NO FUNDS
Mongolia’s big debt limits infrastructure needed for Buddhism to grow
ULAN BATOR
ON a barren patch of land outside Mongolia’s capital, a former herder guards a halffinished pedestal and abandoned golden Buddha’s head — testament to the money problems keeping Buddhism from flourishing in the country.
When Tsegmid Lunduv, 68, a longtime nomad, was hired to patrol the spot in 2013, the project seemed full of promise: a proposed sprawling complex of meditation centres and spiritual retreats, tucked into the rolling steppes near here and under the spiritual guidance of the Dalai Lama.
But two years ago, construction was suspended pending additional funding, leaving two partially built legs, the unattached head and a hand with fingers curled into the gesture for teaching and understanding.
Only Lunduv, his wife, grandson and their yellow puppy were standing sentry on a recent visit to the holy site-to-be.
“Once the project comes to fruition, all of Mongolia’s troubles will go away,” said Lunduv, a portly man with a tattered white tunic and a gap-toothed smile.
“It will usher in a new era.”
One of the project’s main financial backers, the Genco group, is owned by new Mongolian President Khaltmaa Battulga, who took office in July and must now navigate the country out of its maze of debt with a US$5.5 billion (RM21 billion) International Monetary Fund-led bailout.
Buddhism has returned to prominence after being quashed over years of Soviet control, with more than half of the population now identifying as Buddhist, according to official figures.
But the debt-laden country’s money troubles have severely limited the infrastructure needed for the religion to fully flourish, with monasteries lacking proper residential facilities for monks.
The biggest challenge to Mongolian Buddhism came during the country’s years as a Soviet satellite state, from 1924 to the early 1990s, when the Arts Council of Mongolia estimated that more than 1,250 monasteries and temples were demolished and countless religious artifacts lost.
The revival of Buddhism has been a sticky issue for the government, which pledged not to extend any more invitations to the Dalai Lama after his visit here last November angered China, its biggest trade partner.
At the Grand Maitreya project, Lunduv has faith the money will come. The project’s Facebook page said the first building phase would be completed by the end of this summer if US$25,000 (RM105,000) in donations was raised. AFP