Ulitsa Pakrovka, Moscow

A few photos of Ulitsa Pakrovaka, Chisty Prudy, Moscow (Улица Пакровка, Чистый Пруды, Москва) where I have been living during my 10 week life in Moscow.

A day in the life ...

Sometime - wake up and take a shower.

Walk around Ulitsa Pakrovka, ул. Покровка, and find a restaurant where to have a 'Business Lunch'. Moscow isn't a cheap place to eat but many restaurants offer a very competitive Business lunch of 3 or 4 courses for 200-250 rubles (5 or 6 quid).

Go to 'Coffee Bean' and order my hot milk, set up my computer and start to work thanks to their free wifi.

After a few hours, pause because I need to eat so walk and order cheese pancakes and buckwheat.

Either return to Coffee Bean, or go to 'White Clouds', Белые Облака, to listen to a talk on this or that spiritual theme and practise my understanding of spoken Russian.

Return to the flat hostel where I am staying, listen to some Russian on the language CDs I have, and a selection of the following; talk, sleep, meditate, then cook some noodles and cheese and head off to Krizic Jhanra, Кризис Жанра, to read a chapter of the Russian language course I am doing, and a few verses of the Dharmapada.

Drink an orange juice at Propaganda, Прораганда.

Home, meditate and sleep.

Galina's Flat, Moscow

And now I am again in Moscow staying in Galina's Flat. Voila a reiview I did about it:

Galina's Flat:

metro - Chisty Prudy

phone - 8 (919) 410-41-12

email - galinas.flat (ta) mtu-net.ru

The flat has 3 rooms two of which can host people, one with 5 beds and the other with 2. They are clean and comfortable if not modern. She is friendly and straightforward, and she has at least (at any one time) at least 4 large cats. Internet is available at one ruble a minute by not wifi and you can do your laundery by hand in the bath. She does let some guests use her kitchen, but probably couldn't cope with everybody doing so at once.

Irs an idealplace for a shoestring traveller, being very centrally located - 5 minutes walk from Chisty Prudy metro, 10 minutes walk from some of the best clubs in Moscow, and 20 minutes from the Kremlin.

She charges 400 rubles a night, or 500 if you stay just one night, which means you can stay there for 12,500 rubles for the month which is at least a third less expensive than anything else I could find in the area. To find her, you go through a tunnel into an open courtyard and turn right and find the first door on the right which has two intercom buttons one with her name on it.

Moscow was a dream

Moscow was a dream ... or maybe another world ... or just somewhere where blogging posts didn't come from ... or maybe just having to pay for internet by the minute was enough to put me off? Whatever reason ... when I woke up from a sleepless night this morning on a train in St Petersburg. I stayed in Moscow for 8 weeks, the first three were - lets call her for the sake of simplicity - with my Aunt, and the next five were in Galina's house hostel with Galina and four large, hairy, round cats. During that time I walked around the parks and shops of Central Moscow, looked to find out about working there, visited shops with interesting in things from Asia and - sometimes - talks, and found ways to mingle in bars and clubs ... And now again I am in St Petersburg during my last two days in Russia before leaving for Tallinn, Tartu and Helsinki.

A few words from Moscow

I have been in Moscow for about 10 days now. For the first time during my trip I need to use internet cafes to acces a computer so posts are less frequent. Maybe it is enough just to say that I am enjoying my visit here, I am staying with family sharing a room, and exploring the employment situation.

Buddhism in Russia

Buddhism is believed to have first come to Russia during the 3rd century BCE when King Ashoka of India sent monks to spread Buddhism to Siberia.

Buddhism has been in Russia as a living tradition for around 400 years as the religion of Buryatas, Kalmyks and Tuvians, all belonging to a common Mongolian spiritual realm and practising the Gelugpa form of Tibetan Buddhism. They are said to number around 700.000 with the Buryats and Tuvian being Federal Subjects (Republics) east of Lake Baikal in Siberia, and the Kalmyks likewise in southern European Russia.

Buddhism is recognised as one of four 'offical' religions in the Russian Federation, as well as Orthodox Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Buddhism is considered native to Russia.

Also, Chinese and Vietnamese immigrants give Mahayana Buddhism a presence in the Russian Federation.

Buddhism has been a subject for Scientific research in Russia from the middle of the 19th century and St Petersburg has its own Buddhist temple built at the beginning of the 20th century under the inspiration and vision of ethnic Buryat lama Aghan Dorjiev. The stain glass windows were based on designs of Nicolas Roerich.

In recent times other Buddhist Centres have emerged, mainly in St Petersburg and Moscow that are for the most part Centres of Tibetan Buddhism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_in_Russia

Buddhist Centres in Moscow

Searching the internet I found 18 Buddhist Centres in Moscow.  Various forms of Tibetain Buddhism were the most numerous with 13 Centres including:

Moscow Buddhist Centre of Lama Tsongkapa

Centre of the Internation Association of the Karma Kagyu school, founded by Ole Nydhal

Kagya Samye Dzong Moscow, affiliated with Samya Ling Monastery in Scotland

Dzogchen Centre of Namkai Norbu Rinpoche

Dzogchen Jigme Choling Centre

Padmasambhava Centre and

Ganden Tendar Ling Group of the FPMT

Also there were:

Goenka Vipassana

Moscow Zen Centre "Kwan Um"

Thich Nhat Hahn's Order of Interbeing and

NKT

The two most useful websites were:

http://buddhanet.info/wbd/country.php?country_id=72 and

http://www.tibethouse.ru/2007/buddhism-03-en.htm

Free accommodation in Moscow?

Moscow has been said to be one of the most expensive cites to live in in the world, but this website shows another side :

http://www.cheap-moscow.com/free_accommodation.htm

I don't know if I will be trying the Ventilation Outlets at -10°c as suggested, but free accommodation in exchange for English lessons, or making friends, or even 'contact your ilk' all seem possible options.