ULAN BATOR:On a barren patch of land outside Mongolia’s capital, a former herder guards a half-finished pedestal and abandoned golden Buddha’s head—testament to the money problems keeping Buddhism from flourishing in the country. Sacred vodkaBuddhist traditions in Mongolia predate the rule of Genghis Khan, who established close ties with a Tibetan Buddhist school. And because the Mongolian Empire suffered from a population shortage, the Dalai Lama at the time permitted Mongolian monks to marry and have children—though mistresses remained strictly forbidden. “After 60 years of oppression, (Mongolia’s) monkhood was pretty much destroyed,” said Glen Mullin, an expert on Tibetan Buddhism. Only one monastery, Ulan Bator’s Gandan monastery, was permitted to stay open during that period to support the Soviets’ claims of religious tolerance.

Source: Manila Times September 14, 2017 17:26 UTC