Keywords: Buddhism, Buddhist culture, Kapilavastu, Lumbini, "soft power" B. U. KITINOV Candidate of Historical Sciences Peoples ' Friendship University of Russia In recent years, Buddhism has become not only an increasingly popular religion in different parts of the world, but also an object of in-depth attention from the state authorities of the countries in whose territory this teaching is widespread. In the latter case, the reason lies largely in the meaning of Buddhism as a so-called "soft power" that can provide some assistance in solving internal and external problems of the state. However, Buddhist leaders and organizations themselves are aware of the need to jointly discuss and find ways to develop Buddhism and Buddhist culture in the modern multicultural world. I was once again convinced of this when, in November 2014, I took part in the International Buddhist Conference "Promotion, Protection and Preservation of Buddhist Culture and Heritage", held in the birthplace of the Buddha - in the town of Lumbini, in southwestern Nepal. REVITALIZING BUDDHISM: IN THE PURSUIT OF "SOFT POWER". Probably the first state that has paid such attention to Buddhism in our time is China. This is not surprising, since in China the state has always been interested in consolidating society through various systems and ideas, including Buddhist ones. The practice of the PRC shows that the CCP's ideology not only gets along with Buddhism, but also contributes to its certain development. Back in the early 1990s, the idea of "mutual correspondence between religion and a socialist society"1 became widespread in the PRC, which formulated the defining direction of the state's political course in relation to religion. Thus, in foreign policy, Buddhism is perceived as a tool for maintaining stable interstate relations, optimizing the internal and external line of the state. In foreign policy activities, the so - called "Buddhist diplomacy" is important-using the potential of Buddhism to r ... Читать далее