Buddhism in Mongolia in the context of "Stupa"

Various nomadic empires, including the Xiongnu (3rd century BC–1st century AD), the Xianbei state (c. AD 93–234), the Rouran Khaganate (330–555), the First (552–603) and Second Turkic Khaganates (682–744) and others, ruled the area of present-day Mongolia. The Khitan people, who used a para-Mongolic language, founded an empire known as the Liao dynasty (916–1125), and ruled Mongolia and portions of North China, northern Korea, and the present-day Russian Far East.

In 1206, Genghis Khan was able to unite the Mongol tribes, forging them into a fighting force which went on to establish the largest contiguous empire in world history, the Mongol Empire (1206–1368). After the fragmentation of the Mongol Empire, Mongolia came to be ruled by the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) based in Khanbaliq (modern Beijing) and administered as part of the Lingbei Province. Buddhism in Mongolia began with the Yuan emperors' conversion to and dissemination of Tibetan Buddhism.

The Mongolian People's Republic (MPR) was a socialist state in Central and East Asia that existed from 1924 to 1992. A one-party state ruled by the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, it occupied the historical region of Outer Mongolia and functioned as a satellite state of the Soviet Union for its entire history. Geographically positioned between the Soviet Union and China, the MPR became the world's second socialist state. It is the predecessor of the modern state of Mongolia.

The state was established in 1924 following the Mongolian Revolution of 1921, which was supported by the Soviet Red Army. Under the rule of Khorloogiin Choibalsan, the government aligned closely with Soviet policies, undertaking Stalinist repressions from 1937 to 1939 that resulted in the deaths of over 20,000 people, including the near-total destruction of the country's Buddhist clergy. The MPR's army fought alongside the Soviets in the 1939 Battles of Khalkhin Gol against Japan, and its independence was formally recognized by China after a 1945 referendum.

Ulaanbaatar is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It has a population of 1.67 million, and it is the coldest capital city in the world by average yearly temperature. The municipality is located in north central Mongolia at an elevation of about 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) in a valley on the Tuul River. The city was founded in 1639 as a nomadic Buddhist monastic centre, changing location 29 times, and was permanently settled at its modern location in 1778.

During its early years, as Örgöö (anglicized as Urga), it became Mongolia's preeminent religious centre and seat of the Jebtsundamba Khutuktu, the spiritual head of the Gelug lineage of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia. Following the regulation of Qing-Russian trade by the Treaty of Kyakhta in 1727, a caravan route between Beijing and Kyakhta opened up, along which the city was eventually settled. With the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911, the city was a focal point for independence efforts, leading to the proclamation of the Bogd Khanate in 1911 led by the 8th Jebtsundamba Khutuktu, or Bogd Khan, and again during the communist revolution of 1921. With the proclamation of the Mongolian People's Republic in 1924, the city was officially renamed Ulaanbaatar and declared the country's capital.

In East Asian and Buddhist mythology, Yama (Chinese: 閻魔/閻摩; pinyin: Yánmó; Wade–Giles: Yen-mo) is the King of Hell and a dharmapala (wrathful god) said to judge the dead, presiding over the hellish realms and over the cycle of life and rebirth. He goes by other names as well, including Yanluo Wang (Chinese: 閻羅王; pinyin: Yánluó Wáng; Wade–Giles: Yen-lo Wang), Yan Wang (Chinese: 閻王; pinyin: Yánwáng; Wade–Giles: Yen-wang), Master Yan Wang (Chinese: 閻王爺; pinyin: Yánwángyé; Wade–Giles: Yen-wang-yeh), Lord Yan (Chinese: 閻君; pinyin: Yánjūn; Wade–Giles: Yen-chün), and Yanluo, Son of Heaven (Chinese: 閻羅天子; pinyin: Yánluó Tiānzǐ; Wade–Giles: Yen-lo T'ien-tzu).

Although based on the god Yama of the Hindu Vedas, the Buddhist Yama has developed different myths and different functions from the Hindu deity. He has also spread far more widely and is known in most countries where Buddhism is practiced, including China, Nepal, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Bhutan, Mongolia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.

There are several Buddhist canons, which refers to the various scriptural collections of Buddhist sacred scriptures or the various Buddhist scriptural canons. Some of these collections are also called Tipiṭaka (Pali: [tɪˈpɪʈɐkɐ]) or Tripiṭaka (Sanskrit: [trɪˈpɪʈɐkɐ]) , meaning "Triple Basket", a traditional term for the three main divisions of some ancient canons. In ancient India, there were several Buddhist scriptural canons that were organized into three main textual divisions: Vinaya (monastic rule), Sutra (which contains teachings of the Buddha) and Abhidharma (which are more systematic and scholastic works). For example, the Pāli Tipiṭaka is composed of the Vinaya Piṭaka, the Sutta Piṭaka, and the Abhidhamma Piṭaka. In East Asian Buddhism meanwhile, the traditional term for the canon is Great Storage of Scriptures (traditional Chinese: 大藏經; pinyin: Dàzàngjīng).

The Pāli Canon maintained by the Theravāda tradition in Southeast Asia, the Chinese Buddhist Canon maintained by the East Asian Buddhist tradition, and the Tibetan Buddhist Canon maintained by the Tibetan Buddhist tradition are the three main important scriptural canons in the contemporary Buddhist world. The Nepalese canon, particularly its Buddhist Sanskrit literature has also been very important for modern Buddhist studies scholarship since it contains many surviving Sanskrit manuscripts. The Mongolian Buddhist canon (mostly a translation from the Tibetan into Classical Mongolian) is also important in Mongolian Buddhism.