Education exchanges

At present the Buddhism in Mongolia programme is supporting the traditional education of many promising young monks and nuns who are studying at Tibetan institutions in India having received funds from Tibet Foundation for their international travel costs. Some will return as Geshes (a post-doctorate qualification) to pass on their knowledge to the younger generation of monastics and take on religious and administrative responsibilities in their monasteries.

A recent evaluation of the success of the exchange programme concluded that from the exchanges completed to date, almost all the monks and nuns are actively involved in the revival of Buddhism in Mongolia and are using their training.

Buddhist learning

Byambajav, deputy director of ZBU

Byambajav was one of four Gandan monks whose international travel costs were funded by the Programme in 1994 to enable them to study at Drepung Gomang monastery in south India. He was appointed Deputy Director of Gandan Monastery's Zanabazar Buddhist University in 1999 and strikes an impressive figure as he strides down the corridors, commanding an obviously deep respect from the students, many of whom have come from all over Mongolia to study at this institute.

Byambajav works with a team of dedicated young scholars, all of whom have been educated in Mongolia, along with some of the teachers from the years before transition. Together they have completely overhauled the University curriculum, which is now based on the one used by the Centre for Higher Tibetan Studies in Sarnath, India. This has necessitated the introduction of a Sanskrit course for which the Foundation has funded the purchase of text books from India.

They have also guided the University through its registration with the Ministry of Education enabling the monks to graduate with a recognized qualification. Byambajav is working with Tibet Foundation to create a world class Buddhist library to befit the highest centre of Buddhist learning in the country.

Buddhist Research Centre

In 2002 the Buddhist Research Centre at Mongolia National University, with support from Tibet Foundation, sent four post-graduate scholars to the Centre for Higher Tibetan Studies (CHTS) in India to improve their Tibetan language skills. All the scholars could read and write classical Tibetan but had never before had the chance to study modern Tibetan or the spoken language. They received dedicated teaching at CHTS and were able to interact on a daily basis with Tibetans, allowing them to attain a high standard of spoken Tibetan in just one year.

The four scholars returned to Mongolia in April 2003 to resume their teaching and research posts at the Buddhist Research Centre. One of these scholars is now acting as the counterpart to a Tibetan language teacher who was recruited by the Programme in India and who is now teaching modern Tibetan language to graduate scholars in the Department of Textology at Mongolia National University. It has been very rewarding to see projects complement each other, illustrating once again how the Mongolian vision for the revival plays out so successfully in practice.

Following the successful placement in 2002-2003, a second group of four scholars from Mongolia National University are following the same course at CHTS and are due to return to Mongolia in 2004.

Tibetan teachers

The Programme also supports Tibetan teachers at monastic institutions in Mongolia. For example, Tsondue Gyamtso, a Tibetan monk from Drepung Gomang Monastery who tirelessly teaches philosophy at Gandan Monastery's Dashchoinbel Datsan and who the Foundation helps by providing essential texts for his students.