Buddhism as a System of Behavioral Rules

The article examines interrelations, mutual influence of Buddhism, Buddhist ethics, religious and legal norms in the process of formation of political and legal systems in historical retrospect and in our days. The author draws attention to the importance of Buddhist religious norms in definition of moral stances, world outlook, value orientations, legal consciousness and rules of behavior. The article brings forth definitions of "Buddhist state", "Buddhist religious community", describes some law features of the modern Buddhist states, as well as the states where Buddhism is officially recognized by the state as a religion. It pays special attention to increasing the Buddhism influence on the state of the legal system not only in the Buddhist states but also in the countries where Buddhist organization play a considerable role and the authority of the Buddhist community (sandhi) increases. The author notes the historical features of the origin and development of the Buddhist community and Buddhist organizations in the Russian Federation. The need for apprehending the Buddhism place in Russias socio-cultural space is connected with the future which is not possible independently of the moral and religious traditions.