Gandan Monastery

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100% of people who have been to Gandan Monastery think it's worth visiting. Gandan Monastery is featured on the list 100 places to see in Mongolia.

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Untitled by Alan Cordova

A major tourist trap, but a necessary stop on the UB circuit.

over 5 years ago

Most Buddhist Monasteries in Mongolia were destroyed during the communist regime, which lasted until 1990. One of the only to survive was Gandan Monastery, being used as a showcase for visitors. It’s official name is Gandantegchinleng Khiid. This name signifies something like Great Place of Complete Joy or Great Way to the Cosmos. Literally it can be translated as:
- Gan = rejoyce
- Dan = perfect
- Teg = vehicle > Tegchin = Mahayna (Greater Vehicle)
- Leng = island

Which would result in Mahayana Island of Perfect Rejoice, with Island being a generally used metaphor for monastery.

Gandan is the largest and most important monastery of Mongolia, with over 400 monks.

more from this site: http://mongoluls.net/khiid/gandan.shtml

over 5 years ago