In this article, you are warmly invited to read this year’s public invitation by Zava Damdin Rinpoche (b. 1976), translated from Mongolian into English, with notes for readers unfamiliar with Mongolian Buddhist history, terminology, and ritual practice. Centred on the Maidar procession at Delgeriin Choira Monastery in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert, the invitation offers a rich account of the ceremony and the wider tradition it carries forward. Rinpoche’s open letter brings together sacred history, ritual memory, and the voices of learned teachers. Through beautiful storytelling, it preserves not only the history of a monastery and its ceremonies, but also the living texture of Mongolian Buddhist life: its landscapes, lineages, images, processions, and oral wisdom.

To my way of thinking, such accounts are especially important for cultural continuity, particularly at a time when older rituals and ways of life can become detached from the communities and meanings that sustained them. In this way, the following letter may be read both as a historical record and as an antidote to cultural disembedding, carrying forward memory through devotion, narrative, and a Mongolian tradition with deep roots.

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MAIDAR PROCESSION CEREMONY TO BE HELD

On 4 July 2026, the 19th day of the mid-summer lunar month, at 11:00 a.m., the Maidar procession will take place at Delgeriin Choira Monastery.¹

For many years in the past, our monastery had no fixed chosen location and would move by camel, holding its religious assemblies wherever it settled. Later, Zava Damdin² consulted and made inquiries with many learned masters, including the Hermit Lama of Wutai,³ Mergen Shovgor Lama, and the Eighth Bogd Khan.⁴

Thereafter, in 1918, at the foot of Delgertsogt Mountain in Daichin Beis Banner,⁵ at the source of Günjargalant Spring, he established Dashchoinjirlin Monastery, also known by the name granted by the Bogd Khan, Choyen Odsallin. It subsequently became widely renowned among the people as Delgeriin Choira.

In his scripture titled The History of Choyen Odsallin, the Cuckoo’s Song of Springtime, Zava Damdin wrote that from the very beginning of the monastery’s religious assemblies, teachings, and monastic schools,⁶ the Maidar procession ceremony had been performed.

He also translated and annotated the origin and history of the Mandar procession ceremony based on The Travel Records of the Chinese Monk Faxian.⁷ In that account, the monk Faxian wrote that while travelling through the land known in the scriptures as Li,⁸ on his journey to India, the Holy Land, Buddhism had greatly flourished in Mongolia.

In certain cities and settlements, kings, queens, nobles, ministers, holy beings, monks, and the general populace would all together place images of the Buddhas and sacred scriptures upon beautiful horse-drawn carriages. They would escort them from palaces and temples through the streets of the city, while everyone paid homage.

Incense filled the air; carpets, silk, and brocade adorned the surroundings; young girls and boys showered flowers from rooftops; musical instruments resounded; dances and theatrical performances were offered. Faxian described this culture as so wondrous that it was beyond words. Zava Damdin compared this account to the Maidar procession ceremonies that had flourished in Mongolia at that time, especially in Ikh Khüree⁹ and other monasteries.

In 1937, when the last Maidar procession of Ikh Khüree was taking place and the image had been escorted towards the north-east, Zava Damdin arrived there with several of his disciples. The Khüree disciplinarian, Gombo-Do,¹⁰ respectfully welcomed him and, addressing the crowd in a loud voice, declared, “Stop!” At once, the entire Maidar procession of Khüree came to a halt. Zava Damdin climbed onto the carriage, offered a khadag¹¹ to the Great Maidar Buddha, made prayers of aspiration, and is said to have been deeply moved.

Not long afterwards, on the 25th day of the first summer month, known as the “day of the descent of the dakinis”,¹² he passed into nirvana in meditation posture at his Dharma residence on Gandan Hill,¹³ seated in the vajra posture and abiding in meditative absorption. His close disciples placed his body on a cart and secretly carried it out of Khüree.

To the west of the monastic encampment at Delgertsogt Mountain, at the sacred place called Tsamyn Us,¹⁴ they built a reliquary stupa for his remains and performed the jinsek fire offering,¹⁵ cremating him as an offering to the Fire Deity. It is said that his heart, tongue, and eyes did not burn, but remained shimmering like a mass of mercury and became sacred relics, which still exist today.

From that time onward, religious assemblies, Dharma teachings, and Buddhist culture were suppressed. Then, in 1990, the Year of the White Horse, when the people regained freedom through their pure faith, courage, learning, and deeds, religious assemblies and teachings were restored. At that time, many elderly monks, including Zava Damdin’s youngest disciples Genbel, Myatav, and Davaa, began performing the Maidar procession ceremony every year on the 25th day of the first summer month, symbolising the return of their Teacher to his monastery.

Maidar is the fifth of the Thousand Buddhas of this Good Kalpa¹⁶ and is the Buddha of the future among the Buddhas of the past, present, and future. Why, then, during the era of our present Buddha, Shakyamuni, do we perform a ceremony inviting and escorting the Buddha of the future?

It is because the noble Maidar himself appeared in the form of a bodhisattva as one of the Buddha’s eight great senior disciples and has the role of assisting the Buddha’s teachings. Renowned for his loving-kindness, he is a Great Bodhisattva who helps beings of this degenerate age by manifesting in various emanations — as humans, animals, living beings, and even inanimate forms. He is the symbol of peace, goodness, auspiciousness, fortunate times, and noble rebirths. In general, Maidar has become the symbol of a good age.

His name is Maidar (Майдар) in the language of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas,¹⁷ Jampa (Жамба) in Tibetan, and Asragch (Асрагч), “the Loving One”, in Mongolian.

Zava Damdin composed several texts dedicated to Maidar Buddha, including The Perfectly Meaningful Jewelled Stairway: A Simple and Accessible Recitation for the Worship and Offerings to the Noble Refuge Maidar. Today, in certain monasteries both in Mongolia and abroad, the Maidar procession ceremony is performed according to his instructions, together with rituals such as the offering of a thousand lamps or offerings.

Maidar is also the lord of Gandan, or Tushita Heaven.¹⁸ In The Depiction of Maidar’s Pure Land, it is clearly explained that he resides there in the manner of a divine prince. Today, in the main Zankhan temple of the Choijin Lama Temple in central Ulaanbaatar,¹⁹ there remain exquisite depictions of the pure lands of Maidar and Amitabha Buddha. These were created by learned Mongolian artisans of old through carving, embossing, assembling, painting, joining, and architectural construction with remarkable refinement and beauty.

Our Öndör Gegeen²⁰ and his disciples generally depicted Maidar Buddha in the style of a heavenly prince: eternally sixteen years old, clothed in fine silk garments, wearing jewelled necklaces, adorned on the crown with a bodhi stupa and a wish-fulfilling jewel. His body is slightly inclined; he stands firmly on his left foot while resting his right foot. His right hand displays the mudra of turning the Wheel of Dharma,²¹ while his left hand extends downward, granting a vase filled with nectar. He stands upon a full lotus and moon-disc seat.

Many scholars have said that, even purely from the standpoint of art, these depictions have amazed and inspired learned people throughout the world, perhaps because nowhere else has Maidar been rendered so vividly and with such refined perfection.

When I asked teachers why the horse of Maidar Buddha’s carriage is green, they replied: “Among the Five Primordial Buddhas, Amoghasiddhi,²² the Accomplisher of Activity, has a green-coloured body; therefore, it may symbolise great enlightened activity. But ask other learned masters as well.”

Later, humble I, upon visiting the homeland of my mother and father, learnt that there are indeed green horses, or horses with a greenish tinge. Such horses appear dark brown or blackish under ordinary conditions, but if one observes them running in front of the sunlight before sunrise or sunset, their colour gleams vividly green in the sun’s rays. I learnt this from a wise herder who owned such horses. Thus, the idea of a green horse is not merely born from artistic imagination.

Because the light of that Maidar realm, Tushita or Gandan, shone upon our [cf. Mongolian] Gandan Hill, the Bogd Khans established Gandantegchenlin Monastery²³ on that hill. I have heard from the luminous oral accounts of learned masters of the past and present that the most beautiful Maidar procession in the world once took place in Ikh Khüree. A magnificent Mongolian painting depicting it is now enshrined in the Zanabazar Museum of Fine Arts.²⁴

Even today, monasteries continue to perform the Maidar procession ceremony as a symbol of good times, accumulating great merit. This is a truly wondrous cultural tradition dedicated to the unity and peace of humanity.

Written on 7 June 2018, the 22nd day of the Vaisakha month.²⁵

May all beings meet the Radiant Mandar!

Zava Damdin Rinpoche²⁶

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Translated by C.Pleteshner
English interpretation 29.06.2026 from the original Mongolian 7.06.2018

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NOTES

“Maidar” is the Mongolian name for Maitreya, a Buddha of the future.

1. Delgeriin Choira Monastery: a Mongolian Buddhist monastic centre associated with Zava Damdin’s lineage.
2. Zava Damdin: the historical Zava Damdin, 1867–1937.
3. Wutai: Wutai Shan, the sacred Buddhist mountain in China associated with Mañjuśrī.
4. Eighth Bogd Khan: Bogd Gegeen, 1869–1924, the last Bogd Khan of Mongolia.
5. Daichin Beis Banner: a former administrative banner.
6. Monastic schools: datsan, monastic colleges.
7. Faxian: c. 337–422 CE, a Chinese Buddhist pilgrim.
8. Li: Li-yul/Khotan in many Buddhist sources; here identified in the letter with the Uyghur realm and present-day north-western Mongolia.
9. Ikh Khüree: the old monastic capital, later Ulaanbaatar.
10. Gombo-Do: a gesgüi, or monastic disciplinarian.
11. Khadag: a ceremonial silk scarf used for offering, greeting, and honouring sacred persons or objects.
12. Dakini: a female enlightened being in Vajrayāna Buddhism.
13. Gandan Hill: Gandangiin Denj, the hill in Ulaanbaatar where Gandan Monastery stands.
14. Tsamyn Us: “Water of the Tsam”; a sacred local site.
15. Jinsek: a ritual fire offering.
16. Good Kalpa: the present fortunate cosmic age.
17. Language of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas: the original phrase is “the language of the gods”, a traditional way of referring to Sanskrit or sacred Indic language.
18. Tushita Heaven: Tuṣita, the heavenly realm where the future Buddha is believed to reside before descending into the world.
19. Choijin Lama Temple: now the Choijin Lama Temple Museum in central Ulaanbaatar.
20. Öndör Gegeen: Öndör Gegeen Zanabazar, 1635–1723, the first Jebtsundamba Khutuktu and a major Mongolian Buddhist artist and religious figure.
21. Mudra of turning the Wheel of Dharma: a sacred hand gesture associated with teaching.
22. Amoghasiddhi: one of the Five Wisdom Buddhas.
23. Gandantegchenlin Monastery: Gandan Monastery, Ulaanbaatar’s main Buddhist monastery.
24. Zanabazar Museum of Fine Arts: a major art museum in Ulaanbaatar.
25. Vaisakha month: a Buddhist lunar month.
26. Zava Damdin Rinpoche: the signature refers to the contemporary lineage holder, while the historical Zava Damdin discussed in the letter is Zava Damdin, 1867–1937.

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Translation is always an interpretation into another culture. Any errors in this regard are entirely my own, and for these I humbly apologise.

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