Continuing Rinpoche’s Dream: The Mani Retreat in Mongolia

FPMT Mongolia has been working to reestablish Buddhism in the country by building centers, offering teachings, and supporting monks and nuns in monasteries and nunneries. This work follows the wishes of Lama Zopa Rinpoche to restore religious practices that were suppressed during the 20th century.

Buddhist practice in Mongolia, specifically Mani Retreats, began in the mid-15th century under the leader Zanabazar but ceased following the Soviet-backed communist takeover in 1930. During subsequent cultural purges, authorities destroyed more than 1,000 monasteries and temples and killed or exiled thousands of monks. While Buddhism remained a part of Mongolian culture after the country gained independence in 1990, much of the monastic learning and institutional knowledge had been lost.

In the 1990s, the Migjed Chenrezig statue in the Ganden complex was reconstructed as a symbol of independence and faith. The original 26-meter statue, built by a Mongolian ruler in 1911, had been destroyed by communist forces.