(By Tsem Rinpoche and Seow Choong Liang)   Buddhism in Mongolia The First Wave According to the Origins of Dharma in the Hor Regions by the great Mongolian scholar Lobsang Tamdrin, Buddhism was brought to the Hor Region (northern Kham, Tibet) during the Mongol Yuan Dynasty in three waves. The first wave was during the time of the Indian Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd Century B.C.E., three centuries before Buddhism surfaced in China, and some eight centuries before it took root in Tibet. In his work, Lobsang Tamdrin mentioned that even during these ancient times, Hor supported a population of over one hundred thousand Buddhist monks. The cave paintings along the Hor section of the Silk Road bear witness to this early Mongol practice of Buddhism.   The Second Wave The second wave began with Chinggis Khan who established a special relationship with the Sakya tradition. Later, Chinggis Khan’s grandson Kublai Khan who reigned from 1269 to 1294, and who established the Yuan Dynasty in 1271, invited Lama Drogon Chogyal Phagpa (Phagpa Lodro Gyaltsen, 1235-1280), nephew of Sakya Pandita, to give teachings throughout his kingdom. Hence, Buddhism became the de facto state religion of the Mongol Yuan state. Such was […]