Буддийский религиозный культ как аутопойетическая система

Abstract

The article considers the Buddhist religious cult from the viewpoint of systems theory and autopoietic theory developed by the German sociologist N. Luhmann. Scientific originality of the study lies in the fact that for the first time in domestic religious studies the Buddhist doctrine is examined from the viewpoint of autopoietic theory. The autopoietic approach to studying the Buddhist religious cults allows tracing evolution of self-reproducing, self-referential systems and revealing new aspects of autopoietic theory itself. The paper provides examples of autopoietic evolution of the certain Buddhist religious cults. The research findings justify efficiency of the autopoietic approach to studying the Buddhist religious cult, which is considered as an autopoietic system that evolves and remains stable due to self-reference.