Here you will see me standing in front of the main Buddhist temple in Ulaanbaatar, the Migjid Janraisig Sum. This is one of the few temples that survived the purge.
Chinggis Khaan was very supportive of all religions but did have his own personal Shaman. Buddhism has been part of the Mongolian culture for the past 600 years and continues to this day to be the major religion of the country. Between the Chinese and the Russian control of the country, there was a short period of independent control under the Bogd Khan. The picture below is one of the structures at the museum of Bogd Khan's Winter Palace. In the front of one of the structures at the Winter Palace is the CHF Agribusiness Coordinator, Batbaatar, who took me on the private tour of the Buddhist structures remaining in the city.
This next picture is one taken at the Choijin Lama Temple Museum. It is no longer a temple but just a museum.
Next to the Buddhist Dharma Center, in the center of the city, there is a Church of the Latter Day Saints. Some young folks outside the Mormon Church tried to recruit me to come in as I was leaving my meditation class at the Dharma center the other evening. I just tried to remain centered...and not slip on the ice. There are numerous religious groups working in the city, but Mongolia is definitely a Buddhist country.
There might be only a limited number of monks and Temples in Mongolia, but the Dharma Center, here in Ulaanbaatar, does have a meditation instructor as good as any I have had in California. Even old guys like me, who don't classify themselves as Buddhist, are warmly welcomed and find beneficial training at the Center.
