Datsan ( mn, Дацан, russian: Дацан) is the term used for

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

university

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

in the

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

an tradition of

Gelukpa 240px, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Bodhgaya (India).">Bodh_Gaya.html" ;"title="Kalachakra ceremony, Bodh Gaya">Bodhgaya (India). The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuou ...

located throughout

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million ...

, Tibet and

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part ...

. As a rule, in a datsan there are two departments—philosophical and medical. Sometimes to them is added the department of the tantric practices where the monks study only after finishing education in the philosophical department. In pre-

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

Russia, datsans traditionally existed only in the Buryat territories, most of those now included in

Buryatia Buryatia, officially the Republic of Buryatia (russian: Республика Бурятия, r=Respublika Buryatiya, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə bʊˈrʲætʲɪjə; bua, Буряад Улас, Buryaad Ulas, , mn, Буриад Улс, Buriad Uls), is ...

and Transbaikalia (a number of datsans there has been reconstructed or started since the early 1990s). There was a difference with Tibetan administrative idea: in Tibet, several datsans were education-centered parts of larger organizations, as

Drepung Drepung Monastery (, "Rice Heap Monastery"), located at the foot of Mount Gephel, is one of the "great three" Gelug university gompas (monasteries) of Tibet. The other two are Ganden Monastery and Sera Monastery. Drepung is the largest of all ...

Ganden Ganden Monastery (also Gaden or Gandain) or Ganden Namgyeling or Monastery of Gahlden is one of the "great three" Gelug university monasteries of Tibet. It is in Dagzê County, Lhasa. The other two are Sera Monastery and Drepung Monastery. Gand ...

, and

Sera Monastery Sera Monastery ( "Wild Roses Monastery"; ) is one of the "great three" Gelug university monasteries of Tibet, located north of Lhasa and about north of the Jokhang. The other two are Ganden Monastery and Drepung Monastery. The origin of its ...

in Gelugpa tradition. In Russia, datsans were not parts of a larger entity, but rather independent educational and religious centers. In Buryat Buddhism, terms "Buddhist monastery" and "Datsan" are interchangeable, as other monastery organization forms found in Tibetan Buddhism elsewhere, were not present.

List of datsans in Mongolia

* Manba Datsan (also “Mamba Datsan“)

List of datsans in Russia

Datsans were officially acknowledged in

Imperial Russia The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. The ...

in 1734. By statute of 1853 there were two recognized datsans in the

Irkutsk Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat and mn, Эрхүү, ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 617,473 as of the 2010 Census, Irkutsk is the 25th-larges ...

government and others in the Zabaykalsky Government. The first datsan in Europe was

Datsan Gunzechoinei The Datsan Gunzechoinei is a large Buddhist temple in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the northernmost Buddhist temple in Russia. History In 1909, Agvan Dorzhiev got permission from the Tsar to build a large and substantial Buddhist '' datsan ...

in St. Petersburg. Between 1927 and 1938 all 47 datsans existed in Buryatia and Transbaikalia were closed or destroyed. In 1945 the

Ivolginsky datsan Ivolginsky datsan (russian: Иволгинский Дацан) is the Center of the Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia, Buddhist Temple located in Buryatia, Russia, 23 km from Ulan Ude, near Verkhnyaya Ivolga village. History The d ...

was opened, and several years later the Aginsky datsan resumed operations. The following ten datsans were not opened until 1991. The Buddhistic Temple in St

* Khambyn Khure datsan (Улан-Удэнский Дацан Хамбын Хурэ) in

Ulan-Ude Ulan-Ude (; bua, Улаан-Үдэ, , ; russian: Улан-Удэ, p=ʊˈlan ʊˈdɛ; mn, Улаан-Үд, , ) is the capital city of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, located about southeast of Lake Baikal on the Uda River at its confluence wi ...

*Aginsky datsan (Агинский Дацан) in Aginskoye * Kurumkansky datsan (Курумканский Дацан) in

Kurumkan Kurumkan (russian: Курумка́н; Buryat and mn, Хурамхаан, ''Khuramkhaan'') is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Kurumkansky District of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, located from Ulan-Ude. Po ...

* Sartul-Gegetuy datsan (Сартул-Гэгэтуйский дацан) in

Gegetuy Gegetuy (russian: Гэгэтуй; bua, Гэгээтэ, ''Gegeete'') is a rural locality (a selo) in Dzhidinsky District, Republic of Buryatia Buryatia, officially the Republic of Buryatia (russian: Республика Бурятия, r=Respub ...

Egituysky datsan Egituysky datsan is a Buddhist temple in Buryatia, Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internati ...

(Эгитуйский Дацан) in Egituy * Sanaginsky datsan (Санагинский Дацан) in Sanaga *

(Иволгинский Дацан) in Verkhnyaya Ivolga * Kizhinginsky datsan (Кижингинский Дацан) in Kizhinga * Baldan Breybun datsan (Дацан Балдан Брэйбун) in Murochi * Tugnuysky datsan (Тугнуйский дацан) in

Mukhorshibir Mukhorshibir (russian: Мухоршиби́рь; bua, Мухар Шэбэр, ''Mukhar Sheber'') is a rural locality (a selo) and the administrative center of Mukhorshibirsky District of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia Russia (, , ), or ...

* Okinsky datsan (Окинский дацан) in Orlik *

Tamchinsky datsan The Tamchinsky datsan ( bua, Тамчын дасан, ''Tamchyn Dasan''), also called the Tamchinskii datsan or Gusinoozyorsk Datsan, is a Buddhist monastery founded in the mid-18th century in the village of Gusinoye Ozero, located on the south-w ...

(Тамчинский дацан) in Gusinoye Ozero * Kyrensky datsan (Кыренский дацан) in

Kyren Kyren (russian: Кырен; bua, Хэрэн, ''Kheren''; mn, Хэрээн, ''Khereen'') is a rural locality (a selo) and the administrative center of Tunkinsky District of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian ...

* Khoymorsky datsan (Хойморский дацан) in Arshan * Ugdansky datsan (Угданский дацан) * Tseezhe-Burgaltaysky datsan (Цээжэ-Бургалтайский дацан) * Ust-Ordynsky datsan (Усть-Ордынский (Абатанатский) дацан) in

Ust-Ordynsky Ust-Ordynsky (russian: Усть-Орды́нский, bua, Ордын Адаг, Ordyn Adag) is a rural locality (a settlement) and the administrative center of Ekhirit-Bulagatsky District of Ust-Orda Buryat Okrug in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, as ...

* Aninsky datsan (Анинский дацан) in Ana * Chesansky datsan (Чесанский дацан) in Chesan * Tsugolsky datsan (Цугольский дацан) in Tsugol * Saint Petersburg Tibetan Temple ** Gunzechoyney datsan (Дацан Гунзэчойнэй) in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

* Wat Phra Dhammakaya Mocow, Moscow, Russia * Yakutsky datsan (Якутский дацан; дацан в Якутске) in

Yakutsk Yakutsk (russian: Якутск, p=jɪˈkutsk; sah, Дьокуускай, translit=Djokuuskay, ) is the capital city of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located about south of the Arctic Circle. Fueled by the mining industry, Yakutsk has become one ...

, republic of Sakha (Yakutia). The northernmost Buddhist temple in the world

References

External links

* (List of datsans in Buryatia, Chita and Irkutsk Oblasts)
Official site of the Gunzechoyney datsan
*{{cite web , publisher=www.baikal.ru , script-title=ru:Религия, url=http://www.baikal.ru/bc/m2_core.html , access-date=2013-11-20 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001023229/http://www.baikal.ru/bc/m2_core.html , archive-date=2007-10-01 , language=ru (datsans) Tibetan Buddhism in Siberia Buddhist monasteries in Russia Buddhist education

List of datsans in Mongolia

List of datsans in Russia

See also

References

External links