Gandantegchinlen Monastery is a Tibetan-style Buddhist Monastery. Its name means ”the big place of complete joy”. It houses a 26.5metres high statue, Avalokiteśvara, stunning in gold-leaf and gemstone covered, built to depict the 8th Jebtsundamba, also known as Bogd Khan, who had claimed the title of Emperor of Mongolia.
Visitors rang the bells outside, but I don't know the meaning of this.
The fifth Javzandamba, who was the highest lama in the hierarchy of the Mongolian clergy, created this monastery in 1809 under the name of Shar sum (“the yellow monastery”). It was located in the centre of Ulaanbaatar. In 1838, it was moved at his current location on Dalkha Hill, and took its current name. Then it became the main religious centre of Tantric Buddhism in Mongolia, and many schools (Buddhism, astrology, medicine) were created as the time went by.
In the 1930s, the communist system of Mongolia, under the insistent pressure of Stalin Russia, led to the destruction of more than 900 monasteries and to the slaughter of more than 10.000 Buddhist lamas, but Gandantegchinlen monastery was one of the few monasteries that avoided being destroyed. It was closed in 1938.
The fall of the communist system in 1990 in Mongolia, led to the end of the restrictions of cult, and allowed the monastery resuming its activity. Gandantegchinlen Monastery started an ambitious program of restoration of the cult all across the country. Today, there are ten active datsans and temples inside the monastery, where about 900 lamas live.
The original statue was made of gold and bronze and was erected in 1913 thanks to donations that Mongolian people gave for the Bogdo Khan (the eighth Javzandamba who had become Emperor of Mongolia) to recover his eyesight. The statue was 32 metres high and was the symbol of Mongolian independence towards the Manchu system. 24 years later, in 1937, the Soviet troops demolished the statue. The debris were supposed to have been used to make bullets during the siege of Leningrad.
After the democratic revolution of 1990, the government guaranteed the liberty of cult. The reconstruction of the statue symbolized the goodness of the government and its wish to guarantee security, freedom, and independence. The government and the Mongolian people attached great importance to the reconstruction of the statue.
Everything was difficult to photograph, the lighting is terrible. The room is dominated by the statue, and the walls are covered in statues.
One thousand statues of God Amitabha (Ayush) surround it. Two stone statues of lions are placed near it, according to the codes of Buddhist sculpture.
One of the statues of God Amitabha (Ayush)
The Dalai Lama inaugurated the statue of Megjid-Janraiseg (which means ”the Lord who watches in every direction”) in 1996, after five years of work. This new 26.5metres high statue, weighing more than 20 tons, is made of copper coming from the Erdenet mines.
The new statue is covered with gold that was offered to Mongolia by Nepal and Japan, and is covered with brocade embroidered with gold, and with more than 100 kilograms of silk.
The statue contains 2286 precious stones, 27 tons of medicinal plants, 334 sutras and 2 millions mantras. The feet are huge!
The Mongolian symbol, of Long Life and Prosperity is part of the pot.
There are other statues at the base, as well as offerings.
The painted ceiling caught me eye.
There were plenty of people praying, and the visit to this building cost about $NZ10, and another $NZ10 to take photos.
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