Buddhist Revival in Mongolia

March 12, 2008

Author: Stefan Lovgren

Source: The Buddhist Channel/TOL

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=47,6059,0,0,1,0

On the banks of the remote Uur River in northern Mongolia, the Dayan Derkh monastery stands as a testament to Mongolia's religious revival.

This was one of hundreds of Buddhist monasteries destroyed in the 1930s as the Soviet Union brought Mongolia under its control and effectively banned Buddhism here. For decades, Mongolians had to restrict their faith to secret meetings and their gers – the traditional Mongolian felt tent homes.

Since its return to democracy, Mongolia has rediscovered its strong religious heritage and its Buddhist followers are free to attend the scores of ancient monasteries that have been restored across this vast and nomadic nation.