Khamar Monastery

MONGOLIA, Khatanbulag

The monastery was founded in 1820 by the Fifth Noyon Khutagt or Danzanravjaa, a charismatic and controversial teacher and literary figure. It belonged to the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. It is thought that at its height, the monastery had over 80 halls and around 500 monks. The monastery was completely destroyed during the persecution of Buddhism in 1937, but it was revived in the 1990s by the local monastics and devotees.
The major buildings include a gateway, Red Hat Hall, and Tibetan-style stupas. The gateway consists of four columns connected by architraves. There is a hip-and-gable roof in the center, and lower roofs on both sides. There is a Dharma wheel in the center of the ridge. The Red Hat Hall, located to the left, is three stories high and has a square layout. The first story is plain and whitewashed externally, and consists of an enclosed entrance hall at the front. The second story has a gallery at the front with decorated columns and architraves. The flat square roof above the second story is decorated with a Dharma wheel flanked by deer. A skull and trident with yaks’ tails hanging down is mounted at each corner of this roof. The third story is much smaller but its structure and decoration are similar. It is covered with a hip-and-gable roof, which features a miniature stupa in the center of its ridge. Directly in front of the gateway there is a statue of a seated Sakyamuni Buddha.