| Erdene Zuu Monastery Эрдэнэ Зуу хийд ལྷུན་གྲུབ་བདེ་ཆེན་གླིང་། ᠡᠷᠳᠡᠨᠢ ᠵᠤᠤ ᠬᠡᠶᠢᠳ | |
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| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Tibetan Buddhism |
| Sect | Gelug |
| Location | |
| Location | NearKharkhorin,Övörkhangai Province,Mongolia |
| Country | Mongolia |
  Location within Mongolia | |
| Coordinates | 47°12′06″N102°50′36″E / 47.20167°N 102.84333°E /47.20167; 102.84333 |
| Architecture | |
| Founder | Abtai Sain Khan |
| Established | 1585 |
TheErdene Zuu Monastery (Mongolian:Эрдэнэ Зуу хийд,romanized: Erdene Zuu khiid)[a] is probably the earliest survivingBuddhist monastery inMongolia. Built in 1585, it is located inKharkhorin,Övörkhangai Province and is now included within theOrkhon Valley Cultural LandscapeWorld Heritage Site.[1] The monastery is affiliated with theGelug sect ofTibetan Buddhism.[2]
Abtai Sain Khan, ruler of theKhalkha Mongols and grandfather ofZanabazar, the firstJebtsundamba Khutuktu, ordered construction of the Erdene Zuu monastery in 1585 after his meeting with the3rd Dalai Lama and the declaration ofTibetan Buddhism as the state religion of Mongolia.[3] Stones from the nearby ruins of the ancient Mongol capital ofKarakorum were used in its construction.[4] Planners attempted to create a surrounding wall that resembled aTibetan Buddhist rosary featuring 108stupas (108 being a sacred number in Buddhism),[5] but this objective was probably never achieved.[6] The monastery's temple walls were painted, and the Chinese-style roof covered with green tiles.
The monastery was damaged in 1688 during one of the many wars betweenDzungars andKhalkha Mongols. Locals dismantled the wooden fortifications of the abandoned monastery.[7] According to tradition, in 1745, a local Buddhist disciple named Bunia made several unsuccessful attempts to fly with a device he invented which was similar to a parachute.[7]
In 1939, the communist leaderKhorloogiin Choibalsan ordered the monastery destroyed, as part of a political purge[8] that destroyed hundreds of monasteries in Mongolia and killed more than ten thousand monks.[9][10] Three small temples and the external wall with the stupas survived the initial onslaught. By 1944,Joseph Stalin pressured Choibalsan to maintain the monastery (along withGandantegchinlen Monastery inUlaanbaatar) as a showpiece for international visitors, such as U.S. Vice PresidentHenry Wallace, to prove that the communist regime allowed freedom of religion.[11] In 1947, the temples were converted into museums. For the next four decades,Gandantegchinlen Khiid Monastery became Mongolia's only functioning monastery.
After thefall of communism in Mongolia in 1990, the monastery was turned over to the lamas. They restored Erdene Zuu as a place of worship. Today, it is an active Buddhist monastery as well as a museum that is open to tourists.
On a hill outside the monastery sits a stonephallus calledKharkhorin Rock. The phallus is said to restrain the sexual impulses of the monks and ensure their good behavior.[12]
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