Datsan Ivolginsky

Eric Gourlan

The Buddhist centre Datsan Ivolginsky is located in Buryatiya (Russia), 35km from the regional capital Ulan-Ude. Ivolginsky is a natural water source, which was blessed by a Dalailama in the past — all the living quarters and the temple are close to the source. Ivolginsky Datsan was founded in 1946 and was a museum at the time. In 1991, the institute Dashi Choinkhorling undertook educational work with regard to attracting young Buddhist students. In 1999 it was licensed as an educational centre where Buddhism is taught, the only one in Russia …

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Sacred source, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Sacred source, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Morning prayer of students in the temple before the start of classes, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Morning prayer of students in the temple before the start of classes, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Student breakfast in the canteen, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Student breakfast in the canteen, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Daily life of monks in a Buddhist training centre, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Daily life of monks in a Buddhist training centre, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Regular shaving of each other's heads by students in one of the camp barracks, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Regular shaving of each other's heads by students in one of the camp barracks, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Portrait of a young Buddhist with shaved head, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Portrait of a young Buddhist with shaved head, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Students of the Ivolginsky Datsan Buddhist Training Centre, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Students of the Ivolginsky Datsan Buddhist Training Centre, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
View of the temple at the Ivolginsky Datsan Buddhist Training Centre, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
View of the temple at the Ivolginsky Datsan Buddhist Training Centre, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Portrait of two Buddhist monks in the window of their dwelling, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Portrait of two Buddhist monks in the window of their dwelling, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Buddhist monks' studies, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Buddhist monks' studies, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Buddhist monks learning Tibetan language, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Buddhist monks learning Tibetan language, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Tibetan lama - foreign language teacher at the Ivolginsky Datsan Centre, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Tibetan lama - foreign language teacher at the Ivolginsky Datsan Centre, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Young Buddhist monk is learning English after basic lessons, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Young Buddhist monk is learning English after basic lessons, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
The monk bent over a prayer book, the text of which was written in the Mongolian language, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
The monk bent over a prayer book, the text of which was written in the Mongolian language, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Datsan Ivolginsky Educational Centre prepares future lamas, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Datsan Ivolginsky Educational Centre prepares future lamas, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Buddhist monks at recess waiting for class to start during afternoon maths and chemistry classes, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Buddhist monks at recess waiting for class to start during afternoon maths and chemistry classes, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Teacher of Tibetan origin teaching mother tongue at the datsan's learning centre, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Teacher of Tibetan origin teaching mother tongue at the datsan's learning centre, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Buddhist students during a thangka painting course, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Buddhist students during a thangka painting course, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Young Buddhist lama teaches the art of thangka at the Ivolginsky Datsan centre, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Young Buddhist lama teaches the art of thangka at the Ivolginsky Datsan centre, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Buddhist student in a workshop teaching the art of thangka , Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Buddhist student in a workshop teaching the art of thangka , Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Workshop on learning the art of thangka, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Workshop on learning the art of thangka, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Portrait of a student of the Ivolginsky Datsan Buddhist Training Centre, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Portrait of a student of the Ivolginsky Datsan Buddhist Training Centre, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Buddhist students at the Ivolginsky Datsan Centre, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Buddhist students at the Ivolginsky Datsan Centre, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Learning the art of thangka in Buddhist art classes, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Learning the art of thangka in Buddhist art classes, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Sogdi is an exercise lasting for three hours, immediately after the general education courses, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Sogdi is an exercise lasting for three hours, immediately after the general education courses, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Buddhist monks during a Sogdi lesson, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Buddhist monks during a Sogdi lesson, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Sogdi's lesson is an exercise consisting of instant questions and answers, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Sogdi's lesson is an exercise consisting of instant questions and answers, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Buryat lama in his office examines the work of his students, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Buryat lama in his office examines the work of his students, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Buddhist student meditating outside the Ivolginsky datsan complex, near Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Buddhist student meditating outside the Ivolginsky datsan complex, near Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
The atmosphere of the community housed in the Ivolginsky Datsan Buddhist Centre, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
The atmosphere of the community housed in the Ivolginsky Datsan Buddhist Centre, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Small white wooden house, one of the complex's toilets, located outside, away from the premises, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Small white wooden house, one of the complex's toilets, located outside, away from the premises, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Residential premises of the Ivolginsky Datsan, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Residential premises of the Ivolginsky Datsan, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Entourage with a cow in the centre of Ivolginsky datsan, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Entourage with a cow in the centre of Ivolginsky datsan, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Prayer walk, performed by Buddhist monks, three to five times during the day, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Prayer walk, performed by Buddhist monks, three to five times during the day, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Buddhist monk of Buryat ethnicity learns by heart passages from a sacred Mongolian book, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Buddhist monk of Buryat ethnicity learns by heart passages from a sacred Mongolian book, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Portrait of a Buddhist student in his room, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Portrait of a Buddhist student in his room, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Buddhist monks in their room during a meal, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Buddhist monks in their room during a meal, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
The young monk in charge of delivering the firewood is the last to arrive at the meal, and gets only what is left of the meal, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
The young monk in charge of delivering the firewood is the last to arrive at the meal, and gets only what is left of the meal, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Buddhist monk dressed in traditional dress, prepares to join other students at a temple of meditation, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Buddhist monk dressed in traditional dress, prepares to join other students at a temple of meditation, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Day-to-day concerns at the end of the school day, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Day-to-day concerns at the end of the school day, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
20:00. At the end of the school day, a Buddhist monk, if he is alone, takes a moment to wash and do his laundry, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
20:00. At the end of the school day, a Buddhist monk, if he is alone, takes a moment to wash and do his laundry, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Buddhist monk born in Moscow. The only Russian in the Ivolginsky datsan, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Buddhist monk born in Moscow. The only Russian in the Ivolginsky datsan, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Rest as a form of meditation, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Rest as a form of meditation, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Sick woman who came to the datsan to see the lama, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Sick woman who came to the datsan to see the lama, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
The prayer circle, about 1500 metres long, is carried out within the perimeter of the Ivolginsky Datsan, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
The prayer circle, about 1500 metres long, is carried out within the perimeter of the Ivolginsky Datsan, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
The day is coming to an end and the last of the indigenous Buryats, having finished the spinning of the prayer drums, go home, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
The day is coming to an end and the last of the indigenous Buryats, having finished the spinning of the prayer drums, go home, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Portrait of a monk with a ritual mask used in a number of cult rituals, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Portrait of a monk with a ritual mask used in a number of cult rituals, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Buddhist monks in their room, claiming to be future lamas continue to study at night, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Buddhist monks in their room, claiming to be future lamas continue to study at night, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Candlesticks used during the day during a Buddhist ceremony, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001
Candlesticks used during the day during a Buddhist ceremony, Verkhnyaya Ivolga village, Buryatia, Russia. November 2001

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