Gandantegchinlen Khiid, Ulaanbaatar Mongolia

Head and hands of a guilt Avalokiteśvara, Gandantegchinlen Monastery, Ulaanbaatar Mongolia

Avalokiteśvara
Gandantegchinlin, “the great place of complete joy”, is one of Mongolia’s most important monasteries. The central attraction is a 26m statue of Avalokiteśvara, a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas.

The best way to immerse yourself in a new culture is to spend time where local people congregate and worship.

In the early morning of my first day in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, I took a taxi across the busy city centre from my hotel in the east, to the country’s largest monastery, Gandantegchinlen (“the great place of complete joy”) Khiid, west of city centre.

According to the national census of 2010, 53% of Mongolians identify as Buddhist (38.6% profess no religious affiliation, leaving very small proportions practicing traditional Mongolian shamanism, Christianity and Islam).

The country experienced its first wave of Buddhism in the third century B.C, but over the years, the religion’s fortunes have waxed and waned with the political tides. Gandantegchinlen Khiid (Gandan Monastery) was originally built in the centre of Ulaanbaatar in 1810, and was moved to its current location by the 5th Bogd Jebzundamba (the Spiritual Head of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia) in 1838. It grew into a complex of colleges of Sutra-Tantra Buddhist teachings, Astrology and Medicine.

Mongolian Buddhism flourished into the early twentieth century, with 843 major Buddhist centers, about 3,000 temples of various sizes, and nearly 6000 associated buildings by 1934. However, the Stalinist religious purges of 1937 took their toll. By 1940, nearly every monk across the country was either dead or had apostatised. Although most of the buildings in the Gandan Monastery were destroyed, it remained open for international display purposes. The Monastery, and its community of 100 monks, didn’t come back to proper life until the 1990s, when Buddhism was once again practiced openly.

Gandantegchinlen Khiid is the largest monastery and temple complex currently in use in the country.

In religious environments there are many photographs which can’t be taken: young monks performing their prayers, ordered by age and rank as they sit on hard wooden benches in expansive rooms with lofty ceilings but little light; or community members in distress seeking comfort and blessings from elders and abbots.

In any event, photographs never quite capture the smell of the incense, or the thrumming drone of Buddhist prayers reverberating against ancient walls.

But, they can give one a small peek into a different world.

Silhouette of Monks Banging the Morning DrumGandantegchinlen Monastery, Ulaanbaatar Mongolia

Monks Bang the Morning Gong
At 9 am, young monks give a single bang to the gong in the drum tower of Gandantegchinlen Monastery, calling all the resident monks to prayers. I was expecting three gongs, so I almost missed them! (iPhone6)

Two monks with a gong, Tashchoimphei Datsan (Monastic College), Ulaanbaatar Mongolia

Tashchoimphei Datsan (Monastic College)
Their gong-ringing completed, the young monks return the gong to the Datsan …

Old Woman at the Datsan
… where resident monks and people from the local community gather for morning prayers.

Golden Roof
Mongolia’s famous blue skies are clear – with just an echo of the moon – over a golden Datsan roof.

Deer and the Dharma Wheel
Another roof is adorned with the Buddhist symbols of the deer, representing the Buddha’s first sermon at Deer Park, and the Dharma Wheel, which represents the content of the Buddha’s teaching itself.

Incense Burner in the Courtyard
As the morning prayers drone on inside the Datsan, people keep arriving, stopping for some incense smoke …

Monk on the Steps
… before going inside to take their place for the chanting.

Prayer Wheels
Brass prayer wheels invite you to walk the prayer circuit, …

Saying Prayers
… spinning the wheels and offering your prayers as you go.

Building inside the Monastery Complex

Vajradhara Temple
Built in 1840, the Vajradhara Temple houses a statue of Vajradhara, a Buddha from Tantric practice.

Relics, Buddhas and Icons

Migjid Janraisig Sum
Ulaanbaatar is a confusion of old and new.

Gandantegchinlen Stupa

Roof Detail

Migjid Janraisig Sum
Built in 1911, Migjid Janraisig Sum features elements of traditional Chinese, Mongol and Tibetan architectural styles.

Door Knocker
Heavy doors lead into the dim interior of Migjid Janraisig Sum.

Ayush : “Long Life”
The walls of Migjid Janraisig Sum are lined with images of Ayush, the Buddhist god of longevity.

Avalokiteśvara
In the centre of the Migjid Janraisig temple, the tallest indoor Buddhist statue in the world – the 26.5-meter-high Avalokiteśvara or “Lord Who Looks Down” – stands over us. Covered in gems and gold leaf, this 1996 statue replaced the original copper one, reputedly dismantled by the Russians in 1938.

Prayer Candles
The temple is dimly lit with candles …

A Girl and her Father
… which illuminate worshipers.

Prayer Candles

Lighting Candles
In a separate nearby building, a man lights countless candles.

Sustained by the memory of flickering candles and the blessings of chanting monks, it was an easy walk back through the streets of Ulaanbaatar, to the hotel.