Buddhist developments

Buddhist developments: "President N. Enkhbayar recently met with Khamba lama D. Choijamts, head of Gandantegchinlen (Gandan) Monastery, the centre of Mongolian Buddhism, the deputy head and other lamas.
They discussed the development of Mongolian Buddhism, plans for a monastery to be built in Bodigaya, India, and plans to modernise the surrounds of Gandan Monastery.
The lamas told the president that the issue of land for the Bodigaya monastery had been resolved and that a fence and well had been already been built, showing an overall building plan."

History Lesson

Never realised Choibalsan and Sukhbaatar were initialy leaders of these two different groups.

Mongolia - HISTORY: "The threatening actions of Chinese, Japanese, and White Russian forces greatly stimulated Mongolian nationalism during this time. Two secret revolutionary circles emerged in Niyslel Huree in 1919, the military-oriented Dzuun (East) Huree Group, under Damdiny Sukhe Bator and Horloogiyn Dandzan, and the civilian-oriented Consul's Group, headed by Horloyn Choybalsan and Dogsomyn Bodoo. The Communist International, also called the Comintern, which was headquartered in Moscow, advised the two groups to merge in order to present a united front to the Chinese and the White Russian occupation forces. The merger was accomplished at a conference in Irkutsk in March 1920, with the formation of the Mongolian People's Party under the leadership of Sukhe Bator. The Jebtsundamba Khutuktu gave his encouragement and support to the revolutionary leaders, and in his name they appealed to Moscow for more assistance."

Shame shame - a poem by Danzanravjaa

Shame shame - a poem by Danzanravjaa
Shame, Shame

Alas and, the elders who have lived without charity, shame

Alas and, the stylish youth who have not cared for the soul, shame

Alas and, the wise who have not united books with their minds, shame

Alas and, the nobles who are inconsistent with their subjects, shame

Alas and, the girls who do not worship their fathers but worship men, shame

Alas and, the officials who abuse the state, shame

Alas and, the pupils who study all things other than their lessons, shame

Alas and, the monks who call meditation a hindrance, shame

Alas and, the lamas who sit in the monastery by day but wander visiting families by night, shame

Alas and, the disciples who portray devotion but secretly cheat, shame

Alas and, the doctors who think not of helping but of money, shame

Alas and, the wary who do not see their own faults but find fault in others, shame

Alas and, the girls whose eyes look at one’s face but whose spirit turns in the back, shame

Alas and, the scholars who teach others by day but themselves are dissipated by night, shame

Alas and, the men who themselves return from visiting others and show jealousy to their wives, shame

Alas and, the wives who befriend others who do not listen to men, shame

Alas and, if any of these faults are found in me, shame to me alone amongst all others

Alas and, if they are found more or less in anyone else, shame, shame, whoever they are
Do not exhaust all means, my dear ones!

Pray for Mongolia

Christian Missionairies invade Mongolia these days, like the Mongolians once invaded the world. These missions often distribute prayer points, kind of bullet points with belief. See what they want us to pray for:

• Pray for a better contextualization of biblical truths to fit Mongolian culture


• Pray that evangelical groups may do more strategic networking in order to reach the whole country more effectively.


• Please pray for Sammy Tippit's book, The Prayer Factor, which has been translated and is being distributed in the nation.


• Pray that Mongolians might find complete liberation and have transformed lives through following the Lord Jesus Christ


• Pray for Christians with marketable skills to be prepared to give up their lucrative employment and to live and work in Mongolia, allowing Christ to be seen in their lives.


• Pray that God will reveal Himself to the Khalkha Mongol through dreams and visions.


• Pray for the effective use of the JESUS film in the Mongolian language


• Ask God to raise up teams of intercessors who will faithfully stand in the gap for the Khalkha Mongol.


• Pray for effective discipleship and Christ-like living among believers


• Pray for the Lord of the harvest to send out Christians to Mongolia to see for themselves the spiritually needy peoples and to return to their home churches with a new zeal to pray.


• Pray for Christians everywhere to be concerned for the unreached millions in Mongolia who have never heard the name of Jesus, especially those who live nomadic lives in the remote countryside.


• Pray that Christians will have opportunities to introduce the Khalkha Mongol to the Prince of Peace.

Amen.

PS Not enough? Try Google

Monastery used as military hospital for Japanese captives 1

Danbadarjialin monastery: "There are a lot of events that left the traces in the history of the relationship between Mongolia and Japan. One of them is the Japanese soldiers captured in 1945-1947 who ended up living and working in Mongolia. In the autumn of 1945 Japanese captives numbering 12,318 came to Mongolia through Mukden, Chanchun, Tsitsikar, Khailar, Kharbin, Jekhe in China and Otpor, Borz, Chita, Ulaan-Ude, and Naushki in Russia. The authority in charge of captured soldiers’ affairs was established by the council of ministers of People’s Republic of Mongolia. The resort in Dambadarjaa was closed down and it was decided to use all the buildings there as a military hospital for the captured soldiers. Some of prisoners were allocated to work in factories and industries that were lacking laborers. The captives were given medical treatments mainly in the hospitals in Dambadarjaa and Khujirbulan. The Mongolians treated them with kindness, sending them to the urban areas in central or northeast part of Mongolia to work. These regions are naturally beautiful parts of Mongolia. Mongolians did not send them to the Gobi or the areas with severe and harsh weather. The ones who worked very well and completed the given tasks were given supplements and bonuses and provided with separate accommodations. Mongolians and Japanese soldiers were somewhat similar to each other in terms of appearance, physique, respect for elders, religious rituals, and hospitality. These led them to form close friendships with each other. Doctor Kasuga Ukio shared his experience. He was working at meat-processing factory in Ulaan Baatar. He was starving and exhausted. A Mongolian who lived near the factory asked:
“Are you hungry?”
“Yes.”
“Come in the ger and have some food. I’ll stay outside in case anyone comes.”
Kasuga was very happy to meet the man and entered the ger to have some food.
Japanese soldiers numbering 10,705 left Mongolia in good health on October 14-28 in 1947, although 1,613 had died in Mongolia because of different health problems. There is a cemetery of Japanese captives in Dambadarjaa near Ulaanbaatar and in Khujirbulan; at Sukhbaatar in Selenge; at Baruunkharaa, Zuunkharaa, Shokhoi and Tsagaan Bulag in Töv aimag, and at Nalaikh, Arkhust, Jargalant, Batsumber, Bornuur, and Ukher Chuluu."

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The Baldan Baraivan Monastery in 1937 and 2000

The Baldan Baraivan Monastery in 1937 and 2000

UNESCO World Heritage Sites for Mongolia

An overview of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Mongolia: The Orkhon Valley and Uvs Nuur basin.

The Orkhon Valley

The 121,967-ha Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape encompasses an extensive area of pastureland on both banks of the Orkhon River and includes numerous archaeological remains dating back to the 6th century. The site also includes Kharkhorum, the 13th and 14th century capital of Chingis (Genghis) Khan’s vast Empire. Collectively the remains in the site reflect the symbiotic links between nomadic, pastoral societies and their administrative and religious centres, and the importance of the Orkhon valley in the history of central Asia. The grassland is still grazed by Mongolian nomadic pastoralists.
Justification for Inscription

Criterion (ii): The Orkhon valley clearly demonstrates how a strong and persistent nomadic culture, led to the development of extensive trade networks and the creation of large administrative, commercial, military and religious centres. The empires that these urban centres supported undoubtedly influenced societies across Asia and into Europe and in turn absorbed influence from both east and west in a true interchange of human values.

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Criterion (iii): Underpinning all the development within the Orkhon valley for the past two millennia has been a strong culture of nomadic pastoralism. This culture is still a revered and indeed central part of Mongolian society and is highly respected as a ‘noble’ way to live in harmony with the landscape.

Criterion (iv): The Orkhon valley is an outstanding example of a valley that illustrates several significant stages in human history. First and foremost it was the centre of the Mongolian Empire; secondly it reflects a particular Mongolian variation of Turkish power; thirdly, the Tuvkhun hermitage monastery was the setting for the development of a Mongolian form of Buddhism; and fourthly, Khar Balgas, reflects the Uighur urban culture in the capital of the Uighur Empire.

Uvs Nuur basin

The Uvs Nuur Basin (1,068,853 ha), is the northernmost of the enclosed basins of Central Asia. It takes its name from Uvs Nuur Lake, a large, shallow and very saline lake, important for migrating birds, waterfowl and seabirds. The site is made up of twelve protected areas representing the major biomes of eastern Eurasia. The steppe ecosystem supports a rich diversity of birds and the desert is home to a number of rare gerbil, jerboas and the marbled polecat. The mountains are an important refuge for the globally endangered snow leopard, mountain sheep (argali) and the Asiatic ibex.
Justification for Inscription

Criterion (ii): The closed salt lake system of Uvs Nuur is of international scientific importance because of its climatic and hydrological regimes. Because of the unchanging nature of the nomadic pastoral use of the grasslands within the basin over thousands of years, current research programmes should be able to unravel the rate at which Uvs Nuur (and other smaller lakes within the basin) have become saline (and eutrophic). These processes are on-going and because of its unique geophysical and biological characteristics, the basin has been chosen as an IGBP site for monitoring global warming. Criterion (iv): The Uvs Nuur site has a large range of ecosystems, representing the major biomes of eastern Eurasia, with a number of endemic plants. Although the basin is inhabited and has been used for nomadic pastoralism for thousands of years, the mountains, forests, steppes and deserts are extremely important habitats for a wide range of wild animals, many of them threatened or endangered. The steppe ecosystem supports a rich diversity of birds and the deserts a number of rare gerbil, jerboas and the marbled polecat. The mountains at the western end of the basin are important refuges for the globally threatened snow leopard, mountain sheep (argali) and the Asiatic ibex. Uvs Nuur itself is an important habitat for waterfowl as well as for birds migrating south from Siberia.