Russia launches Buddhist messenger service for 500 million users

Russia is home to approximately one million Buddhists

A new messenger service that seeks to unite 500 million\r\nBuddhists all around the world will be launched in Kalmykia, a Russian region with\r\na large Buddhist population, the NSN news agency reported\r\non May 26.Approximately $1 million will be invested in the project. The\r\nmain investor and creator of the project is the former President of Kalmykia,\r\nKirsan Ilyumzhinov. He has already developed the\r\napplication for the App Store and Google Play.

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“It is similar to other\r\nmessengers: free, capable of sending video, mail, making phone calls,”\r\nIlyumzhinov said. “Additionally it will disseminate sermons from Buddhist\r\npatriarchs.”

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Initially, the messenger\r\nservice was scheduled to be launched in May to coincide with Gautama Buddha’s\r\nbirthday. It has been postponed until summer, when the 14th Dalai Lama\r\ncelebrates his 81st birthday, which is on July 6.

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The Dalai Lama's opinion\r\nwas taken into account during the creation of the application, according to\r\nIlyumzhinov. He said that the concept of a Buddhist messenger occurred to him\r\nwhile he was speaking at an international conference in Thailand three years\r\nago.

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“When I saw [so many]\r\npeople sitting in front of me in the lotus position, the idea flashed through\r\nmy mind,” he said.

Source: East-West Digital News

Kira Egorova