Choijin Lama Temple Museum @ Ulaanbaatar

Located opposite of Ulaanbaatar Shangri-La Hotel is a complex of six temples that was built in 1904-1908. Choijin Lama Temple Museum is worth a morning of visit when you in town.

How the Museum Came About

Чойжин ламын сүм or Choijin Lama Temple is a Buddhist monastery turned into a museum by some very wise men to avoid destruction under the Communists rule in 1938. Construction of the temple was undertaken in 1904 and completed in 1908. When the Soviet-back Communists government took over, it ceased to be a place of worship.

The complex was the home of Choijin Lama Luvsankhaidav (?-1918), the State Oracle and brother of the 8th Jebtsundamba Khutughtu (Bogd Khan). The name Choijin means “fierce defender of Buddhism”.  The Bogd Khan is the leader of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia. Known formally as the Jebtsundamba Khutughtu, the position dates back nearly 400 years to descendants of the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan.

Official name given by Qing Emperor Guangxu (1871 – 1908) was Өршөөлийг хөгжүүлэгч сүм in Mongolian, 興仁寺 in Chinese, which can be loosely translated to “Temple of Perfection of Compassion“.

After the fall of the Soviet dominated Mongolia state in 1986, religious freedom in Mongolia was reestablished in 1990, this temple/museum remained a state-run museum focusing on religious history. It is no longer an active place of worship, but you would still see many local visitors praying the deities on display. Please respect their privacy as you visit the place.

The site consists of six temples within the grounds. As you enter the compound after the Shield Wall, the first temple you see is the Maharaja Süm.

The passing the Gate of Honour, you come to the main temple and the adjoining Zankhan Süm, where the State Oracle performed his trance. The other temples are Zuu Süm, dedicated to Sakyamuni; it has papier-mâché sculptures of Buddha in the past, present, and future forms. The Yadam Süm is recently opened to the public after extensive restoration. The fourth temple, Amgalan Süm, is dedicated to the reincarnation of Bohda Jevzundamba Undur Gegeen Zanabazar.

The Soviet regime closed the temple in 1938 and would have been demolished it had it not been for financial issues. In 1942 it was reopened as a museum by the Communist government to remind the Mongolian population of the ‘feudal’ ways of the past and to demonstrate to the citizen of how time had changed under the rules of the new state.

Махаранз сүм | Temple of the Maharajas

Махаранз сүм or Temple of the Maharajas serves as the main entrance of the museum. It also serves as the office of the museum, and where you need pay for entrance tickets. They only accept local currency (like a lot of places in Ulaanbaatar), so remember to prepare some Mongolian Tugrik.

The four majestic “heavenly kings” standing in pairs on both sides of the gate were created by the Great Realm Monks Uran Shoiv, Ayush, and Vaanchig using papier-mache techniques. According to Buddhist teachings, they are located in the four directions of Mount Meru and are the guardian deities of the four directions.

According to the museum’s website about the legend about the origin of Maharanz, they were mystical lions (Ugdan and Ugchin, and Danyan and Dachun) during the reign of Lord Odsuren; they were always causing pain and harm to each other, so the two lions named Ugdan and Ugchin prayed to the Buddha for an end to the war. Peace prevailed and the other two lions too prayed to Buddha for harmony.

They were turned into the guardian deities and gave protection to the religion from evil. Hence, it is a tradition to place the four maharajas with a majestic and fierce image at the entrance gate of any temple.

Хундэтгэлиин Хаалга | Gate of Honour

This majestic archway was designed especially for ceremonies. Ritual processions by the Bogd Khan and high-ranking lamas would pass beneath here to enter the main temple. The symbolic meaning of the gate is to keep out inauspicious omens while being open to endless happiness and bliss.

Гол сүм | The Main Temple

The main temple houses sculptures of Buddha and his two disciples, the keeper of the monastery Choijin Lama, the mummified remains of Choijin Lama’s teacher and a 30 kilogram ritual mask made out of 7000 red coral beads. 

At the main entrance of the main temple was the name plaque bestowed by Emperor Guangxu of Qing Dynasty. Mongolia was a vassal state of Qing China, and it was common for Chinese emperors to grant favours by bestowing official names to temples, especially when Tibetan Buddhism was followed by the Imperial family.

The main foyer leading to the Buddha hall is decorated with ornate carvings that were Chinese origin. You can see these in temples around China, but the use of dragons showed this was a royal temple.

In the main prayer hall of the main temple are statue of Sakyamuni Buddha, flanked by the statues of Choijin Lama and Baltung Choimba (teacher of the 8th Bogd Khan) . The mummified remains of Choijin Lama and Baltung Choimba are reportedly inside the statues.

The temple boasts a large collection of religious instruments, thangka paintings, silk embroideries, wood carvings, statues, and a collection of cham dance masks. A magnificent statue of yab-yum and the throne is contained in the chapel located behind the main hall.

This temple was the main place of the religious teachings of Luvsankhaidav. This temple is an exhibition of the unique and precious heritage of Mongolian religion, culture and art, such as elaborately designed paintings of gods, zeegt naamaal, tsam masks, pictures of god’s land, hot and cold hell, and religious musical instruments.

Another treasure attraction is the complete costumes for Cham Dance. Various masked and costumed deities vary by their religious roles in cham dance performance. In this picture, red masked is Jamsran and it is encrusted with coral. 

Занхан сүм | Zankhan Temple

The annex to the main temple contains another temple, named Zankhan Temple and a central square in which Choijin Lama Luvsankhaidav performed Oracle trance rituals. IMHO, this is the most interesting hall to visit among all the temples.

The name of Zankhan Temple translated from Sanskrit means “Land of Demons”. The Zankhan Temple features Bogd Khan’s throne, which Choijin Lama would visit once every month to seek the Dharma Protectors’ answers pertaining to state matters. 

The throne is decorated with eight lions and nine dragons, representing the great power of the head of religion and state of the Bodg Khan. You can see the bent swords used during the trance dance. It is said the energy till now that emanates from the seat that the Choijin Lama sat during his trance of the three protectors is imbued with powerful blessings.

The Choijin Lama as State Oracle took trance of the three Dharma Protectors, Nechung, Tsiu Marpo (Kache Marpo) and Dorje Shugden.

By its west walls, one can find 2 meter tall sculptures depicting the guardian gods of Buddhism, while tapestries depicting hell hangs from the ceiling, implying that those who do wrong end up in there. 

The motif of the coupling of the “mother” (Tib.: yum ) and “father” (Tib.: yab ), representing the union of wisdom with the means aimed at attaining nirvana, is embodied by Sitasamvara (or White Samvara) and his consort Vajravarahi. With pots of elixir in them, Sitasamvara’s hands cross in the gesture of the highest energy ( vajrahumkara) behind the back of his consort, and she repeats the action behind his neck. Such representations of coupling from the world of northern Buddhism is often memorable not only for the drama of iconography but also for the tender and emotive form and spirit of the images.

Өндөрийн сүм | Temple of the Undur Gegeen

Өндөрийн сүм or The Temple of the Undur Gegeen has eight rounded walls like a Mongolian ger, the adar is in the shape of a space, and the walls have a unique and luxurious design reminiscent of the plains, the cloudy sky, and the earth. It is located on the east side of the main temple.

The temple was given the name of “Hotol Chasal tus peace temple” Хотол чуулган тус амгалангийн сүм by the Qing Emperor of Manchu, but it is also respected as “High Temple”, “High Saint’s Temple”, and “The Ascension Temple”.

Undur (also written as Ondor) Gegeen Zanabazar (1635–1723) was the first Bogd Khan, Buddhist leader of Mongolia. He was also a Founder of the Mongolian School of religious art and created the minted Buddha Statues that are now highly respected and recognised worldwide as religious relics and as well as art.

The ability to achieve symmetry and precision of detailing while bequeathing his subjects with life is characteristic of the work of Undur Gegeen Zanabazar.
 In a culture in which it was rare for artists to be personalities,
the Mongolian monk and sculptor was recognised and adulated 
for his skilled craftsmanship and distinctive forms.

Зуу сүм | Zuu Temple

Зуу сүм or Zuu Temple, dedicated to the Buddha Shakyamuni features papier-mache sculptures of Buddha in the past, present, and future. The 16 arhat disciples of Buddha appear on the temple walls with four Maharajas protectors shown sitting in caves on either side of the door.

Before them lays an offering table with the seven gems of State surrounded by the sixteen Netans (individual tankas that stand for human behaviours) meditating while two of the guardian gods remain vigilant by the gates.

Ядам сүм | Temple of the Meditational Deities

Ядам сүм or The Yadam Temple is separated from the other three temples by a wall after the Main Temple.

This temple was the main house of meditation ninban, the land of Yadam gods, the holy idol of the secret tantric work of Choijin Lama Luvsankhaidav. Lord Yadam is the god of meditation, bound by vows of the human soul.

This temple was closed for restoration when I visited the museum.

Choijin Lama Luvsankhaidav’s Yadam deities are usually fierce and entwined with parental deities. Some of these were moved to Zankhang Temple for temporary displays.

Gates Around the Temple

There are all together 5 gates around the Choijin Lama Temple, including the Gate of Honour, Baruun and Zuun gates next to Zuu Temple and Under Gegeen Temple.

The Architecture

The temple of the Choijin Lama is an important example of Chinese-style religious architecture. The five temples included in the complex were built using blue bricks, with timber roofs supported on wooden posts and decorated with green tiles. Each temple was dedicated to a specific deity, including the Makhranz (or Maharajas—“great king” guardians of the four directions), the Shakyamuni Buddha, and the tantric deities worshipped by the Choijin Lama.

The buildings of the Choijin Lama Temple complex and their collections constitute a unique resource and one of Mongolian Buddhism’s surviving links with the past.

This historical monastery is dwarfed by the striking modern buildings towering around it. The meeting of the new and the old architecture is conflicting and harmonious at once. Built using blue bricks and topped by a wooden roof, the temples in this monastery are rare specimens of pre-revolution structures exhibiting Chinese architecture in Mongolia. 

The Relics

Cameras are not allowed in parts of the temples as these artefacts are still considered sacred and religious, and to take photos you need to pay for a permit. So to see what’s inside the museum, we can take a look at these videos produced by the Museum that featured the local band The Hu looking around as well as a Reverend talking about the religious aspect of the museum. Sorry, the language is Mongolian but the artwork inside is amazing!

Explanations of the almost overwhelming collection are not as detailed as they could be, but each temple has room attendants who can provide additional material. The museum itself and its objects also show the re-emergence of Buddhism in Mongolia after Communist repression, with a particularly interesting display on Buddhist cham dancing and its modern revival.

The art in the Choijin Lama Temple alternated between glorious and macabre, with golden statues of Buddhas and depictions of severed human limbs and heads, alternating with intricate Cham masks and richly painted pillars, walls, and ceiling.

It should be noted that none of the temples are heated. If you visit in winter, strongly suggest you dress in warm clothing. This temple complex is open year-round (with reduced hours during the winter months).

Visited May 2023