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MONASTERY AND MUSEUM OF THE CHOIJIN LAMA

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Genden Street, Sukhbaatar district, first khoroo, Ulaanbaatar (Ул Aah Б Aatap), Mongolia
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+976 11 324 788
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2024
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2024

Completed in 1908 after four years of work, this Buddhist monastery was originally the residence of the brother of the Bogd Khan, endowed with the honorary title of Choijin. Closed by the Russians, the monastery escaped destruction only to be transformed into a museum in 1942, in order to testify to the feudalism of pre-Soviet Mongolia and especially to its religious practices. Even today, nestled in the heart of the modern city, the monastery houses a museum and has not been returned to worship. It includes five temples.

The first is the Maharaja temple, the temple of the guardians of the monastery, facing the four cardinal points.

The main temple is the second in the central axis of the monastery. It houses a statue of Sakyamuni, surrounded by two disciples, Mongol Jibba, an astronomer, and Streigh Jibbu, a philosopher. On the far left is a representation of the Choijin Lama, the brother of the last Bogd Khan of Mongolia, recognizable by his yellow headdress. At his side is his teacher, whose mummified remains are said to lie inside the statue. This temple also allows to discover a collection of religious musical instruments, masks used during the tsam dances, as well as some pictures of these ceremonies. Many tangka (religious paintings) decorate its walls.

In the second courtyard on the left stands a small temple with three Buddha statues, representing the past, the present and the future. The Buddhas are accompanied by their disciples and framed by the sixteen arhat (spiritual man), in meditation position.

The Yiddam temple, originally forbidden to the public because it was used as a place of prayer by Choijin Lama Luvsankhaidav, houses a statue of Sitasamvara made by Zanabazar, the first Bogd Khan of the country. One can also admire a series of statues of Yiddam, protective deities represented with threatening faces.

Finally, the Amgalan temple, at the end of the courtyard on the right, allows to discover a self-portrait statue of Zanabazar, as well as a representation of Tara, recognizable by the lotus flower on which she is always sitting and which symbolizes purity.

If some of the temples are closed, don't hesitate to ask to be allowed access. Before the pandemic, concerts were held every day in the complex. From now on, they are only organized on a very occasional basis. Ask at the ticket office.


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