Gandan Monastery: Tibetan Buddhism's Secret Temple in Ulaanbaatar
A partial view reveals a sign in Tibetan script (དགའ་ལྡན་ཐེག་ཆེན་གླིང་ - Ganden Monastery) along with the surrounding temples and monasteries. The piece, titled 'Gandan Monastery in Ulaanbaatar, panoramic view,' was collected by Mr. and Mrs. Ernst in the late 19th century.
From the land of snows, the teachings on the sutras and tantras of Manjushri's heart essence were brought here, as if transplanted. Jahu's daughter, Dzigdzin Thigle, descends gradually toward the town of Ti-mi. The beautiful land appears as vast as the sky, the monastery stands like sun and moon together, and the array of tents gleams like a cluster of stars. Who could claim to have seen such a wondrous sight?
Gradually, as if borne from the snowy plateau, the core of the Ganges' vast lands finds its way into Fish King's city, and there the essence of wisdom is proclaimed.
Penned by the Northern Gelug scholar Losang Dendzin, the "Brief Description of Ganden Monastery Praise Text" clarifies that "Zagu girl" refers to the Ganges and "Fish King City" to the ocean. Among the author's well-known works is "History of Mongolian Buddhism." Sources consulted include a recent private-collection photograph of Gandantegchinlen Monastery in Ulaanbaatar, an 18th-century sculpture of the First Zhugbuzun Danba housed at Gan Dan Temple, and 19th-century renderings of the Eighty-Four Great Accomplished Masters within the Gan Dan Monastery Collection. In Losangdanjin's skilled prose—he was also known as "Kāruka Manjushri"—the Gandantegchinlen Monastery in Ulaanbaatar is shown to carry the same sacred lineage and wisdom blessings as its mother monastery, Gandan Monastery. This connection has grown stronger across the centuries, thanks to the sustained restoration efforts of the Jebtsundamba Khutughtu in Mongolia.
Within Gandan Monastery stands the Dekyi Tsonkhang Palace, originally the Winter Palace of the Fifth Jebtsundamba Khutughtu and constructed between 1838 and 1840. There, the Thirteenth Jebtsundamba Khutughtu (1876-1933), having fled from British forces during 1904-1905, found temporary respite from his situation and was able to reflect on Tibet's future direction. In this way, Gandan Monastery served as a northern refuge for him.
Because the Thirteenth Jebtsundamba Khutughtu preferred meeting pilgrims from Gandan Monastery, upon returning to Lhasa he had officials erect several Mongolian yurts inside the Norbulingka Summer Palace. This produced an arrangement of white tents alongside red and yellow monasteries, which he considered a lasting sacred site in his life to mark that special occasion.
The term "Kuren" originally referred not to any particular location, but to a type of settlement distinctive to the nomadic peoples of inland Asia—one built around a central structure and ringed by mobile tents serving various purposes. A Russian explorer who visited the city of Kuren (now Ulaanbaatar) described Gandan Monastery in these words: "This place (Gandan Monastery) is the educational center in the city," adding that "It is considered the abode of pure morality and supreme power.
The Great Kuren, founded in 1639 by the First Jebtsundamba Khutughtu, can be roughly split into three sections: the nomadic Eastern Kuren, the monastery-based Western Kuren, and a Chinese trading town to the southeast. By the mid-eighteenth century, it had grown into the political, economic, and cultural hub of outer Mongolia, later developing into the Ulaanbaatar we recognize today.
The strict management regulations at the monastery Western Kuren—whose core is Gandan Monastery—include provisions such as those governing visits by the opposite sex; most of these rules have been drawn from Tibetan monasteries like Drepung and Sera. In contrast to the urban layouts we are used to, the Great Kuren lacks city walls, with only fences and low walls separating its spaces.
The first illustration offers a partial view of Ganden Monastery's core layout, which encompasses the Western Complex of monasteries, primarily Gandan Monastery. Additionally, there are the works "Panoramic View of the Capital City of Daqurun, Completed in 1912 Drawn by the North Asian scholar Jügder," "The Fourth Zhabu Zuntanba" (early 20th century, collected by the Zhanaba Zalmei Art Museum), and "The Fifth Zhabup Zundanba" (late 19th century, collected by the Zanabazar Fine Art Museum).
During the early 1800s, the scholars of the monastery found themselves in need of a quiet practice ground, as the acceleration of secularization in Gaden Khürel brought about greater trade freedom and a rise in non-residential zones.
In 1838, during the era of the Fifth Zhephub Tendzin Damba, the Gaden Monastery underwent major expansion. The relocated institutions included the Zashi Tsopé Monastery (founded in 1756), the Gonggar Chuglin Monastery (founded in 1809), and the Lotus Yoga Retreat (founded in 1806), all moved to the monastery on the city's western outskirts. Gaden, which was originally established in 1809 with the assistance of the Fourth Zhephub Tendzin Damb a, would later become well known across North Asia.
High-ranking monks from Lhasa's three main monasteries were regularly dispatched to serve as abbots or masters at Gaden Monastery. Among them was Losang Thubten Jigmepel Gyaltsen (ལྷ་བཙུན་བློ་བཟང་ཐུབ་བསྟན་དགེ་ལེགས་རབ་རྒྱས་；1883-1967), a student of the 13th Dalai Lama and the 9th Panchen Lama, who bore the title "Omnipresent Buddhist Administrator." Mongolian scholars report that by the mid-late 19th century, roughly two thousand monks resided at Gaden Monastery, and numerous Buddhist scholars graduated from that institution.
The daily rituals performed at Gaden Monastery offer insight into the historical legacy of Mongolian and Tibetan cultural fusion, while its architecture combines Mongolian, Tibetan, and Chinese influences, with certain structures displaying features of Yuan architecture.
Extant Mongolian records indicate that the rituals performed daily in Gaden Monastery’s central hall were largely adapted from Lhasa’s Jokhang Monastery, although scholars from North Asia incorporated many additional sections concerning prohibitions on alcohol consumption and opium use. The central hall itself was built in 1839.
To this day, cultural exchanges among different regions remain ongoing. The monastery dispatched numerous caravans from Central Asia and North Asia to Lhasa and other parts of Tibet, while some Tibetan artisans sent to Gaden Monastery chose to remain in Gaden Khürel. Meanwhile, Gaden Monastery holds the stupas of the Fifth, Seventh, and Eighth Zhephub Tendzin Damba, and Mongolian records frequently note that North Asian monks traveled to Lhasa and Shigatse to view the stupas of past incarnations and the Panchen Lama.
Created in the 18th century, "Panoramic View of the Dunhuang Library Cave Collection" now resides in a private collection. Shown in the image are a partial view of the main temple at the historical Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, the fifth Zhugbu Zun Danba Stupa, Ganden Monastery, and Kung Le Palace. Also depicted is a sacred Mongolian yurt in Kuren City. The present piece has been translated from Sorang Wangqing's blog.