Does the Russian nobleman have the nature of Buddha...?... Many Russian beings wandering in samsara dream about Russian Zen. Sometimes they make extremely strange speeches, not being familiar with the essence of Buddhist dharma, and pass off their ideas as enlightened wisdom. So, I'll tell you where it all came from. And how it can end for ardent minds. And then I’ll explain further, giving translations of all the strange words. Actually, it was like this... PRINCE OF SILENCE For the sixth day now, His Serene Highness Prince Anatoly Sidhartov sat under the old fir tree, but enlightenment still did not come. Terrible thoughts flashed one after another in his mind, exhausted by spiritual practice, and it turned out that all the searches, aspirations and sacrifices were in vain. And how wonderfully it all began that night when he, having abandoned the palace... The past was rapidly spinning before the prince’s inner gaze. He recalled the lyceum, where his friends teased him as a Wizard, having learned in a certain book that the root of his surname was translated from some ancient Indian language. The young prince swore in response and hit the offenders in the eye. He knew that he came from the ancient family of the Crimean Sidhar Khan, who entered the service of the Moscow kings, and there he converted to Orthodoxy, in exchange for a princely rank and a wife of boyar blood. The Sidharkhanovs, an ancient and glorious family that soon became the Sidharkhanovs, had faithfully served the Russian kingdom for hundreds of years, and this was no reason for jokes. The okhalniks did not let up, writing daring epigrams. However, in high school, the prince unexpectedly became a promising martial artist, and the jokes somehow stopped by themselves. Then he also won the Tsar’s prize in mixed-fight, and then... Then... Then there was service in the guards regiment, the call of the trumpet, and maneuvers, and cards with friends, and girls bursting with fresh juice in the morning, and a couple of rides on horseback to war . But one day, when the young prince was returning with his friends to the unit’s location from yet another youthful pleasure, he met an old beggar, and somehow he looked into his eyes in a special way, and from that look, like a fierce fire, burned through the prince. There was also a meeting with a sick person and a funeral procession, which had long been known to you, and painful thoughts about the fate of mortal beings increasingly worried the prince. So, when Countess Marya Andreevna boldly and without any reason refused him, citing the fact that the prince had been married for a long time and irrevocably, and also Baroness Lucy... the prince, without thinking for an hour, mounted his horse and left the world. From then on, his mind belonged to the search for enlightenment. For eight long years he spent the night in the forests in the open air, wandered with monks, visited abandoned monasteries, and even wandered into Optina Pustyn for a couple of years... but everywhere he found only betrayal, lies and vanity of spirit. Then one day, he made a vow to himself. He made a sacred and terrible oath to himself that he would not leave his place in his meditative concentration until he comprehended the essence of the world and revealed all its secrets. And so, it was already the sixth day... EMBRACES OF WISDOM Uncle, have you dried up - suddenly he was distracted by a ringing girlish voice. Look, pine cones have already begun to grow on you, not a person but a Christmas tree, what a miracle - laughing boldly, a rosy-cheeked girl, about sixteen years old, approached him. “Go away, don’t you see, I’m busy,” the prince answered. For I made a vow that I would not leave this place until the essence of the world is revealed to me, and I comprehend its strange and terrible secrets, and my promise is strong and holy. I went home, shameless girl, or I’ll hit you with nettles. Oh, uncle... let's look for secrets together...? - the playful girl breathed in his face, and somehow suddenly, like a cavalry, she jumped onto his lotus-folded legs. Oh, your mother... - the amazed prince managed to inhale. His eyes met her gaze... and the essence of the immortal, bottomless and beginningless universe was revealed to him at the bottom of her eyes, which suddenly became completely empty. His mind stopped like a horse caught in a gallop by a Russian woman. Wandering thoughts and interfering ideas were stopped, one after another dissolving into themselves, and the original emptiness of dharmas swallowed up the prince. Soon he achieved the first dhyana, and then the second and third. Then, more and more hopelesslyhelplessly surrendering to the power of the rhythmic movements of the maiden riding him, the prince followed the fourth dhyana, falling into the spheres of the higher worlds. The prince remembered that he had done this before, but did not remember when and with whom. Having passed through the World of Boundless Light, he swiftly, without looking back, crossed the World of Boundless Happiness, and, rushing through the World of Boundless Wisdom, he invaded like a meteor into the World Beyond the Limits of Being and Non-Existence, reaching the eighth dhyana. No, honey, it’s not here – the voice of his young companion brought him back to life. We will have to go back a little: what you are looking for is there. It was always here, very close. Obeying her rhythmic movements, the prince returned to the fourth dhyana. And I saw that all dharmas are empty. How good, how wonderful, the prince exclaimed, dissolving in the unbearable stream of seed seeking its path. Then the red and white bindu became stronger, and passing through the central channel, they flared up with fire in the cup of the heart. The light filled the prince’s entire being, and he was gone. There was not a single corner left in the world that at that moment would have been separate from the prince’s sparkling being. There was no time, no mind, no space, no death. Mother Rus' itself disappeared, disintegrating in a stream of dharmas. Then... maybe an hour later, or an eternity later, the prince opened his eyes. The dharmas were still empty, the essence of the mind appeared as clear light, and the woman disappeared somewhere, as if for evil. But the prince did not look for her... DANCE OF DEMONS The running of horses, the roar of trumpets and the screams of raging creatures surrounded the prince. Having jumped out of the thicket at a gallop, with foam at his torn mouths, sabers drawn and a blood-red banner, an army was approaching him. Steel cars rolled, bristling with eerie fire-spitting trunks. A machine gun was firing somewhere nearby. Forward to Wrangel...!!! - the horsemen shouted, going around the prince. God, why did the baron anger them so much, the prince was inwardly amazed, remembering the baron from the lyceum. He was a dear man, a poet, who dreamed of a career as a scientist... But at that very moment he realized that what presented itself was a nightmare sent by Mara to tempt and distract him. I see clearly, all things are in the mind - said the prince - but the mind rests in itself, not being a thing. The suffering of beings is innumerable, and the root is that they make bad use of the mind. The mind is a king, higher than the Russian Sovereign, it creates the world, creatures, demons and gods, it is the source of suffering and the means to overcome them. Without seeing themselves, without honoring the emptiness of dharmas, unenlightened beings wander in samsara, not knowing the world. They strive for happiness and the suppression of pain. But having fallen into the network of ignorance, they only create new pain, unable to break the chain of karma that they themselves generated. Know, O beings, the truth about pain and the cessation of pain. Find out, sufferers, the sacred Path of stopping pain. Refrain from slander, malicious thoughts and active evil in order to calm the mind. Do good to cajole and pacify him, and exercise yourself persistently. Recognize your mind as Clear Light, and you will gain all the blessings of the world... So said the prince. And the demons, ashamed, disappeared. Somewhere in the distance guns boomed loudly, explosions and screams of battle were heard. A cart with a machine gun firing at full speed rushed past and disappeared into the thicket. Sanasara... - the prince sighed quietly.... FOREST YOGI Radiance and primordial power surrounded the prince. The animals and ancient gods entered the clearing, enchanted by the light emanating from the prince, and he taught them the dharma. Then he stood up, shook off the leaves, and set off. Soon he met a group of armed, stern-looking creatures. The creatures were wearing clothes made of leather, identifying them as tantric yogis. But for some reason, instead of snakes, they were belted with machine gun belts. The hands of the yogis clutched weapons, indicating that they belonged to the military class, and on their heads they wore the pointed felt hats of monastic lamas. The creatures carried the red banner of labor with them. So, from this wild mixture of styles, the prince immediately realized that before him were Avadhuts - wandering ascetics who, in search of enlightenment, had rejected the norms of the world. “The man,” the elder avadhuta called out to him sternly, “hasn’t seen any white people...?” What is better for a person to look for - whites, or himself...?? – the prince answered with a question. What do we think about ourselves?look, we are red - but we are looking for white ones. Truly, your paths have ended here - the prince answered peacefully - for the White and Red Bindu must come together and fuse in the Cup of the Heart in order to complete the matter. Look, he speaks like a scientist, said one yogi to another. Well, answer as best you can, what name and title you will have, aren’t you a white hare...?! Wandering here, an officer in disguise, a half-baked counter. Answer it like it is...!!! I, dear gentlemen, Your Serene Highness Prince Sidhartov, His Majesty's Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment, retired captain - the prince did not lock himself away. Counter, cut him down - the oncoming people shouted in unison, drawing their sabers. What handsome men, the prince blushed... RED CHOD Red-faced ascetics crowded around the prince and circled in a round dance. Phat...!!!! – one of them suddenly screamed wildly, and with a sharp swing cut off the prince’s head. The head rolled into the grass, and then, a little later, the body fell. Soon, he was covered in a thick layer of ants. How wonderful, how good...!!! - the prince exclaimed - what an amazing, wondrous practice, liberation through truncation of the head, enlightenment through the offering of one’s body to demons and forest creatures. I must return and pass on this great liberating practice to people. The prince transferred his consciousness to the heart of the Red Buddha, and without stopping in the Pure Land, only politely greeting everyone, he turned back time, and appearing in the dharmic body of the venerable Machig Labdren, taught her the sublime practice of Chod. Then, rewinding a couple of centuries ago, he hid in a hollow elm tree the Russian Book of the Dead, which frees creatures by reading it at the moment of death. And then he was transported to the banks of the ancient Ganges. Where he was born again... SIDHARTHA He was born into the family of a local prince. The birth was accompanied by many signs and prophecies, all of which were subsequently fulfilled. His name was Sidhartha - the Perfect Wizard - as a sign of the upcoming incredible feats and achievements that awaited the prince. Surrounded from childhood by universal love, young Guautama grew up as a happy, albeit slightly thoughtful guy, until... However, you already know the life story of Gautama Sidhartha. And if you don’t know, then read it. Om... NOTES FOR UNENLIGHTENED BEINGS Does a Russian nobleman have Buddha nature - an allusion to the famous Zen Buddhist koan “Does a dog have Buddha nature...?” A koan is an unsolvable riddle that leads unenlightened beings to enlightenment. Actually, this entire text is a koan... The Prince of Silence Sidhartha - literally translated “Achieved perfection in the siddhis”, or “Lord of the siddhis”... means a person or other being who has achieved perfection and complete possession of supernatural powers. Sidhar Khan - the author knows nothing about the Sidhar Khan dynasty, but I must say that the descendants of the khan’s Tatar families often entered the royal service, converted to Orthodoxy, received the nobility, and gave root to many famous Russian families. Fir is the Bodhi tree in the Russian version; the tree under which Buddha achieved enlightenment. In the case under consideration, the place of Buddha’s enlightenment is Crimea, which subsequently gave the right to one eastern country to claim that Crimea is its original sacred land... Embraces of wisdom A girl of about sixteen - the text does not contain calls or justification for pedophilia, reflecting only the realities of the one who has left us time. A hundred years ago, 16 was the legal age for marriage, and an 18-year-old could be considered an old maid. The story told in this chapter reflects the tantric version of the Buddha's enlightenment, common among followers of Vajrayana Buddhism. According to this version, the Buddha achieved Enlightenment by having sexual relations with Prajnaparamita, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, who out of compassion for him took the form of a beautiful young maiden. They believe that enlightenment can only be achieved in this way, “in union.” However, beginning practitioners should not take this literally, but should understand it symbolically, as entering into an inseparable and bringing inescapable joy, comparable to orgasm, union with their own deep wisdom. Having achieved Enlightenment, you will learn that the differences between understanding…