Mongolia are intertwined with the Mongolian nomadic lifestyle, which is renowned for its hospitality, here life has changed little through the passage of time. The traditional dwelling is the ger or yurt, life in the ger is the focal point of many customs and traditions, as made famous by Genghis Khaan. Blue team had the opportunity to go and visit a Mongolian family living in a Ger, it was quite an experience chatting to mum, dad and the 3 adult children who lived with them. They gave us horses milk to drink and we left them with some Russian chocolates .

BUDDHISM

94% are Buddhist and the Gandan Monastery is the largest temple complex in use in Mongolia, it is located in Ulaanbaatar and built in 1810. Over time it became an important centre for learning and practicing Buddha’s teachings.

In 1938, the soviet communists suppressed religious communities in Mongolia and they destroyed around 900 monasteries, the Monks were killed, jailed, or forced to join the army and 5 temples of Gandan Monastery were destroyed. The remaining temples were used to accommodate Russian officials or used as barns to keep their horses.

In 1944 after a petition from several monks, Gandan Monastery was reopened but its functions were carried out under the strict supervision of the socialist government. In 1990, after the Democratic Revolution and with Buddhism flourishing once more, Gandan Monastery embarked on an ambitious restoration program around the country. Now the Monastery has about 900 Monks. It also has the largest standing Buddha statue in central and East Asia and is the Buddha of Compassion. The original statue was built in 1911, but destroyed in 1938, but thanks to the financial support of the President of Mongolia and generous donations from the Mongolian people, the current statue was completed in 1996 in its original size of 26.6metres.

We got to our hotel in Ulaanbaatar at 5am after finishing our shift at 3am, I had heard about this ancient Buddhist Monastery and desperately wanted to visit it, but after no sleep throughout the night I had to go to bed for at least a few hours. I climbed into bed at 6am and set my watch for 10am, unfortunately I slept through that 10am alarm but forced myself to get up at 1pm. I Jumped in a taxi and after a 10minute drive through the busy streets of Ulaanbaatar arrived at this special Monastery. I felt a wonderful sense of calmness as I strolled through the gates and admired all the temples and datans, each having their own little bit of history and character.

The Vajradhara Temple has a Buddha from Tantric practice and the Dedanpvran Temple was built at the beginning of the 1900s and the 13th Dalai Lama lived there in 1904. I wandered into a building which has become a symbol of independence for the Mongolians, it is the temple where the holy statue of Migjed Chenrezig stands at 26.6 metres, It was quite a sight and as I stood quietly there I tried to clear my mind of the franticness of the Blue Planet Run. I know when the mind is calm and focused , wisdom and energy flow in abundance and so after my two hours at the Gandan Monastery I was able to walk out the gates with that renewed energy and it was a great feeling. I also brought myself some prayer beads to wear around my wrist from the Gandan Monastery and they will be on my wrist for the rest of my life, that’s how special they are to me. I will be back to visit the Gandan Monastery and learn more at the Buddhist University of Mongolia, this university combines modern education with traditional teaching methods and I am very excited about visiting Ulaanbaatar and learning more about Buddhism.