The "reneval" movement in Mongolia and Buryatia and the "revival of Buddhism" in Japan in the late 19th - early 20th centuries
This article discusses some traits of the situation with Buddhism in the period from the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th Century in Mongolia, Buryatia and Japan. There was an interesting trend characterizing Buddhist schools in these regions, namely, an aspiration for the renewal of Buddhism. It was expressed in criticism of unworthy behavior of some parts of Buddhist clergy, their violations of the monastic regulations of Vinaya. Followers of these reneval ideas called for restoration of the original Buddhism of the Buddha Shakyamuni. Correspondingly, interest to the Indian Buddhism has grown. There were also attempts to unite all Buddhist teachings and, calls for creation of a theocratic state led by Buddhist hierarchy. The latter was implemented in Mongolia by the enthronement of the 8th Bogd Gegeen, who actively fought for the independence of Mongolia (first from the Qing Empire and then from China), and, although not fully, by L.-S. Tsydenov, who tried to create a theocratic state in Buryatia during the Civil War in Russia.