Ulan Bataar, Mongolia

Amarbayasgalant Monastery is a small monastery complex that sits on a hill, with the Dorje Shugden temple lying two miles west of the monastery complex. The monastery is made up of three temples, one dedicated to the great Mongolian Lama, Zanabazar, another to the Eighth Bogd Gegen and finally, the temple of Dorje Shugden. They were destroyed in the late 1930s.

In recent times, the Dorje Shugden temple was rebuilt and two large stupas were constructed in place of the temples of Zanabazar and the Eighth Bogd Gegen. In recent years, smaller stupas were also added in between these two larger stupas.

The single stupa standing up on the hill is an original structure dating back to 1868.

The main temple itself enshrines a large statue of Buddha that is flanked by hundreds of clay statues of Zanabazar fashioned by local monks. The temple also has a thangka of Dorje Shugden.

According to historical records, the monastery was founded by imperial order of the Manju emperor Enkh-Amgalan Khan, who built it in honour of the great Mongolian Lama, Undur Geghen Zanabazar’s great wisdom, learning and accomplishments. Untold amount of silver was used from the state funds to build this monastery to honour Zanabazar and also to spread Buddha’s teachings.

A suitable location was found for the monastery; construction began in 1726 and was completed 10 years later. It was named Amarbayasgalant or ‘the palace of God’s meditation.’ The monastery was then presented to the Lama Undur Geghen.

In 1937, the communist regime sacked Amarbayasgalant Monastery and executed many of the great monks. Along the path of destruction, innumerable rare religious relics, books, sutras, thangkas and Buddha statues that were collected over 200 years were lost.

In 1990, the fortunes of Amarbayasgalant turned with the fall of communism and plans were made to restore the monastery to its former glory. With the end of communism, people were eager to revive their religious tradition. Lama Undur Geghen's monastery was thus re-established and its 300-year-old temple restored.

Today, about 60 novice and ordained monks following the rule of Vinaya are in residence at this monastery and practicing Dharma to benefit all sentient beings. One of the Buddhist traditions that has been revived since the temple’s reopening is the Cham dance ceremony, which used to be very popular among practitioners.

The religious Cham dance was highly cherished in the Buddhist monasteries of Mongolia in the middle of the 19th Century. This dance reflects the ritual of secret Tantra and was last performed in 1937. In 2002, for the first time in 65 years, the Cham dance was performed again at Amarbayasgalant.

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Today, the old monastic traditions of Amarbayasgalant, including the worship of Dorje Shugden, is being revived in this historical monastery. In recent times, many devotees of Dorje Shugden are also travelling in from foreign countries to engage in meditational retreats here.