Ivolginsky Datsan, located in East Siberia near Lake Baikal, is the most important Buddhist monastery in Russia. It is also home to a phenomenon that continues to intrigue scientists and attract believers by the thousands — the preserved body of the Khambo Lama, who died in 1927 and is still sitting upright in the lotus position.
The datsan was opened in 1945 as the only Buddhist spiritual centre of USSR. In the course of time the little “Khambin’s sume” changed into the Monastic centre with a residence of Pandido Khambo lama, the leader of all Russian Lamas.
It was there that the residence of the Central Spiritual Buddhist Board of the Soviet Union (Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia has been located since 1995, as well as that of Pandido Khambo lama, the head of the Russian Buddhists. Spiritual activity of the datsan is manifested in temple rites, medical practice, Buddhist education traditional system. Buddhist university «Dashi Choinkhorling» was opened in 1991 attached to the datsan.
Unique samples of old Buryat art, as thangkas, sculptures, ritual objects are gathered and preserved at the Ivolginsky datsan. Among the monastery’s treasures there is a collection of old Buddhist manuscripts written in Tibetan language on natural silk, and a greenhouse with a sacred Bodhi tree.
Being a cultural and religion monument, the Datsan is protected by the State. The Datsan Centre consists of such temples as Sockshin-dugan, Maidrin-sume, Devazhin and Sakhiusan-sume. There are also a library, a hotel, the Choyra (Faculty of Philosophy), Dashi Choinhorlin (building of the Buddhist University), Museum of Buryat Art, suburgans (stupas), some infrastructure buildings and lamas’ houses.
Contact :
23 km from Ulan Ude, Buryatia
Verkhnyaya Ivolga village
Russian Federation
