AMARBAYASGALANT MONASTERY

Amarbayasgalant is the final destination of most travelers passing through Darkhan. Once you arrive at the site, it's easy to see why. Nestled in an enchanting setting in the Iven Valley, not far from the Selenge River, the Monastery of Quiet Bliss was built between 1727 and 1736 in a real natural setting. It was erected in memory of Bogd Khan Zanabazar, the first living Buddha of Mongolia, and was originally intended to house his remains. It took him 42 years to do so, starting in 1778. At the height of its activity, nearly 8,000 monks lived in this monastery, which was closed, partially destroyed and looted in 1937. Only the central buildings survived the Soviet destruction. Originally, no less than 60 temples occupied the space. About thirty of them remain today. Listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1996, the monastery has been partially restored since 1988

.The importance of the symbolism

. The monastery having been built during a period of Manchu domination, its structure is a classic of Chinese constructions. It presents a great stylistic unity. The buildings are aligned on a north-south axis, facing south. They follow one another around four courtyards, around which are small buildings of secondary importance. The buildings were built in stone and are topped by a roof structure covered with tiles. The walls were then traditionally painted in red.

Before entering the enclosure, one can see a wall about fifty meters away from the main entrance. The uninitiated will probably find this surprising. The wall is in fact intended to prevent evil spirits from entering the monastery. In the Chinese tradition, spirits can only move in a straight line. Here, they are confined to the outside.

Behind this "shield wall", there is a dance area for tsam

(religious dance asking the 10 protective gods to take care of the people) and especially the main porch which is not always open. The monks push its doors only for important events. Words written in Tibetan, Old Mongolian and Manchu indicate that "Amarbayasgalant Monastery was built by imperial order". One usually enters the monastery compound through one of the two doors located on the sides of the large porch.

On the right and left sides, there are two towers that were once used to announce the arrival of important guests. A bell was enough to give the signal from the tower on the right. The original bell has since been broken. A new bell was supposed to replace it. But once built, the architects in charge of the project realized that it was far too heavy for the building! The tower on the left was the drum tower. One of the two towers now houses the monastery store, open only in summer.

A series of important temples

. One must then pass the small temple dedicated to the protection of the Gods to reach the second courtyard which hosts the main temple, whose centerpiece is a life-size statue of Rinpoche Gurdava, a lama who raised a lot of funds for the maintenance and restoration of the monastery in the early 1990s. Next to it stands a rare stone statue of Buddha, a survivor of the 1937 purges. Behind it, a statue of the founder of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition (one of the two main streams of this religion) stands proudly. His two best students are also statues. A door on the right gives access to the second floor. It remains to be seen if, on the day of the visit, the monk who will be the guide will agree to go up.

It is in this temple, named Tsogchin Dugan, that the monks gathered to pray. On the roof stands the golden wheel of life, representing the wheel that Buddha uses to teach. Legend has it that the roof of the building is supported by 108 wooden pillars, a symbolic number in the Buddhist religion. But the subject is somewhat unfortunate in that there are only 100 of them. The remark does not seem to amuse the monks who live in this monastery!

At the back of the main temple, there are two small courtyards of lesser importance. They have been relatively well preserved from the communist purges and especially well restored. The first one shelters in its heart a temple dedicated to Sakyamuni (founder of Buddhism) and another one (the one on the left) supposed to honor Ayush, the Buddha known for the longevity of his life. It is also in the first of these two courtyards that the tomb of Zanabazar (in the background on the right) and that of the fourth Bogd Khan (in the background on the left) are located. Finally, at the far end of the complex, are the residence of the visiting Bogd Khan and the temples of Matreya (the future Buddha) and Narkhajid (a female deity). Along the central axis, and at the level of the third and fourth courtyards, are the ger where the monks reside (currently about 200). It is advisable to visit the monastery from 9 am onwards, when the religious activity is the most important.