Gandantegchenling Monastery
Gandantegchenling Monastery, located in Ulaanbaatar, was founded by the Fifth Bogd Cultemjigmiddambijantsan in 1838. It later became the main religious centre in Mongolia for the teaching of Sutra-Tantra Buddhism and the three sciences of Philosophy, Astronomy and Medicine. The Gandantekchenling Monastery remains a functioning monastery, the main activities of which extend to the conducting of daily religious services and the running of several Buddhist colleges.
Contents |
Gangdan Temple
This first Temple was built on the initiative of the Fifth Bogd Jivzundamba. The main objects of worship in this temple are a bronze statue of Undur Gegeen Zanabazar, Mongolia's first Bogd, and a 19th-century gold-lettered set of the 108-volume collected teachings of the Buddha, the Kangyur. There is also a statue of the Buddha made in commemoration of the Buddha's 2500th birthday in 1956; a metal statue of the Lord Buddha made some two thousand years ago and presented by the Prime Minister of India, the late Jawaharlal Nehru, in 1957; a small silver stupa alleged to contain some of the Buddha's remains, presented by Ceylon Buddhists; gold-plated statues of Ayush made in Warsaw, Poland and in Doloon Nuur, Inner Mongolia, in honour of the [[Bogd Xaan] in the early 20th century; and a 15 kg pure silver statue of the lama Tsong made in the 16th century in Western Oirat Mongolia.
Ochirdariin Temple
This temple was built in 1840-41. The main sacred figure in this temple is the Vajra Tara statue created by Öndör Gegeen Zanabazar in 1683. There is also a red sandalwood statue of Logeshura, made in Nepal approximately one thousand years ago.
Zuu Temple
The main sacred figure of this temple is a statue of standing Buddha with his two disciples, made in Doloon Nuur at the beginning of the 19th century.
Dodonpovran Temple
Specially built as a Temple for library for the Fifth Incarnation of the Mongolian Living Buddha Chultemjigmiddambijantsan. The l3th Dalai Lama stayed in this building in 1904, during a period of political uncertainty in Tibet. The fifth temple serves as a library of the Gangdantekchenling Monastery, with a collection of over 80,000 volumes. The Gandan library has the fourth largest collection of its type in the world, following the Tibetan Bodal library, the Saint-Petersburg library, and the Mongolian Central Public Library. The library's collections include the collected basic teachings of the Buddha Tripitaka (Kangyur) in 108 volumes; the commentaries on Tripitaka (Tangiur) in 225 volumes; collections of works by the Tibetan scholars Bogd Tsong-KIm-va, Panchen Bogd, Dalai Lama, and others; and works by over 70 Mongolian Buddhist scholars. The library contains books and manuscripts written in Mongolian, Oirat Sanskrit, Devenagari, Pali, and Tibetan languages.
In 1996 the monumental 24-metre statue of Megzed Janraiseg, which had been melted down earlier in the century on the orders of communist authorities, was reconstructed in a special temple using a combination of public and private funds. Surrounded by one thousand sacred figures of Ayush, the god of long life, the Janraiseg statue was originally constructed in assistance of the Bogd Xaan, who was in ailing health.
![]() | In commemoration of the legacy and teachings of His Holiness Dulduit Danzanravzhaa Fifth Wrathful Noble Xutagt of the Great Gobi (1803-1856) I did not overbearingly sophize Nor preach with pride and arrogance But having found a sense in this world Spoke the truth of my dear heart. | ![]() |

