religionГосударство, религия, церковь в России и за рубежомState, Religion and Church in Russia and Worldwide2073-72032073-7211РАНХиГСreligion-531Research ArticleVARIAVARIAКульт мощей в буддизме: введение в проблематику и основные исследовательские концептуализацииThe Cult of Relics in Buddhism: An Introduction to the Problematic and Main Research Conceptualizationshttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-0094-6934ГунскийА. Ю.GunskiiA. Yu.

Алексей Юрьевич Гунский — сотрудник 

Самара

Aleksey Yu. Gunskii — Research Fellow

Samara

gunsky@inbox.ruАНО ДО «Институт восточной культуры»РоссияInstitute of East CultureRussian Federation2026100420264413162Copyright © Гунский А.Ю., 20262026Гунский А.Ю.Gunskii A.Y.This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.https://religion.ranepa.ru/jour/article/view/531

В статье анализируются основные англоязычные работы и представленные в них концепции, связанные с изучением буддийского культа мощей. Данное направление исследований активно развивается в мировой буддологии, в то время как в отечественной научной литературе появляются только первые публикации в этой области. Вводная часть статьи посвящена классификации мощей и кратко рассматривает исторические и терминологические вопросы, связанные с буддийским культом мощей. Далее рассматриваются три основных исследовательских подхода к этому явлению. Первый рассматривает мощи как онтологический и/или функциональный эквивалент Будды, покинувшего этот мир и ушедшего в нирвану. В рамках этого подхода наиболее фундированным представляется интерпретация мощей как особых «тел» Будды. В рамках второго, «нарративного» подхода, мощи Будды и связанные с ними истории рассматриваются как продолжение биографии Будды. Третий подход рассматривает связь мощей и властных отношений. Последние две концепции, по нашему мнению, являются дополнительными по отношению к первой, которая остается основополагающей.

This article analyzes the main English-language works and the concepts related to the study of the Buddhist cult of relics. This area of research is actively developing in global Buddhology, while only the first publications in this area are appearing in the Russian academic literature. The introductory part of the article gives the classification of Buddhist relics and briefly examines the historical and terminological issues associated with this cult. Next, three main research approaches to this phenomenon are considered. The first considers relics as an ontological and/or functional equivalent of the Buddha, who left this world and entered nirvana. Within this framework, the most typical interpretation perceives the relics as special “bodies” of the Buddha. The second, “narrative” approach, considers the relics of the Buddha and the stories associated with them as a continuation of the Buddha’s “biography.” The third approach looks at the connection between relics and power relations. The last two concepts, however, seem to be complementary to the first one which remains fundamental.

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The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest present.