NEWS : Celebrating Buddha's birthday in St. Petersburg ( RUSSIA)

• Russian Buddhists are preparing to celebrate the Buddha's birthday: the day of his enlightenment and passing into Nirvana. At the Datsan Gunzechoinei in St. Petersburg, three days of prayers will be held beginning on May 25th.
• Russia's northernmost Buddhist temple is outwardly very different from the datsans in the traditional regions of Buddhism. But inside it is the same.
• The Russian Buddhists are generally very peaceful; they try not to antagonize the authorities. Several years ago, the Ulan-Ude lamas proclaimed then President Dmitry Medvedev as the White Tara, a form of a major tantric meditation deity. The St. Petersburg Buddhists, for their part, prefer to keep to themselves and stay away from political life altogether.
• The St. Petersburg Datsan is unpretentious and democratic. You can come in, pray and walk out without as much as uttering a word.
• In modern Russia, Buddhism is historically represented by the Mahayana, or The Great Vehicle, branch.
• The Russian Sangha (community) observes eight major holidays. The Datsan is decorated on these festive days, and the lamas wear solemn robes.
• The size of the Buddhist community in St. Petersburg may be small, certainly far smaller than that of the Orthodox Christian community, but it keeps growing.
• The St. Petersburg Datsan, in a way, is a state in a state. The small land plot the temple stands on does not stop one from feeling the massive scale of the state which is Buddhism.