In June 2023, I was blessed to have spent around 9 days in the Land of the Eternal Blue Sky to go on pilgrimage and research more about the Jetsun Dampa. I was able to see many of the main holy sites of central Mongolia, which includes the capital city of Ulaanbaatar and Kharkhorin- former capital of the Mongol Empire. Some of the sites included Tuvkhun Monastery, which was the personal hermitage of the 1st Jetsun Dampa, Zanabazar as well as Erdene Zuu which is another ancient monastery and where Khalkha Rinpoche was enthroned as the head of Buddhism in Mongolia on August 4, 1999. A benefit of my tour to the surviving temples of central Mongolia, majority were destroyed by Mongolian Communists in the early 20th century, was that I was able to see the resilience and devotion of the people who uphold the lineage today. Touring these power places also allowed to feel a stronger connection to the lineage of the Jetsun Dampas who ensured Buddhism would flourish in this land.
Meeting with Telo Tulku Rinpoche
Toward the end of my trip, I was honored to have met Telo Tulku Rinpoche (Shadjin Lama) who is the spiritual leader of Kalmykian Buddhists and His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Representative to Russia, former Soviet States, and Mongolia. He was very kind to give me a short meeting before he met with family in Ulaanbaatar for dinner. He was happy to hear about the project and that he would be happy to assist in the future. I remember Telo Tulku la, saying, “You know you’ve already come all the way out here why don’t you go talk to the Jetsun Dampa’s son, Thuksey?” I was a bit taken aback and guess I never realized I should try to seek out family members of the Jetsun Dampa. Telo Tulku noted that Thuksey la also lived in Ulaanbaatar and gave me his cell phone number and encouraged a meeting.
Meeting with Thuksey Tulku Rinpoche
I then later left and contacted Khandro la to let her know about Thuksey Tulku, an old friend of hers, and she was happy to hear that he was residing in Mongolia. I then went to the apartment of Thuksey la and he was so kind and happy to have me in his home. Here we were able to discuss the project, which was in its infantile stages at the time, and even topics such as the new reincarnation of the Jetsun Dampa. Thuksey noted he would be happy to join in this project to preserve the memory and legacy of Khalkha Rinpoche. After our meeting, which was about 2 hours, we said our goodbyes and he gave me a popular Mongolian milk drink. I was told it was to heal broken bones, but fortunately, I only had to drink it out of enjoyment and not necessity.
Khalkha Rinpoche's Kudung and Gandantegchenling Library
The final part of the trip was getting to tour the Library of Gandentegchenling Monastery; the central monastic organization of Mongolia. Usually, the library is locked and not open to the public but after being given some numbers to call and my very helpful Mongolian guide who could talk with them, we were able to secure a meeting. We were led in by a very kind monk who controlled the keys, who came all the way from the countryside to Ulaanbaatar just to let me and my guide in— so extremely kind! The historical library is quite precious as it is where the 9th Jetsun Dampa’s holy embalmed body (kudung), encased in a life-like statue, resides. When we were led in I was amazed by the beauty of the library, which is a shrine in itself, and seeing the kudung of the Jetsun Dampa. It was surreal— as if the statue itself was a living and breathing master. I offered a khata and made prayers and prostrations. The altar was gorgeous with many beautiful statues and the entire room was surrounded by ancient Dharma texts and very old wood printing blocks.
The monk then took us to a neighboring building that is, also, usually off limits which is the library’s digitization and preservation center for its ancient texts. Something interesting I noticed was that the sign above the door of the archives noted this project has been made in conjunction with the Goethe-Institut, which is a German cultural-language organization. I’m not quite sure how this connection began but the monk explained that they were the ones who taught Ganden monks how to carry out archival work. Here the Mongolian Kangyur has been preserved in a Western book format and I believe is in the process of being distributed. He then took us into the back to see a gigantic storage room of holy texts preserved and saved from the Communist Revolution. He told us out of their collection only around 1% has been digitized. His specialty is the restoration of paper texts and fabrics of images like thangkas. A truly amazing experience and a testament to all the hard work going into preserving Buddhism in Mongolia!
Overall, this pilgrimage to Mongolia was a deeply spiritual experience and provided me with much inspiration to continue whatever work and effort I must to preserve the legacy of Khalkha Rinpoche and the lineages he held so dearly.
—Cameron
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