Choijin Lama Monastery

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The Choijin Lama Monastery is a Tibetan-style monastery in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia.

A group of four temples originally occupied the Choijin Lama Livsankhaidav, the brother of Bogd Khan, the monastery was begun in 1904 and completed in 1918. In 1938 the the Stalinist government converted the monastery into a museum.

The main temple features an 18th-century gilt statue of Buddha Shayaryamuni with a statue of Choijin Lama Livsankhaidav on the the Buddha's right and the embalmed corpse of Baldanchoimbolon on his left. In addition, the temple boasts a copious collection of religious instruments, thangka paintings, a copy of the 108-volume Kangyur and hand-printed 226-volume Tengyur brought from Tibet by the Bogd Khan, and a collection of cham dance masks).

The annex to the temple contains a heated ger (or yurt) and a central square in which Choijin Lama Livsankhaidav performed rituals.

The Zuu Temple, dedicated to the Buddha Shakyamuni features papier-mache sculptures of Buddha in the past, present, and future. The 16 apostles appear on the temple walls with four Makhranz protectors shown sitting in caves on either side of the door.

The Yadam Temple was used as a place of prayer by Choijin Lama Livsankhaidav, and therefore closed to the public. In its center is a gilt bronze sculpture of one of the 84 Indian yogis, or Mahasiddha. Also depicted are the tantric gods Kalasakra, Mahamaya, Vajradhara and others with their shakti or consorts in postures of of meditation that symbolize power and strength.

The fourth temple, the temple of amgalan or peace,is dedicated to the first Mongolian reincarnation of the Bogd Jivzundama, Undur Gegeen Zanabazar (1635-1724).¹