The study is devoted to understanding the significance of the broadcast of Buddhist tantric praxis in the digital space for Buddhists themselves. Determining the cultural code of Buddhist tantric culture through a meaningful analysis of the treatises of authoritative Buddhist tantrists showed that one of the features of this religious tradition is an appeal to symbolic self-deification for the purpose of spiritual improvement for the common good. The entry of an adept into the path of tantra is called initiation, during which a recognized tantric master literally connects the disciples with the tantric deity. After this, students are able to mentally identify themselves with this deity in order to transform their ordinary consciousness into a stream of pure consciousness. When performed correctly, this technique is believed to promote a deep understanding of emptiness while simultaneously developing great compassion. A phenomenological and hermeneutic analysis of video recordings of tantric initiation ceremonies conducted on-line and publicly available on the Internet revealed that Buddhist mentors persistently focus on the effectiveness of the initiation process, subject to the altruistic motivation of believers and their ability to reproduce the required images in their consciousness. This, in turn, indicates that virtual initiations are carried out in strict accordance with the cultural code of Tantric Buddhism. Then the probable intentions of Buddhists during virtual initiations should not differ from traditional ideas. The encouragement of believers by Buddhist teachers to cultivate bodhicitta through tantric initiations proves that it is this practice, and not a purely esoteric experience, that is considered the most important. Since contemplating bodhicitta does not require any special external conditions, the question of mandatory off-line interaction between teacher and students is removed. Moreover, understanding the role of bodhicitta on the path of tantra presupposes a thorough preliminary theoretical preparation of believers, as well as a sufficient level of development of their consciousness and personal qualities at the time of initiation. Compliance with the set conditions and the symbolic orientation of tantric praxis, apparently, eliminates the difficulties during initiation, including the distance of the adherents from the spiritual mentor. Thus, it should be recognized that, as such, there is no transformation of Buddhist ideas regarding tantric initiations, since they were originally based on symbolism. At the same time, the broadcast of tantric praxis in the digital space acquires significance for Buddhists as one of the ways of continuous spiritual improvement, regardless of the prevailing circumstances of modern reality.

Russia and the Buddhist world; Buddhist culture; Tibetan Buddhism; tantric Buddhism; Vajrayana; tantric initiation; deity yoga; Bodhicitta; symbolism; digital Buddhism

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