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Interest in Buddhism as a
national religion began with Chinggis Khan. He employed the Buddhist
Uigur people as teachers and state officials. The Uigur were a
respected people and had great cultural influence over the Mongols.
Chinggis Khan also held meetings with Buddhist leaders during his
reign. In his will, he instructed his successor, Ogedei Khan to invite
a Tibetan lama to conduct Buddhist services at Kharakhorum. This
engaged practicing Shamans in Kharakhorum, as pantheistic Shamanism
was the traditional faith of the Mongols.
Buddhism was not fully adopted as a state religion until the rule of
Kubila Khan. He declared Buddhism to be the Yuan empire's official
religion. Kubila Khan appointed the lama Lodijaltsan as spiritual
leader and state teacher for the country. Lamas were officially
exempted from military service and paying taxes. Despite these efforts
by Kubila Khan, Buddhism did not become a widely-accepted religion in
Mongolia. It was the religion of the aristocracy, and following the
Tibetan empire's downfall, Buddhism lost its support and Shamanism was
revived through to the mid sixteenth century.
In the second half of the sixteenth century, Yellow Hat sect Buddhism
or Lamaism became prominent in Mongolia. Lamaism was adopted for
political as well as social reasons. Politically, Lamaism was favoured
because (1) Mongol aristocrats wanted their positions reinforced by
religious figures, (2) Tibetan Yellow Hat proponents sought allies
among the Mongol rulers against the Red Hat sect, and (3) the Ming
empire in China saw Lamaism as a means of pacifying their warlike
Mongol neighbours.
In 1577, Altan Khan invited the religious head of Tibet to Mongolia,
as Altan Khan was intent upon unifying Mongolia under Lamaism. Altan
Khan incorporated Buddhist beliefs into laws which made for a legal
basis to abolish the practices of Shamanism. Altan Khan's campaign was
continued by Avtai Sain Khan, who met with the third Dalai Lama in
1586. At this meeting, it was decided that the Zuu temple in
Kharakhorum would be established as the Mongol Centre of Lamaism. Soon
thereafter, the other monasteries and schools for Lamaism opened under
the directive of Zanabazar, the head of the Lamaist religion in
Mongolia. Zanabazar worked diligently to spread Lamaism to all people,
nobles and commoners alike. Lamaism continued to gain popularity for
the following 200 years, or until the Mongol People's Revolution.
During the period referred to as the "Left Deviation" (1929-1932)
approximately 300 monasteries were closed in an effort to increase
Mongolia's workforce by encouraging lamas to work outside of the
monasteries. Some lamas left in fear of persecution, only to return to
the monasteries in 1932, the beginning of the New Turn movement: a
movement in which efforts were directed towards persuasion, education
and propaganda. By 1936 there were 767 monasteries - including more
than 300 closed during 1929-1932 - and over 100,000 lamas, including
an increase of 10,000 during the period immediately following the Left
Deviation. At this time, the adult lamas represented over forty
percent of the adult male population - a problem for a socialist
country.
In the mid 1930s, the communist party implemented the "liquidation of
the church as an organisation" due, in part, to rumours of the
political uprisings against the government being rooted in the
monasteries. At this time, lamas were 'strongly encouraged' to leave
the monasteries and begin secular lifestyles. By 1938, approximately
20,000 of the lamas had become herders, 5,000 were organised into
government cooperatives, young lamas were enlisted in the military and
child lamas were returned to their families. And the rest? Many were
victims of the burning and bombing of monasteries during the mid
1930s. 1937 is said to be one of the worst years in Mongol history, as
hundreds of monasteries were destroyed, tens of thousands of Buddhist
books were burned, and most of the 100,000 lamas were persuaded into
secular lifestyles or killed.
Over the next 40 years, Mongols worshipped in fear. Older Buddhists
continued to attend the central monastery, the Gandan, which averaged
100 lamas, or the Gobi's monastery, which averaged 40 lamas. Younger
people worshipped in the privacy of their homes or ceased to worship
altogether. Now that Mongolia is an independent country, the Buddhists
are experiencing a revival. Young males are attending the monastery
schools and many of the lamas who were forced into secular lives
during the 1930s have returned to the monasteries to continue
lifestyles they originally chose to pursue. In 1990, the women's
monastery was opened in Ulaanbaatar by a group of 20 Buddhist women.
However, all is not calm on the religious front: missionaries are
spreading across the country, attempting to convert the Mongols to
western religions. |
Information provided by
the
Ministry of Tourism. Government of Mongolia.
