DOI 10.30792/2949-5768-2025-10-98-105
CONCEPTS OF TRADITIONALISM AND INNOVATION IN THE ADAPTATION OF MAHĀYĀNA WORLDVIEW IN CENTRAL ASIA (A CASE STUDY OF KAZAKHSTAN AND KYRGYZSTAN)
Lazarenko Elmira Satyvaldievna – Candidate of Political Sciences, Doctoral Student at the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies of the State Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University named after B. N. Yeltsin (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan).
E-mail: elmira.satyvaldy@gmail.com
Osmonova Nurgul Israilovna – Doctor of Philosophical Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies of the State Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University named after B. N. Yeltsin (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan).
E-mail: osmonova_ni@mail.ru
The socio-cultural landscape of Central Asia has been shaped by Islamic traditions, nomadic heritage, and Mahayana Buddhism. In the context of global transformations, the Mahayana worldview, grounded in compassion, wisdom, and dependent origination, provides a framework for developing new ethical and cultural paradigms in modern societies. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the complementarity of traditionalism and innovation within the adaptation processes of Mahayana philosophy in Central Asia during the era of the Five Declines of the modern world. The research objectives include defining key concepts, analyzing comparative philosophical approaches, and exploring practical examples of Buddhist ethical integration. The methodological basis relies on philosophical comparativism, supported by hermeneutic and phenomenological analysis. The comparative framework allowed the identification of specific features of Mahayana adaptation in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and the interpretation of “selective tradition” as a mechanism of cultural transformation. The study reveals that the adaptation of Mahayana philosophy in Central Asia is a dynamic process of creative reconstruction in which tradition becomes a source of innovation. Practical cases demonstrate how Mahayana principles are integrated into educational and spiritual initiatives, promoting ethical awareness and cultural renewal. Mahayana philosophy serves as a factor of cultural modernization, maintaining a balance between continuity and innovation. This synthesis contributes to the formation of a new type of spi-ritual identity and enhances intercultural dialogue in the region.
