Choijin Lama Temple

Choijin Lama Temple

The Choijin Lama Temple is a Tibetan Buddhist temple, built in 1904 and completed in 1908. Situated in the center of Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, it ranks among the city’s most important Buddhist temples. The temple was taken over by the Choijin Lama Luvsankhaidav, the brother of Mongolia’s last king and the eighth Jebtsundamba Khutuktu. In 1938, the then government converted it into a museum.

The Choijin Lama Temple complex includes four smaller temples. The main temple houses an 18th-century gilded statue of Sakyamuni Buddha. To the right of the Buddha statue is a statue of the Choijin Lama Luvsankhaidav, and to the left is the preserved body of Baldanchoimbolon. Additionally, the temple displays a rich collection of sacred religious instruments, shamanic dance masks, thangka paintings, and a set of 226 handwritten volumes of the Tengyur brought back from Tibet by Mongolia’s last king, as well as a complete facsimile set of the 108-volume Kangyur. These collections are important resources for studying Buddhist history and culture.

Choijin Lama Temple

Why Go: The earliest established Buddhist temple in Mongolia

Continent: Asia 【Asia】

Country/Region: Mongolia [Mongolia]

Province/State: Ulaanbaatar [Ulan Bator]

City: Ulaanbaatar [Ulan Bator]