Ukrainian Buddha

[Svitlana Kobets]

Dear all,
I first wondered how the official organ of the Ukrainian Rada, newspaper
Голос Украины/Golos Ukrainy, could publish such a rubbish. But then I found
a sort of a rebuttal article in a respectable newspaper "Obozrevatel'". The
article does not fight with the Ukrainian-Buddha author Bebik, it just gives
a succinct version of the official Buddha biblio. The most interesting part
is however the reactions/comments of the readers which follow.

They are quite witty and show that none of the readers take Bibik seriously.
Here are some examples:

tt написал/а
Все это фигня. Первым украинцем был неандерталец (а может быть и сама
обезьяна). Но это следующий этап исследований "бибиков".

Ну да! Человек произошел от украинца! Это Бебик доказал!!!

See more here http://obozrevatel.com/news/2009/3/12/291064.htm

It's interesting to note that Golos Ukrainy doesn't have a comments section,
nor does it invite any discussion. As a newspaper, it is just an outlet for
publishing new Ukrainian laws and regulations. Otherwise, it is neither a
widely read or respectable newspaper. The section "History" in which appears
the Buddha article does not even show on the home page.

The comments of the readers found in "Obozrevatel'" are interesting in more
than one way. First, they are representative of the public opinion about the
writers like Bebik:

А почему только Черновецкому назначили психиатрическую экспертизу??? У нас
претендентов на диагноз много....

Second, they show that the talk about Ukrainian Buddhas, Christs etc is seen
by the public in the context of Ukraine's inferiority complex. A lively
discussion of the country's name, "Ukraine," follows.

Svitlana Kobets, PIMS, U of Toronto


On 12/03/09 5:37 PM, "Evgeny Steiner" <es9 at SOAS.AC.UK> wrote:

> A colleague sent me a link to an interesting article in the official voice
> of the Ukrainian parliament:
> http://www.golos.com.ua/rus/article/1236697388.html
> It argues that Buddha belonged to a people that lived (and still lives) in
> the territory of the Ancient Ukraine. As far as I understood from the text,
> Jesus Christ had the same roots too.
> Just couldn't resist sharing...
> 
> ES

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