Mongolia Part Two
We are now back in Ulaanbaatar, the capitol of Mongolia. ELIC has warm political relationships in the countries we are in, and over time friendships and trust are built. It is a provision from the Lord as we go about our work in partnership with these governments. As guests in country, we were invited to meet the Major General of Mongolia, commander of all internal troops. We were picked up at the hotel with much fanfare in police cars, and made the trip to his office with lights flashing and sirens wailing as traffic cleared for us. Pretty incredible!
We also went through a buddhist monastery- they practice Tibetan buddhism here, mixed with shamanism and localized superstitions. The boys in the video chanting are between 10-14 yrs old. They will be memorizing and chanting the prayers, mantras, and names of the buddhas the rest of their lives. Here is a 7 second clip of older monks reciting the same type of mantras- Monk Mantras.
There is one picture of people around a pole which probably requires some explanation! The belief is that this pole marks the site of a miracle hundreds of years ago. During the 10 minutes we were in the monastery courtyard, this is the least crowded I saw this "pole". At times people were 4 and 5 deep around it reaching toward it. The wood is worn from the hands of millions over time, and the pilgrims touch it, press their face on it, and place small pieces of paper with prayers/wishes/requests along with money into the cracks. It is quite an oppressive experience when you watch people praying to brazen images, 10 year olds with a lifetime of mantras before them, and people placing all of their hope in a wooden pole and clinging to hopeless superstition. Sobering and heart breaking.
On a hike to the top of a monument on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, we saw a tame golden eagle. John and Rob had a chance to let it rest on their arm. In western Mongolia the golden eagle is trained and used for hunting. They are quite large birds of prey, and have been known to successfully hunt everything from rabbits to wolves. Here is a link taking a look at the golden eagle in action: Golden Eagle/Fox
