Steppe History Forum - How did Buddhism get to Mongolia

« How did Buddhism get to Mongolia »

Welcome Guest. Please Login or Register.
May 19, 2013, 12:09pm

Steppe History Forum :: History of Central Asia :: The Mongol Empire Period :: How did Buddhism get to Mongolia

Page 1 of 4 » Jump to page Go

Author

Topic: How did Buddhism get to Mongolia (Read 1,200 times)

ltafrank
Är

member is offline

Joined: Jun 2009
Gender: Female

Posts: 10

How did Buddhism get to Mongolia
« Thread Started on Jun 11, 2009, 4:18pm »

I want to know more about how Buddhism got into Mongolia. Maybe you all who know the history can tell me.

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

sarmat
Shad

member is offline

[avatar]

Joined: Sept 2007
Gender: Male

Posts: 950

Re: How did Buddhism get to Mongolia
« Reply #1 on Jun 11, 2009, 8:02pm »

Check this out

http://www.face-music.ch/bi_bid/historyofbuddhism_en.html

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

Deþt-i Kýpçak

[image]

snafu
Tudun

member is offline

Joined: Jul 2005
Gender: Male

Posts: 164

Re: How did Buddhism get to Mongolia
« Reply #2 on Jun 17, 2009, 9:48am »

You can credit most of it to Altan Khan who had close ties to the Yellow Hat Sect of Tibet (Altan actually coined the title "Dalai Lama") and brought it into Mongolia in a big way starting in the 16th century. That's really where modern Mongolian Buddhism started. Here's Altan Khan's wiki for more details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altan_Khan

Of course the Mongols had brushes with Buddhism before that, in the time of the Yuan dynasty. Khubilai Khan was very supportive of Buddhism. And before that the Khitans also embraced Buddhism (especially Tantric Buddhism) and spread it to some other steppe people like the Uighurs and the Naimans (the last Naiman chief Kuchlug was a Buddhist).

« Last Edit: Jun 17, 2009, 9:53am by snafu »

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

H. Ihsan Erkoc
Qaghan

member is offline

[avatar]

I love Steppe Park :D

Joined: Nov 2004
Gender: Male

Posts: 6,493
Location: The Strait of Dardanelles

Re: How did Buddhism get to Mongolia
« Reply #3 on Jun 17, 2009, 11:23am »

Jun 17, 2009, 9:48am, snafu wrote:

And before that the Khitans also embraced Buddhism (especially Tantric Buddhism) and spread it to some other steppe people like the Uighurs and the Naimans (the last Naiman chief Kuchlug was a Buddhist).

Actually the Uyghurs were Buddhist as early as the 9th-10th centuries, before the Qara Kitan was founded. And Küchlüg, originally a Nestorian Christian, accepted Buddhism just to marry the daughter of the Gür Khan, right?

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

Nomad, rider of the ancient east
Nomad, rider that men know the least
Nomad, where you come from no one knows
Nomad, where you go to no one tells

- Iron Maiden, "The Nomad"

Subu'atai
Chor

member is offline

[avatar]

Joined: Apr 2008
Gender: Male

Posts: 1,173
Location: Can't remember... too drunk!

Re: How did Buddhism get to Mongolia
« Reply #4 on Jun 18, 2009, 4:38pm »

Complete buddification began during the rising of Manchu am I not mistaken?

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

Monkh Khokh Tengriin Oron Mongolia

Tobodai
Är

member is offline

[avatar]

Joined: Jul 2011
Gender: Male

Posts: 20
Location: Keltie Khanate of Pictistan

Re: How did Buddhism get to Mongolia
« Reply #5 on Jul 19, 2011, 9:48pm »

Though Buddhism was already starting to spread in Mongolia the Manchus did much to spread it, thinking it would make the Mongols "behave better" and be less warlike, at least thats the claim in Mote's Late Imperial China book.

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

“With Heaven's aid I have conquered for you a huge empire. But my life was too short to achieve the conquest of the world. That task is left for you.”
~Chinggis Khaan

jstampfl
Tarqan

member is offline

Joined: Dec 2004
Gender: Male

Posts: 64
Location: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Re: How did Buddhism get to Mongolia
« Reply #6 on Jan 26, 2013, 2:15am »

During the Liao dynasty, the Khitans were great supporters of Buddhism. They brought Buddhism with them to Mongolia.

During the Yuan dynasty, many of the Mongolian Emperors supported the spread into Mongolia and China. See "The History of Mongolia" by H.H. Howorth. (a free ebook)

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

sarmat
Shad

member is offline

[avatar]

Joined: Sept 2007
Gender: Male

Posts: 950

Re: How did Buddhism get to Mongolia
« Reply #7 on Jan 26, 2013, 8:54pm »

In fact, the spread of Buddhism in Mongolia (if we talk about the territory of modern Mongolia) during Liao and Yuan dynasty was limited. Mongols still mostly kept their traditional Tingreism; also Nestorian Christianity was practiced by some tribes. The Tibetan style Buddhism had started to spread in Mongolia in the 16th century before Manchus and was already quite firmly established before the complete Manchu conquest.

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

Deþt-i Kýpçak

[image]

jstampfl
Tarqan

member is offline

Joined: Dec 2004
Gender: Male

Posts: 64
Location: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Re: How did Buddhism get to Mongolia
« Reply #8 on Jan 30, 2013, 9:14am »

Sharmat, do you have any references?

http://www.touristinfocenter.mn/en/cate1_more.aspx?ItemID=34

Here at Khar Bukh religious text from 14th - 15th century were found.
I don't have the studies by Perlee.

also at Hohhot the Da Zhao temple was built in 1579. Both of these
dates are well before the Qing.

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

jstampfl
Tarqan

member is offline

Joined: Dec 2004
Gender: Male

Posts: 64
Location: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Re: How did Buddhism get to Mongolia
« Reply #9 on Jan 30, 2013, 9:31am »

Xia state 1038 - 1227, located in what is now Inner Mongolia, Ordos region, supported Buddhism.

See:"The Great State of White and High" by Ruth Dunnell.

Buddhism was strong on the Southern border of Modern Mongolia. As to the area that is Modern Mongolia. The earliest references are of the Khitans, documents found by Perlee.

I find it hard to believe that with the strong Buddhist state of the Xia to the south and the Khitans in the Area of Modern Mongolia that Buddhist wasn't spreading its influence through out the area.

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

Baysongor
Yabghu

Mirza
member is offline

Bahadur

Joined: Jul 2006
Gender: Male

Posts: 1,724
Location: Alemannia/Swabia

Re: How did Buddhism get to Mongolia
« Reply #10 on Jan 30, 2013, 10:03pm »

usually steppe people have been more inclined to 'smaller' religions, like the Khazar nobility adopting judaism even though bordering the caliphate as well as christian byzantium. same goes for the steppe around the time of temujin, nestorian christianity was popular even though there was no nearby state (or any state) to back or spread it. so i don't see why buddhism should have had any impact on the steppe, there's also no evidence for it in the secret history of mongols.

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

jstampfl
Tarqan

member is offline

Joined: Dec 2004
Gender: Male

Posts: 64
Location: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Re: How did Buddhism get to Mongolia
« Reply #11 on Jan 31, 2013, 5:26am »

Prior to Chinggis Khaan, the area that is Modern Mongolia was mostly controlled by Turkish speaking tribes, including the Uighers.

I pointed out that to the south of Mongolia the Xia kingdom (1038 - 1227) was a Buddhist state, Also the Liao Dynasty (Khitan, 907 - 1125) which had fortified postitions throughout the Area of Modern Mongolia, also practiced Buddhism.

Added to that, in the book "The Great State of White and High" is mentioned Uigher Buddist Monks traveling around. It would have been probable that they would have traveled into the areas of Mongolia inhabited by Turkish speaking Tribes. However, at this time that is conjecture.

We do know that Hohhot has a long history of Buddhism and was frequently visited by Mongols from the areas of Modern Mongolia.

So it is probable that there was some Buddhism in the Area of Modern Modern Mongolia around 1000 AD.

It is clear from the Secret History, that Chinggis Khaan was not a Buddhist. However, Khubilai Khaan certainly supported Buddhism and it is known that at KharaKorum there were Buddhist temples.

So by 1240s, Buddhist is known among the Mongols.

In my previous note, I mentioned the Buddhist documents from the 14th - 15th centuries that were found in Mongolia.

In the History of Mongolia by H.H. Howorth, he mentions Buddhism often. In particular, he mentions documents in Russia found by Johann Eberhart Fischer that document some Russian envoys trips to a Khan of the Western Khalkas named Ombo Erdeni and later his son Shului Ubashi. Their camp was at Uvs Lake in North Eastern Mongolia. These trips began in 1616. See page 459 - 472.
the envoys mention Buddhist Lamas who were advisors to the Khans and that the Khan and his people were Buddhist.

So we see that by 1616 Buddhism had spread to the Northern Borders of Mongolia. Uvs Lake (N50 18 45.70, E92 43 18.12)

Thus Buddhism seems to be widely established before the Manchus Qing Dynasty appears.

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

sarmat
Shad

member is offline

[avatar]

Joined: Sept 2007
Gender: Male

Posts: 950

Re: How did Buddhism get to Mongolia
« Reply #12 on Feb 2, 2013, 12:38am »

Of course, Buddhism established itself by the 17th century, but that was the Tibetian version of Buddhism. Buddhism practiced by Liao dynasty and also Xia state was just a variation of traditional Chinese Chan Buddhism. There are no traces of that left in Mongolian culture. The Tibetian Yellow faith really started to establish itself in Mongolia in the 16th century.

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

Deþt-i Kýpçak

[image]

Ardavarz
Shad

member is offline

[avatar]

Joined: Sept 2010
Gender: Male

Posts: 280

Re: How did Buddhism get to Mongolia
« Reply #13 on Feb 3, 2013, 2:28am »

I think I've read that Tibetan Sakya tradition of Buddhism was popular amongst the Mongols (and especially in Buryatia) before etablishig Gelug (a.k.a. the Yellow faith) as official, but I may be wrong about that. At any case it was Sakya school that was patronized by Khubilai Khaan.

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

Our roots are in the wind.

jstampfl
Tarqan

member is offline

Joined: Dec 2004
Gender: Male

Posts: 64
Location: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Re: How did Buddhism get to Mongolia
« Reply #14 on Feb 3, 2013, 6:26am »

From Wikipedia:

"The Gelug or Gelug-pa (or dGe Lugs Pa, dge-lugs-pa, or Dgelugspa), also known as the Yellow Hat sect, is a school of Buddhism founded by Je Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), a philosopher and Tibetan religious leader. The first monastery he established was at Ganden, and to this day the Ganden Tripa is the nominal head of the school, though its most influential figure is the Dalai Lama. Allying themselves with the Mongols as a powerful patron, the Gelug emerged as the pre-eminent Buddhist school in Tibet since the end of the 16th century."

So clearly, any Buddhism prior to 1400 was not this.

Under Buddhist timelines in Wikipedia is found:

"1295: Mongol leader Ghazan Khan is converted to Islam, ending a line of Tantric Buddhist leaders."

About the Xia state( from "The Great State of White and High")

1. A type of Tantric Buddhism was practiced.

2. Had Buddhist monks from India and also some Uigher monks translating Buddhist material.

3. Ethnically close to Tibetans, speaking a Tibetan dialect.

=====================================

At this period 1000 - 1200

The three states (Xia, Song and Liao) were competing and fighting.
They also were exchanging Buddhist material. I would say that all contributed to the later development of Buddhism in North China and Mongolia.

And yes, the GELUK tradition of Buddhism became predominate in Mongolia. If you read "The History of the Mongols" by H.H. Howorth,
he talks about some of the history of these conversions to the GELUK school.

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

Page 1 of 4 » Jump to page Go

Click Here To Make This Board Ad-Free