Modern Monks

In Mongolia, over 17, 000 monks were killed and in Mongolia in order to wipe out the Buddhist monk population. Since the killing, the monk community began to rapidly decrease. The monks at Amarbayasgalant were committed in restoring the monasteries, however, it is difficult to find young people who would want have a monastic career in the modern world. According to National Geographic, the monk community has modernized their rules and lifestyles in order to attract the next generation to their practice. For example, traditionally it is required for a monk to practice for at least 20 years before becoming a teacher, however, in the modern day, only four years of practice and learning is required. A young monk, Lobsang Tayang,  feels like he “had not gained enough knowledge yet”, however, he understand that this is the only way to save the monk population in Mongolia.

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