"Siberia is like a field of diamonds": how Buddhists from all over the world travel by train from Moscow to Vladivostok

David Bauke is the leader of a group of Buddhists from Germany who travel from Russia. He is a pilot in the airline Lufthansa, flies on the world's largest airliner Airbus A380. Now he lives in Frankfurt am Main, where his base airport is located. David is 45 years old. For many years, he regularly goes on long journeys in Russia.

- I have been traveling on these journeys through all of Russia for 16 years: from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok. And I am very pleased to see how Russia has changed over the years. I have a lot of strong friendships over the years. I believe that from a political point of view, we should also be friends and work together.

I am impressed with the development of technology in Russia. The smallest example: a few years ago, if somewhere we needed to take a taxi, we went outside, waved our hands, and hoped that the old “Lada” would stop. We had to bargain with the driver and show where to go. And every time for foreigners it was a little adventure. And now there are a lot of applications, and everything is very convenient.

- The most vivid impressions of this trip?

- There was a very touching moment during a stop in Volgograd. Our family has a connection with this city. My grandfather was a German soldier during the Second World War, a military doctor, helped the wounded. He fought in Russia, was captured, then spent a long time in prison. Grandfather survived and returned home. When we are in Volgograd, first Stalingrad, we always climb Mamayev Kurgan. There is a huge memorial hill in memory of fallen soldiers. He is very impressive.

And there is a guard, Russian soldiers who constantly keep watch. I have been there many times, but this time the conditions were made in such a way that I could talk to the head of the guard. His name is Paul. I talked a little with him, using my limited knowledge of Russian. I told him that we are now a young generation, about the same age, he is also about forty-forty-five years old, and that enmity on both sides must be forgotten. And we shook hands very tightly.

On this trip, the unique situation is also that we drove 4 days on the train without stopping in any city. We used this time to practice Buddhist meditation. Usually for meditation we get together in the same room.

- Knocking wheels and the atmosphere of the train help meditation?

- The atmosphere helps us even deeper into meditation. Because the speed of the train is very pleasant, we are going rather slowly. As a pilot of an airplane, I usually travel at a speed of one thousand kilometers per hour. And in this case, we have a speed of about a hundred kilometers per hour.

We enjoy the beautiful Siberian landscapes, a huge amount of space and light, which reflects the snow. This is a stunningly beautiful Siberian blue sky and white shining snow! Sometimes it looks like a diamond field.

We associate the nature of the mind with a shining diamond. So we feel at home, meditating on the train and looking out the window.

Gabi von der Austin is a civil engineer in railway construction. She was born in 1959 near Dresden, and all her childhood was spent in the GDR. Gaby speaks Russian well, remembers many pioneer songs that she taught at school age.

- If you translate my name into Russian, it will turn out like Gaby from the East. I was born in Germany, near Dresden in 1959. I studied Russian at school, because in the GDR and other socialist countries everyone learned Russian, and then English. Then I continued to study Russian at the university.

As a professional, I was very interested in traveling by train on the Trans-Siberian road. I saw films about this highway, and it was amazing for me to see it in my life.

- Have you ever been to Russia?

- Yes, I was still in the days of the GDR, in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Rostov-on-Don. But in the east of Russia I have never been.

- The most vivid impression of the trip?

- I was pleased that the Russian people did not forget me. When I was a student, I had friends in Moscow and St. Petersburg. And I was glad to see them again. These are very cordial and kind people. We met in Petersburg in 1989, but then I did not have the opportunity to see them. I was very happy this meeting. This year I’m 60 years old.

This trip is my gift to myself. I really want to meet new friends in Russia. We were in Moscow, Samara, and other cities. And everywhere I met very nice people.

- I know that further part of the Buddhist pilgrims will continue their journey through Japan. What are your plans after Vladivostok?

- Not. I'll be back in Germany. I need to work, my boss is waiting for me at work. I went on a journey of four weeks, and they say that if I don’t have any longer, they will have a hard time without me.

Alexander Koibagarov, President of the Russian Association of Buddhists of the Diamond Way, organizes such trips every year. This is the 28th crossing from the West to the East. Moreover, foreigners join only in winter travels. Many especially before a trip learn Russian. Now 110 foreigners, as many Russians, are traveling along the Trans-Siberian Railway. Foreigners travel from start to finish, and Russians join the group during the trip.

- How is this trip different from previous ones?

- All foreigners: in the West, and in the East, and in the North, and in the South, and in Asia, and in both Americas, and in Australia, and in New Zealand - they all very much want to have their own impressions of Russia. Because no one believes the press, the information goes very strange, confusing and contradictory. In the group of foreigners most of all Germans. Parents of many young people discouraged them from going to Russia: “Remember what we did to Russia? For you it will be dangerous, do not go there. "

Many still have memories of what the Soviet Union was like. We have a third of the Germans - former GDR-sheep. They have such nostalgia for Soviet times! One lady sings pioneer songs, because they sang these songs at school, she remembers Soviet cartoons, because they were shown them. She was shocked by Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd. The fact is that there is music played by (German composer Robert . - RT ) Schumann.

In the hall of grief and glory under the monument she burst into tears: “It was the Germans who destroyed all these people, and they put on the music of the German composer.

Many different motivations for people. We have different trips, including summer ones. But foreigners almost do not come on summer trips, because they say that summer is almost the same, it is warm and everything blooms, but there is no such winter, and there are no such spaces. Now they drove four days and outside the window was the same landscape, and rare villages. And this limitless space for Buddhists is very interesting.

- Are there many Buddhists in Europe?

- In European countries, Poland holds the first place in the number of Buddhist centers not of ethnic, but of world orientation, where meditation and Buddhist philosophy is given, where there is no ethno-cultural aspect, dancing, songs, Tibetan dumplings, etc. This is Buddhism, which is adapted for the modern Western man.

Russia is following Poland, then Germany. In Austria, about 15 centers in different cities. In Salzburg, we recently built a Buddhist stupa, in Mongolian and Buryat it is called suburgan. There is an observation deck on the mountain. It is generally recognized that these stupas are such a sacred object, which has a harmonizing and ennobling effect not only on Buddhists who know what it is and what it symbolizes.

- What does the name "Diamond Way Buddhists" mean?

- Buddhism operates in the form of different schools. The Great Way (Hinayana), The Great Way (Mahayana) and the Diamond Way (Varjayana). We belong to the Diamond Way, which is part of the school of Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism is common in our country, like the Buryats, Kalmyks, and Tuvans, who received the tradition from Tibet through Mongolia, so there are about a million Tibetan Buddhists in our country.