Buddhist bonanza

I got out of bed much earlier this morning. I took a walking tour through the heart of downtown, after checking e-mail at the post office. From Sukhbaatar Square I walked west on Juulchin Gudamj. When I passed my street, I ducked into Nassan's to use the bathroom before several hours of walking. Just as I came in the door, Bolor handed me the phone, "It's for you." Alex and Max were calling to welcome me to Mongolia. Max has been here about two weeks and has apparently become a vegetarian. "I don't ever want to eat mutton again," she pledged. She was excited to know I was bringing her a jar of peanut butter. We confirmed my flight plan for Wednesday, as they will be picking me up at the airport.

Following my pit stop, I started walking west. I first discovered Bakula Rinpoche Sum and Gesar Sum, both Buddhist monasteries. I followed a dirt lane into the ger (yurt) district that has encircled the Gandan Khiid monastery for 170 years. The monastery’s full name is Gandantegchinlen, which roughly translates to "the great place of complete joy." You can't beat that! So, in my state of utter joy, I wandered the grounds for quite a while. First I stopped at the Tashchoimphel Datsan, where monks as young looking as four years old to their late twenties were chanting. It was fascinating to watch, particularly the very young boys. From there I walked the grounds, making sure to spin all the prayer wheels I could find. Certainly that counts toward bettering my karma, right? Sitting in the center of the compound is Migjed Janraisig, a very tall temple. I paid $2.50 to enter and was immediately stunned by the 75-plus foot statue of Migjed Janraisig, the Buddha of compassion. Huge! All the walls inside the temple contained miniature statues of Ayush, the Buddha of longevity. There were easily thousands of them, each with its own little outfit. The story of the large statue is worth telling. It was commissioned in 1911 by the 8th Bogd Khan, considered a living Buddha, in hopes it would restore his eyesight. Why was he blind, you ask? I owe you a quarter if you guessed syphilis. Gotta love those Buddhists! Unfortunately it did not restore his eyesight, and the Russians carted it away in 1937 to, of all things ironic, melt it down to use as bullets. Apparently it was rebuilt in 1996 with assistance from Nepal and Japan. There were several buildings on the grounds, which I visited before heading out the south gate.

I shopped a little on the way back to a late lunch. I found a vegetarian restaurant and had vegetable buuz, which was delicious. With a bottle of water, it totaled $2.60. I'll have to take poor Max there, when we come back next week.

Have I mentioned the traffic here? Crossing the street is like Frogger. I swear a guy today would have run me over, if I hadn't ran out of his way. It's dangerous!Read more