Lectures on very-day Religious Practices in Mongolia and eligion and politics in the Tibetan exile-community

In the last decades Khamaryn Khiid and the nearby Shambhala Energy Centre, a fast growing Buddhist monastic site in the remote Gobi desert, has become one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in today’s Mongolia. The place draws Mongolian tourist-pilgrims as well as Western tourists who aim to combine ecologically inspired tourism with a spiritual journey. Based on recent fieldwork, the lecture examines the interplay of religion and tourism in the development of this global pilgrimage destination.

Dr. Karenina Kollmar-Paulenz (Bern University, Switzerland) is giving two lectures on the 8th and 9th of May. 

8th of May at 16.15 (Ülikooli 16-25) is titled "Every-day Religious Practices in Mongolia: Pilgrimage-tourism".

In the last decades Khamaryn Khiid and the nearby Shambhala Energy Centre, a fast-growing Buddhist monastic site in the remote Gobi desert, has become one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in today’s Mongolia. The place draws Mongolian tourist-pilgrims as well as Western tourists who aim to combine ecologically inspired tourism with a spiritual journey. Based on recent fieldwork, the lecture examines the interplay of religion and tourism in the development of this global pilgrimage destination.

9th of May at 14.15 is the lecture “Protector Deities in the public space: Religion and politics in the Tibetan exile-community” (Ülikooli 16-212).

Religion plays an important role in the public sphere of the Tibetan exile-community. It is particularly topical in the ritual performances of protector deities. Exploring the role of the so called dharma- protectors in the context of nation-building processes of the exile-government this lecture argues that the relationship between religion as an expression of private autonomy and its public staging as a symbol of national unity holds considerable potential for conflict for the institution of the Dalai Lamas.

Additional information: Liilia Laaneman, liilia.laaneman@ut.ee

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