Mongolia – Faces of a Nation. Frank Riedinger
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Ulaanbaatar – Sukhbaatar Square in the centre of the capital.
Ulaanbaatar.
Choijin Lam Sum Temple Museum
This Buddhist monastery was established between 1904 and 1908 and at that time, it was the residence of the state Oracle. The holder of this office was Luvsankhaidav, a younger brother of the Bogd Gegeen, the first living Buddhist leader Zanabazar, who introduced Lamaism to the Mongolian people in the 17th century.
If important decisions had to be made for the state, the Oracle was called upon to pronounce on the right decision for the future. The site consists of five temples, which fortunately escaped mostly undamaged and unscathed from the anti-Lamaism campaign during the country’s socialist era. Tradition says that Choibalsan, the socialist dictator in power at the time, personally removed the site from the list of cultural heritage sites that were to be destroyed.
Most of the items on show have been collected together from different sites throughout the country. They give an interesting and richly varied overview of the historic and cultural development of Mongolia, right up to the 1930s. The museum also contains the rooms where the Oracle was sent into a trance, in order to be able to make the desired pronouncements and predictions. Again, tradition says that secret, Tantric rituals were also held here.
Throughout the temple, you will find images and statues of the green Tara of Zanabazar. She was the favourite deity of the master and is venerated at almost every family altar set up in Mongolian jurtes. One of the things most worth seeing is a bronze stupa, which was made in India in the 10th century and was brought single-handedly to Mongolia by Zanabazar. The well preserved Tsam masks are amongst the museum’s treasures. These fearsome objects originate from 18th century Tibet and were brought from there to Mongolia where, as a result, even more magnificent and impressive masks have been developed. Particularly impressive is the representation of the deity Jamsran that is decorated with about 7,000 pieces of coral.
Choijin Lam Sum Temple Museum in Ulaanbaatar.
Temple Museum Choijin Lam Sum in Ulaanbaatar.
Temple Museum Choijin Lam Sum in Ulaanbaatar.
Gandantegchinlen Khiid
The Gandan monastery or Gandantegchinlen Khiid was established in 1838. Between 1911 and 1913, a palace was built in honour of the then eighth and last Bogd Javzandamba, with the Megjid Janaraiseg statue. The reason for the construction was the fact that Javzandamba had lost his sight. Megjid Janaraiseg means “God who watches over all living things and who looks in all directions”. At 30 metres high, it was the tallest construction in the settlement at the time. Javzandamba lived in this temple until his death. It contained a gilded statue of Buddha, 26 metres high.
Gandantegchinlen Khiid
Gandan is the most important and the largest Buddhist monastery in Mongolia and is located in the capital Ulaanbaatar. It represents the Buddhist focus for the country. During the anti-Lamaism campaign in 1937, all the larger temples in the monastery were razed to the ground and the gilded statue was also removed to be made into munitions. Nobody knew exactly where the statue was taken to. It was probably taken to the then Soviet Union. Practically all the monks in the monastery were murdered at this time. In 1944, parts of the monastery were reopened. It was only used as a place of worship rather than as a monastery in the true sense of the word. During the Communist era, the years from 1944 to 1990, there was no other place of Buddhist worship in Mongolia other than Gandan. In this time, the state administration had a certain influence on the monks and vice-versa. The highest priority was given to the control of those who professed the Buddhist faith.
In 1996, the newly rebuilt Megjid Janaraiseg statue, made out of 19 tons of gilded bronze and taking 6 years to build, was returned to its original location in the Megjid Janaraiseg Temple, in a solemn ceremony. Today, within the enclaves of the monastery there are six temples with the names Dashchoinpel, Gungaachoilin, Idgaachoinjinlin, Jud, Megjid Janaraiseg and Dechengalba, a university, a library, a school for the creation of statues of Buddha and a general elementary school. The students in the so-called vocational school learn about the making of statues of Buddha and the painting of the Buddhist tapestries, tankas. Pupils at the elementary school are taught the same subjects as in all other elementary schools. Anyone can choose to go there. The library contains over 48,000 books, including 101 volumes of the Golden Ganjuur, the Buddhist catechisms. The courses offered by the university, which was established in 1970, include Buddhist Philosophy, Astrology and TMM (Traditional Mongolian Medicine). Currently, a staff of 14 lecturers are available to teach the 210 students.
One artefact remaining from the original Gandan is worth a mention. It is an old wooden beam that survived the wave of destruction that swept through the country in 1937. Mongolian Buddhists still revere this time-witness from the past, today. It is located not far away from the current Megjid Janaraiseg Temple, somewhat removed from the centre of activity.
Das größte Kloster in Ulaanbaatar – Gandantegchinlen Khiid mit der goldenen Janaraiseg-Statue.
The legend: ”White Tara“
When Buddha saw the hard life that the people were living, he started to weep. And the 21 tears he shed turned into the 21 female Taras. The Taras are good spirits for all mankind and they symbolise humanity. Twenty of the Taras sit in an open cross-legged position, so that they can stand up quickly if someone needs their help. Only the White Tara sits in the so-called lotus or closed cross-legged position, as she has eyes in the soles of her feet and in the palms of her hands so that she can observe and protect the people.
Many years ago, there lived an elderly married couple who had just one son. When the father died suddenly, the son set off into the world to study. “Go my son and study while I am still alive,” said his mother. “I will wait for you and when you return, please bring a White Tara with you,” she continued. The young man went to Tibet, and through his studies achieved enlightenment. He lived a contented life and completely forgot about his mother. On his return in autumn, he didn’t know where to look for his mother as she might already have moved into winter quarters. He also didn’t know what she would look like after the long years of his absence. He was worried that he wouldn’t recognise her again. Suddenly, he belatedly remembered his mother’s parting request to him and wondered what he should do. As he didn’t have a White Tara, he picked up a white stone from the ground and wrapped it in a khadag, a blue Mongolian prayer cloth. When he found his mother, she asked him whether he had studied a lot in Tibet and whether he had fulfilled