetic polemics. But on the other hand, an attempt to rethink Christianity itself in the conditions of a "grown-up" world, the beginning of which, in many ways, was laid by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. But how justified is such an answer and will an attempt to "revise" Christian values lead to their reduction and then oblivion?      The following main conclusions were made. Protestant theological thought in the middle of the last century made a number of attempts to "adapt" Christianity to the realities of modernity. Dietrich Bonhoeffer put forward the idea of an adult world that has outgrown religion, and Thomas Altitzer laid the foundation for the "theology of the death of God", which makes Christianity irreligious at all. Such ideas desacralize the very idea of the Transcendent. The appearance of openly parodic pseudo-religious constructs and their partial recognition by modern society finally opens up the prospect of the ultimate profanation of the Transcendent due to the loss of interest in Its search, the reason for which was largely the attempts of confessional thought to solve the problem of the "death of God" through the secularization of faith, which, first of all, means the rejection of Tradition and God as incomprehensible The absolute. Such a denial of Tradition and with it the Transcendent, in fact, speaks not about overcoming the "barriers" of religiosity, but on the contrary, about building a new isolation. We can talk not only about the beginning of the "death" of the tradition, which is reborn into an anti-tradition, but also about the futility of "irreligious faith" and "atheistic Christianity" in general.

Keywords: atheism, pastafarianism, antitraditional, parody religions, the theology of the death of God, irreligious Christianity, the death of God, post - secularism, desacralization, God's gender

Abstract: The subject of this research is the approach of S. L. Frank towards the study of the religious-mystical experience of Christianity based on the conceptual matrix of "wise ignorance" and phenomenological method, which underlies the metaphysical system in his philosophy of religion. The authors examine in the specificity of philosophical mysticism of S. L. Frank and points of its intersection with the Christian religious-mystical experience. The unfolding of phenomenological approach to in-depth layers of the religious-mystical experience of Christianity means the functionality of philosophical reflection within the universal paradigm of Christianity, and thus, the characteristic archetype of religious-mystical experience. Special attention is given to the role of individual mystical-religious experiences of the philosopher and their rational categorization in creating his philosophical system. The main conclusions lie in theoretical provisions that Frank's philosophy of religion, outlined by him as a philosophical mystical theology, became the platform for the apophatic model of "wise ignorance", which led to theoretical reflection of the profound layers of not only mystical-philosophical, but also the religious-mystical experience of Christianity. The authors’ contribution lies in substantiation of the statement that the peculiarity of mystical-theological phenomenology of S. L. Frank is that it represents a version of contemplative mysticism and cannot be viewed as a special philosophical reflection on the diversity of Christian mysticism and the model of Christian mystical theology, which in no way detracts from the interdisciplinary nature of generalizations of the philosopher. The novelty of this article consists in explication of the philosophy of religion of S. L. Frank as a system of conceptual representations, which based on the model of apophatic "sophisticated ignorance", reflects the essential component (archetype) of the Christian religious-mystical experience underlying its diversity and divergence.

Keywords: apophaticism, transcendence, God, phenomenology, Frank, religious mysticism, philosophy of religion, religious faith, Orthodoxy, Christianity

Abstract: This article examines the sources of formation of the image of Buddhism in the Russian cultural environment and determine the degree of representativeness of this image. The author highlights the three main sources: 1) academic research works of the Western Schools of Buddhology (based on Pāli and Sanskrit material); 2) research conducted within the framework of the Russian School of Buddhology (based primarily on Tibetan- and Mongolian-language material); 3) research of the Orthodox Russian missionaries. It is determined that the fundamental theoretical position developed by the Anglo-Germanic School of Buddhology is the thesis on authenticity of Theravada Buddhism, which is considered as “initial”, and its other forms (such as Mahayana, Vajrayana) are considered as its later modifications that emerged under the influence of external factors. The key features of Buddhism in Buddhology imply that: 1) Buddha Shakyamuni was not a transcendent being; 2) his nirvana is understood nihilistically, as a complete cessation of the process of being; 3) Buddhism, denies the existence of soul; 4) the existence of God and the representation of the transcendent are also denied. Despite the fact that the studies of Mahayana and Vajrayana material indicated inadequacy of such assessment, these theses were reproduced over again. This is explained by the interest of significant social groups in such image of Buddhism: many Orthodox figures interpreted Buddhism as a philosophical-ethical, rather than religious system; atheistically-oriented scholars and scientifically-oriented public also supported such interpretation. The rational aspects of Buddhism, which give common grounds with science, were uncritically absolutized; Buddhism was viewed as an ally of scientific thinking, completely alien to faith.

Keywords: Orthodox Buddhology, Theravāda, Mahāyāna, Russian Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, Indian Buddhism, culture, Buddhology, missionary work, Buddhist culture

Abstract: The subject of this research is comprehension of the concept of secularism by theologians of the Abrahamic religious tradition (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism) in the late XX – early XXI centuries. The object of this research is secularism as the phenomenon of modernity. Leaning on the methodology of contextualism, comparative and content analysis, in terms of civilizational approach, the author studies the interpretation of the concept of secularism within the framework of confessional theological discourse. The author has examined the corresponding representations of theologians of the Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant Christian traditions, including the inter-Christian movement of radical Orthodoxy. Analysis is also conducted on the concept of secularism in modern classical Islam and moderate Orthodox Judaism. The main conclusions are as follows: the theologians of all indicated denominations trace the origins of secularism in the West; Islamic theologians agree upon the fact that radical Orthodoxy takes roots in Christianity itself; the representatives of Catholic tradition see secularism as the ideology similar to fundamentalism, however, they deny its universality, and thereby supporting the Orthodox interpretation of secularism. A number of Orthodox theologians view secularism not just as the ideology aimed at achieving the complete elimination religions from public life to purely private life, but also as quasi-religion, which is extraneous to the principles of secularism. Islamic theology believes that secularism, which is alien to the Muslim world, is a serious but not critical challenge brought from the West. Islamic theology tends to see secularism only as ideology, which at times is irrational. Jewish moderate Orthodoxy views secularism as the challenge to traditional meanings that are fundamental to human community. In this regard, they advocate for the so-called ideological consensus between religious belief and secular modernity.

Keywords: religion, islam, Orthodoxy, catholicism, ideology, quasi-religion, secularization, secular, secularism, judaism

Abstract: The subject of this research is the so-called Magisterium of the Popes on the topic of euthanasia, i.e. a set of formal texts that have high authority and normativity in the Roman Catholic Church. The history of development of the Vatican doctrine in this field stretches from 1950s, undergoing substantial changes. The author traces the evolution of philosophical and religious-ethical grounds of the views of the Holy See on euthanasia and assisted suicide. The goal of this article consists in determination of continuity of the concept of Magisterium, as well as the level of adaptability to the challenges of time. The author reveals the moral concepts and categorical apparatus that are essential for the formation of the magisterial doctrine in its modern form. Within the Russian research practice, the materials of the Catholic Magisterium has not previously become the subject of a separate in-depth examination as special group of philosophical-religious texts. The set of papal doctrinal documents dedicated to euthanasia is studied in the chronological aspect, as well as in light of the development of the socio-philosophical value system of Catholicism. The article employs virtually all documents that are of key importance for studying the establishment of the Roman doctrine of euthanasia. Many text, namely of the last two decades, are introduced into the Russian-language scientific discourse for the first time. The conclusion is made that the social transformations become a serious challenge for the conceptual core of the Magisterium, and force the Vatican theology to reason out the renewed system of argumentation in the post-secular and anti-clerical space of the Western society.

Keywords: Pope, social teaching, Vatican, assisted suicide, Magisterium, Roman Catholic Church, euthanasia, dignity of person, palliative care, moral philosophy

Abstract: This article is dedicated to examination of the characteristics of the doctrine of Raja yoga in interpretation Of M. V. Lodyzhensky. The goal consists in the analysis and reconstruction of the system of Raja yoga within the religious-ethical philosophy of the thinker. In the course of this research, the author resolves a number of problems: examines the system of primary elements of religious-ethical philosophy of M. V. Lodyzhensky; analyzes the sources that affected the formation of views of the philosopher upon Raja yoga; reveals main characteristics of the system of Raja yoga within Lodyzhensky’s philosophy; determines the peculiarities of religious-mystical practice of Raja yoga in the philosophy of M. V. Lodyzhensky; defines the role of Raja-yoga within the system of religious-ethical philosophy of the thinker. The novelty lies in determination of the novel in comparison to the existing in scientific literature categories of M. V. Lodyzhensky’s philosophy and their analysis in the context of system of fundamental sections of philosophical knowledge (ontology, theology, anthropology, epistemology, axiology, ethics); as well as in comprehensive study of the system of Raja yoga in interpretation Of M. V. Lodyzhensky and determination of its role within the structure of his philosophy. It is established that the “core” of the system of religious-ethical philosophy of M. V. Lodyzhensky is the ethics develop ethics and axiology of Hesychasm developed by him. It is proven that the system of metaphysical categories and ideas of the thinker is of synthetic nature and leans on various cultural trends and traditions. The article demonstrates that special role within the system of Lodyzhensky’s philosophy is played by the apologetics of Hesychasm that implies critical review of the non-Christian mystical practices, among which is the examination of Raja yoga. The author underlines the uniqueness of interpretation of Raja yoga in the philosophy M. V. Lodyzhensky, as well as provides critical assessment to his interpretation of the system of Raja yoga.

Keywords: reception of oriental teachings, classical yoga, hinduism, theosophy, mysticism, russian religious philosophy, hesychasm, raja yoga, Mitrofan Vasilievich Lodyzhenskii, religious experience

Abstract: This article examines the problems of the transformation of Buddhism in China in the context of its proliferation across the country. The goal of this work lies in the analysis of interaction and mutual influence of two cultures – Indo-Buddhist and Chinese, resulting in Sinicization of Buddhism that defined a transformational stage of the development pf philosophy and soteriology of Buddhism in the Far East. The author analyzes the differences in the Chinese principles founded on Confucianism, religious and social orientations, as well as Indo-Buddhist suggesting the new to the Chinese mentality idea of salvation. There are also shared moments in the philosophical and worldview positions of the Chinese, namely Taoist, Indo-Buddhist philosophy, which consist not in the similarities of separate episodes of the two philosophies, but their ways of thinking that determine the worldview orientations. The article demonstrates that the similarity of Indo-Buddhist and Chinese mindsets allayed Buddhism integration into the Chinese sociocultural environment; and the new, brought by Buddhism to China, justified the need of its adjustment to the Chinese sociocultural and religious environment. This substantiated Sinicization of Buddhism, which became a logical outcome of interaction and mutual influence of the two richest civilizations.

Keywords: General, interaction, soteriology, philosophy, Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, transformation, difference, China

Abstract: The subject of this research is the philosophical and religious-ethical views of the British writer, poet, mentor, scholar, and theological Clive Staples Lewis. The article examines the genre of philosophical-religious parable, analyzing the novel by C. S. Lewis “The Great Divorce”. Special attention is given to the parabolic beginning substantiate by chronotope of the composition “The Great Divorce”. It is worth noting that likewise any other parable, the author juxtaposes the spiritual time and biographical, actual time, wherein the first dominates over the latter. The conclusion is made that ethical position of C. S. Lewis consists in salvation through repentance, appeal to God, overcoming of own sinfulness; while the problem of human-world relationship is solved through the prism of Biblical representations about the role of each one of us in this world, as well as such freedom of choice that was granted by God to each human being. The scientific novelty lies in determination of multiple genre specificity of this oeuvre (parable, allegory, tale), which proves the extensiveness of the religious-aesthetic and literary-artistic views of C. S. Lewis.

Keywords: work of fiction, doctrine of salvation, ethical source, chronotope, Christianity, spiritual reality, Lewis, parable, divorce, free choice

Abstract: The subject of this research is the teaching of the Indian sage Sri Ramana Maharshi, which yet did not receive sufficient coverage in the scientific literature. It is viewed in the context of processes of modernization of India’s philosophical-religious thought of the XX century, characterized by the proneness to synthesis of the ideas of various schools of Indian thought. The analysis of the teaching is conducted in accordance with the three vectors: 1) the essence of Absolute reality; 2) correlation between the ideal and material being; 3) methods of mystical psychopractice. The research methodology contains the comparative philosophical-theological analysis; comparative-analytical analysis; synthesis, generalization, individualization, historical narrative. In the teaching of Sri Ramana Maharshi, the author determined the desire to find an answer to spiritual questions of that time through synthesizing such philosophical-religious traditions as Jnana yoga and Bhakti yoga. The teaching of Maharashi is also an immanent (non-theistic) monistic mystical tradition. The basic methods of mystical practice include the meditative contemplation (Vichara, Neti neti), and the love-trust to the Absolute (Bhakti).

Keywords: self-examination, monistic tradition, psychopractice, enlightened consciousness, egocentric consciousness, immanent mysticism, Absolute, bhakti yoga, vichara, jnana yoga

Abstract: This article examines the problem of correlation between faith and reason in the philosophy of St. Augustine. The author describes the concepts of faith and reason at the various stages of evolution the philosopher’s views; as well as determines the meaning of dialogue, reason and faith for the spiritual evolution of St. Augustine. The scientific novelty reflects that the synthesis of faith and reason has a split-level character: the interaction between faith and reason takes place at the basic, median and theoretical levels. The main conclusion lies in revelation of the role of philosophical dialogues in formation of the more complex forms of synthesis of faith and reason, standing on the basic forms of faith-reason relationship in St. Augustine’s doctrine. It is determined that the dialogueness of his mentality will find reflection in his address to God. The research methodology includes the systemic-historical method, principle of synthetic unity of faith and reason, as well as the idea of dialogueness of philosophy.

Keywords: person, the God, Christian philosophy, spiritual evolution, rationality, faith and reason, mind concept, concept of faith, dialectics, proof

Abstract: The problem of integrity has always been one of the most relevant for the philosophical thought. It has multiple dimensions – ontological, gnoseological, social, and others. The subject of this research is the diversity of methods for solving the problems of unity and integrity of being in philosophical and mystical teachings, which in this article are divided in two types – immanent and transcendent-immanent. The common for both is the orientation towards the overcoming of subjective-objective attitude towards the world. Experiencing unity with the world, human gradually dispenses of contradictions and restores the integrity of personality. Based on the conducted research, the author comes to a conclusion that the immanent mysticism suggests several ways of achieving the goal: acknowledgement of coessentiality of the ideal and material; annihilation of representations on duality of ideal and material; and recognizing material as false reality. The transcendent-immanent mysticism does not eliminate the differences between the Creator and a creature, does not make them coessential or connatural. What happens is the integration of elements into a coherent whole, in which the elements preserve their individuality. The main method for achieving the global unity is love that overcomes both, the external and internal split. Human combines in himself combine creation and non-creation, and within the global scale, takes place the reunion of the entire humanity.

Keywords: holistic tradition, integrative tradition, monistic tradition, enlightened consciousness, egocentric consciousness, transcendental immanent mysticism, immanent mysticism, comparative religion studies, whole and part, ideal and material

Abstract: The subject of this research is the Mahayana, which as commonly knows, was being transmitted in two directions: Tibet and Mongolian world (Mongolia, Buryatia, Kalmykia, Tuva), and Eastern Asia (China, Korea, Japan). Comparison of the two directions of Mahayana with regard to traditions lead to the question: why the mainstream of Indo-Tibetan Mahayana manifests as a “gradual” path to enlightenment, while the mainstream of Chinese / Far Eastern Mahayana as a “sudden” path; which one most vividly reflects Chan/Zen? For answering this question, the author analyzes the differences between Indo-Tibetan and Chinese traditions in terms of interpreting the Buddhist ontology. The scientific novelty consists in the subject itself – the ontological differences between the two directions of Mahayana that manifest in the alternative ways of conceptualization of the Path (gradual and sudden path to enlightenment), as well as in the method of philosophical cross-cultural analysis applied to the philosophical comparison of the two directions of Mahayana. A conclusion is made that the methods and content of philosophical interpretations of the basic Buddhist doctrines and substantiation of the path in Indo-Tibetan and Chinese Madhyamaka have significant differences, which require the further detailed analysis.

Keywords: Chandrakirti, Nagarjuna, Sudden Path, Gradual Path, selflessness, Madhyamaka, Mahayana, Seng Chao, Tsi-Tsang, emptiness

Abstract:  The subject of this research is the relationship between theology and philosophy in sight of juxtaposition of the critical and speculative approaches. The object of this research is the theoretical concepts that reflect the paradigms of relationship between theology and philosophy within the history of thought, particularly over the period of the late XX – early XXI centuries. The author carefully examines such aspects of the topic as the typology of relationship between theology and philosophy according to S. Wszolek, correlation method in theology and philosophy in the “Systematic Theology” of P. Tillich, paradigms of relationship between theology and philosophy in the “diaspora” concept of D. Barber. Special attention is given to consideration of the concept of post-secularity and its impact upon the comprehension of relationship between theology and philosophy. The main conclusion consists in the fact that the speculative approach allows seeing the alternative to critical project through tracing the doctrinal unity of theology and philosophy. Since on one hand, the “Teos” in modern mentality can be not just the God, but also the incomprehensible, nirvana, khora, etc., thus theology can be “atheistic”, “after the death of God”, anatheism (R. Kearney); and on the other hand – the philosophical speculation of the truth and self-cognition reduces to analysis and assessment of the appropriateness of utterings, thus it is necessary to return the theology and philosophy their true source. The scientific novelty is defines in author’s proposition of the concept of the theology of philosophy as a fundamental interrogation underlying the theology and philosophy, and uniting, even through separation, the “God of religion” and the “God of philosophers”?

Keywords: paradigm, post-secularity, immanence, method of correlation, speculation, philosophy, theology, Barber, Wszolek, Tillich

Abstract:     This article examines the Buddhist text, which translation into Chinese language greatly affected the formation of social principles of Buddhism in China. The authors consider the impact of philosophical and soteriological contents, translated from Sanskrit into Chinese language texts of Vinaya, Abhidharma, and Prajnaparamita upon the establishment of monastic organization, as well as social adaptation of Buddhism in China. The article also demonstrated the controversy of soteriological concept of Hinayana to social values of the Chinese people based on the Confucian doctrine of filial piety. In the course of this research the following methods were used: structural-analytical, contextual, and hermeneutic. The author touch upon the questions of the impact of Prajnaparamita texts upon the emergence of popular religious doctrine that significantly expanded the social base of Buddhism in China. The article is first to explore the establishment of social principles of Buddhism in China in the context of the translations of its texts into the Chinese language.    

Keywords: Hinayana, Prajnaparamita, Abhidharma, soteriology, social attitude, philosophy, monastic organization, Text, Mahayana, Vinaya

Abstract: This article examines the teaching on the essence of Buddha (Sanskrit – tathāgatagarbha, тиб. de bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po) as in presented in the canonical literature of Sutra and Shastra, as well as commentator tradition of the Tibetan Buddhism. This teaching is the principal in personology of Buddhism, because through the notion of the “essence of Buddha” (tathāgatagarbha) and adjacent notions – “natural glow of mind (prakṛtiprabhāsvaratācitta)” and “naturally existing spiritual seed” (prakṛtipragotra)” is revealed the purpose of the perfecting motion, motion process towards the goal and its basis. The work is conducted based on the peer Tibetan-language sources viewed in the context of the living tradition of Central Asian Buddhism. It has been established that the essence of Buddha is considered in the literature of Sutra as a present in each person highest, absolute “Self” (ātman), different from the empirical “Self”, which Buddhism denies as the self-existent phenomenon. The key question within the Tibetan commentator tradition consisted in interpretation of the essence of Buddha as a positive being that manifests when an individual becomes disengaged from the distorting factors; or as such non-implying a positive content of negative factors.

Keywords: disengagement , personality, soteriology, Buddhist philosophy, Tibetan Buddhism, Madhyamaka, Mahayana, essence of Buddha, Tathagatagarbha Sutra, Ratnagotravibhaga

Abstract: The subject of the study is the way of assimilation by the radical theological thought of traditional religion. Various theological concepts, born with the help of deconstructionist methodology, are considered. The question is whether religious ideas can be adequately expressed in the language of deconstruction. The study is based on the materials of the works of J. Derrida, J. Caputo, M. C. Taylor. The methodology of the research is phenomenology, which allows us to talk about theological abstractions, refraining from the question of the existence of their subjects. The main conclusion of the study is the incompatibility of traditional religion and the language of deconstruction, as it is used by J. Caputo and M. Taylor, for deconstruction itself is a myth, it becomes a religion that displaces the religion that they want to express in language. Deconstruction proves to be incapable of expressing the definiteness of religion, its concrete historical form, since it sees in this the reaction and conservatism from which it tries to escape; but functioning in such way, it risks to obtain the features of reactionism and repressiveness, whit it argues against.

Keywords: finiteness, Derrida, Taylor, Caputo, deconstruction, god, radical theology, mystery, myth, event

Abstract: This article of Leo Strauss – Professor at the University of Chicago that summarizes two lectures read by him in 1966, is dedicated to the initial description of the problem of the relation between mind and faith within the questions of social and political life, which is also known as the problem of “Athens and Jerusalem”. The subject field of this work consists in the two cultural heritages, represented in the works of Greek poets and philosophers on one hand, and Biblical traditions, particularly, Torah – on the other. Strauss attempts to elucidate the picture of the world – the beginning of world – in perception of the prophets and philosophers. For achieving the set goal, he used the historical critical and hermeneutic methods, discussing the creation of the world describe in the Bible, and origination of the world and gods presented in the Greek sources. The scientific novelty of this work consist in sequential application of the revised by Strauss hermeneutic method of “attentive reading”. The main conclusion lies in the idea of incompatibility of Athens and Jerusalem, in other words, the necessity to choose a single way of explanation of the world, and this, only one way towards resolution of the issues of social and political life.

Keywords: Modernity, Socrates, Reason and revelation, Torah, Athens and Jerusalem, Leo Strauss, political philosophy, Old Testament, religion, prophets

Abstract: The subject of this research is the Buddhist way of conceptualization of the human problem that is being revealed in the context of comparison with the fact, which place a “man” held within the rationalistic philosophical tradition of the West. The author examines the philosophical foundation of the Buddhist model of evolution of identity in the wheel of being (Bhavacakra) according to the formula of the twelve links of dependent origination – the most important doctrine in the Buddhist ontology of dependent origination (Pratītyasamutpāda, rten’brel) and its distinct features, as well as its connection with the other essential philosophical theory of Buddhism – theory of emptiness in interpretation of Prasaṅgika –  the subschool of Madhyamaka. The methodology of this research is based on the principles of comparative philosophical study of Buddhism, formulated by one of the founders of the philosophical Buddhology Russian philosopher and orientalist O. O. Rozenberg, as well as the hermeneutic ideas of M. Heidegger on the dialogue with the Other and the need for understanding the “sacredness of being” and the connection between the man and reality. The scientific novelty consists in the comparison of the Buddhist way of conceptualization of the problem of a man with the Western rationalistic tradition of studying a man, as well as determination of a number of specific characteristics of the Buddhist anthropology. The author concludes that unlike the Western philosophy, the anthropomorphism is not typical for the Buddhist philosophy; a man is not the criterion of all the things, and is not considered self-evident, but rather something relative in the circle of unfree being; but at the same time, it has the complete potential for achieving the freedom and realization of the limitless resources of consciousness, the possibility of which finds the substantiation in the doctrine of dependent origination, theory of emptiness, and theory of tathāgatagarbha. In understanding of the Buddhist philosophers, a human does not have its own internal nature; a human is a dependently emerged phenomenon, and thus, he can transform or rid, and the suffering comprising the content of the unfree being can be irrevocably eliminated.

Keywords: Saṃsāra, ignorance, Pratītyasamutpāda, Bhavachakra, human being, Buddhist philosopy, Western philosophical tradition, dialogical hermeneutics, metaphysics, emptiness

Abstract:   The subject of this research is the comparativist experience of establishment of the philosophical approach towards examination of Buddhism within the framework of academic Buddhology and comparative philosophy. Special attention is given to the establishment of the philosophical methodology of the study of Budhism due to self-identification of the topic of comparative philosophy in broad and narrow sense, as well as analysis of the contribution of F. I. Scherbatsky and O. O. Rozenberg into substantiation of the philosophical Buddhology, reframing of the essence of theoretical-methodological principles of Rozenberg and the importance of his philosophical approach for understanding of the unity in multiplicity of Buddhism along with articulation of the problem of authentic Buddhism. Due to the strong influence of the works of F. I Scherbatsky, who took the Buddhist philosophy out the boundaries of Orientalism into the area of legitimate philosophy, and turned it into the discipline of historical-philosophical science, the greatest development in Russia and abroad received the comparative historical-philosophical research of the Buddhist and Western philosophy, aimed at the search of parallelisms between the specific doctrines. The philosophical methodology of the study of Buddhism in its establishment was tightly linked to the formation of the discipline of comparative philosophy in its broad and narrow sense – as the global trend of synthesis of the Eastern and Western philosophies, as well as the cross-cultural historical-philosophical research. The author concludes that the approach of O. O. Rozenberg corresponds with the Buddhological tradition formed by the Buryat scholars of Buddhism, which consists in complementing the academic opportunities by the resources of Buddhist wisdom in examination of Buddhism. Not just the knowledge of the original Buddhist texts and classical Hindu commentary literature, but also the reliance upon “living” tradition is necessary for establishment of the specific scientific methodology in the modern Buddhology.  

Keywords: Buddhist wisdom, unity of the multiplicity of Buddhism, authentic Buddhism, parallels in the history of philosophy, cross-cultural studies, comparative philosopy, philosophical studies of Buddhism, system of Buddhism, philosophical synthesis, Western philosophy

Abstract: The subject of study of the proposed article is a philosophy of religion G. W. F. Hegel and F. Nietzsche in the aspect of comparative analysis. The basic material of research are the "Lectures on the philosophy of religion" G.V.F. Hegel and "Antichrist" Friedrich Nietzsche. The author considers the problem of God, Christianity and atheism in the philosophies of the two German thinkers. The article identified both common and differing points in the positions of philosophers on the religious worldview. The article uses the methods of comparative philosophy, germnevtiki and deconstruction, methods of ontological and historical philosophical studies. The main conclusion of the research is the thesis of the existence of common trends in the G.V.F. Hegel and Nietzsche approach to the basic problems of the philosophy of religion. The novelty of the research lies in the explication of the ontological aspects of philosophical understanding of religion in the teachings of philosophers. What is new is the position of the transgression as a dominant ontological perspective ontological doctrines of Hegel and Nietzsche.

Keywords: transgression, transcendence, Hegel, Nietzsche, religion, God, Christianity, atheism, being, ontology

Abstract: Object of research in article is justification in the Russian philosophy of the first quarter of the XX century of the idea of "bogochelovechestvo" apprehended from orthodox metaphysics. As an object of research the Russian religious philosophy of the first half of the XX century acts. The problem of the person in the Russian religious philosophy is considered with a support on tradition of east patristika and orthodox metaphysics. The sense of existence of the person and the world consists in "obozheniya" (teozisa), i.e. connection good luck. "Obozheniye" of the person and the world is understood as the two-uniform process assuming the movement of God to the person and the person to God - uniform Bogo-chelovechesky process. The belief in God is inseparable from belief in the person here, and the belief in the person assumes belief in God. It is a maxim of the Russian religious anthropology and makes an idea of "Bogochelovechestvo". The research methods used by the author of the article include analytical and comparative methods. The main conclusions of the author are that the idea of a bogochelovechnost approved by the Russian anthropological thought includes three main issues: first, a divine origin and bogopodoby the person, expressed in his spirituality and freedom; and to carry out the original nature – godlike, it can only in the attitude towards God – out of God and without God of people doesn't exist; secondly, its divine mission – an obozheniye, connection good luck which is possible only in Church (The Christ's body uniting Divine and human the nature, Jesus Christ – Bogochelovek); thirdly, – about two-uniform Bogo-chelovechesky process – the movement from the person to God and from God to the person, the birth of the person in God and God in the person. This "counter" movement assumes not only action of good fortune of God, but also creative activity of the person, possible only thanks to his bogo-humanity – a bogopodobiya. In the western anthropological religious thought (Catholic and Protestant) ideas about godlike human nature doesn't reveal as in orthodox metaphysics and after it in the Russian religious philosophy. The novelty of article is that the system analysis of basic provisions of idea of Bogochelovechestvo as the general idea for the Russian religious philosophy and orthodox metaphysics is offered.

Keywords: man, love, creativity, kingdom of heaven, humanism, God, human nature, transcendency, Christ, Orthodox metaphysics

Abstract: This article studies love as a method of mystic psychopractice. Thematic justification of mystic experience is caused by recessionary events in contemporary culture. Love is discussed as one of essential conditions of a human psychic life transformation as a passage from overcoming egocentric consciousness to enlightened. There are definite differences in understanding of love essence in different mystic traditions of the East and the West. Special aspects of formation of varied traditions depend on the solution of the two questions: 1. Essence of absolute reality. 2. Correlation of the material origin and spirituality in mystic practice.Methodology of the study: comparative philosophical and religious analysis. The main method of the study: comparative analysis. General scientific methods: analysis, synthesis, generalization, individualization.The following conclusions are drawn as a result of the undertaken study. Love contributes to transformation of adept's consciousness and is a meditative contemplation of the Absolute in immanent mystic. There are the following variants of understanding the essence of love. 1. Love to true “Self” of a person, i.e. the immanent Absolute. 2. Absolute dedication and devotion to the Absolute. 3. Sympathy, loving kindness and contribution in enlightenment. 4. Sexual psychopractice that helps a man and a woman to reach enlightenment together. In transcendent immanent traditions love contributes to transformation of imperfect personality after the image and likeness of perfect God. Connectition is supposed to be between the carnal and the divine, male and female, but each of them saves their essence without dissolving in each other. Love gradually transforms into pray. Erotic love is one of the ways to form an integral person.

Keywords: holistic tradition, integrative tradition, immanent mystics, transcendental immanent mystics, Absolute, egocentric consciousness, enlightened consciousness, monistic tradition, dualistic tradition, love for the Absolute