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H.E. Ling Rinpoche bestows the White Tara long life initiation at Gandantegchenling Monastery

His Eminence Ling Rinpoche bestowed the White Tara long life initiation at Gandantegchenling Monastery on 9 October, and on 10 October, the Rinpoche gave the commentary on the Praises to Manjushri and bestowed the Palden Lhamo initiation, at the request of Gandantegchenling Monastery in Mongolia.

Ling Rinpoche, at the invitation of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Government of India and by the Gandantegchenling Monastery, the center of Mongolan Buddhists, presided over a significant historic occasion whereby the Government of India presented 50 sets of the 108 volumes of the Mongolian Kanjur to the people of Mongolia for distribution to institutions, monasteries, and national libraries throughout the country. The Mongolian Kanjur was translated from Tibetan into classical Mongolian language.

According to Mongolian culture and tradition, copies of the Mongolian Kanjur were historically stored in every monastery throughout Mongolia. During the period of communist rule, woodblock xylographs were burned, and all sacred scriptures were removed from monasteries. In the late 1950s, the Indian scholar and politician Professor Raghu Vira obtained a microfilm copy of the Mongolian Kanjur that he brought to India. With the aspirations of Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ministry of Tourism and Culture in 2020 assumed the task of re-printing the complete 108 volumes of the Mongolian Kanjur. The first set of volumes was presented to the President of India in 2020, and in 2021, the Mongolian Kanjur were distributed to Buddhists in Russia.

While visiting Mongolia, His Eminence Ling Rinpoche also gave two-days of teachings and initiations at the request of Gandantegchenling Monastery of Mongolia. On 7 October, H.E. Ling Rinpoche and Khamba Nomun Khan Gabju Choijamts, the President of the Asian Buddhists Conference for Peace, presided over a significant event consolidating the close cultural bonds between India and Mongolia. At a function organized by the Indian Embassy and Gandantegchenling Monastery, four MOUs were signed between IGNCA – India Gandhi National Center for the Arts and related Mongolian institutions for cooperation.

The delegation also visited the ABPC Headquarters, which is based at the Gandantegchenling Monastery, where they were received by the ABCP President Gabju D. Choijamts and ABCP Secretary General Da Lama Kh. Byambajav.

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

17 October 2022