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The Erdene Zuu monastery (Mongolian: Эрдэнэ Зуу) is probably the most ancient Buddhist monastery in Mongolia. It is in Övörkhangai Province, near the town of Kharkhorin and adjacent to the ancient city of Karakorum. It is part of the World Heritage Site entitled Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape.
The monastery was built in 1585 by Abtai Sain Khan, upon the introduction of Buddhism into Mongolia as the state religion. Stones from the ruins of Karakorum were used in construction. It is surrounded by a wall featuring 108 stupas, 108 being a sacred number in Buddhism, and the number of beads in a Buddhist rosary.
The monastery was damaged by warfare in the 1680s, but was rebuilt in
the 18th century and by 1872 had a full 62 temples inside.
In 1939 the Communist leader Khorloogiin Choibalsan had the monastery ruined, as part of a purge, that obliterated hundreds of monasteries in Mongolia and killed over ten thousand monks. Three small temples and the external wall with the stupas remained; the
temples became museums in 1947. They say that this part of the
monastery was spared destruction on account of Joseph Stalin's pressure. One researcher claims that it was U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt who asked Stalin to save the monastery in 1944.
Erdene Zuu was allowed to exist as a museum only; the only functioning monastery in Mongolia was Gandantegchinlen Khiid Monastery in the capital, Ulaanbaatar.
However, after the fall of Communism in Mongolia in 1990, the monastery
was turned over to the lamas and Erdene Zuu again became a place of
worship. Today Erdene Zuu remains an active Buddhist monastery as well
as a museum that is open to tourists.
On a hill outside the monastery sits a stone phallus. The phallus is said to retain the sexual impulses of the monks and ensure their good behavior.
Gallery
The monastery, as seen from a distance.
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Laviran Temple at Erdene Zuu monastery.
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References
External links
This page was last modified 20:58, 16 July 2007. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.) Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erdene_Zuu_monastery
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