Aginsky Datsan, Buddhist monastery in Aginskoye, Russia.
Aginsky Datsan is a Buddhist monastery complex in Amithasha, 6 km southwest of Aginskoe. Its first stone Tsogchen-dugan was built in 1811–1816 by Russian masons and carpenters who had worked on Aninsky Datsan, adapting the plan of a single-domed Orthodox church. The photograph shows four white stupas with gilded finials on a grassy field, with a red-and-white temple with a tiered golden roof behind them.
Founded in 1811 at Bulaktuy on the left bank of the Aga River, the datsan's first stone Tsogchen-dugan was built by Russian masons and carpenters who had worked on the Aninsky Datsan, adapting an Orthodox single-domed church design. Consecrated in 1816 by Rinchin-lama of the Dyrestuy Datsan, it took that monastery's name, Dechen Lhundubling. A new stone Tsogchen-dugan was built from 1875 to 1886 and consecrated in 1887; a medical faculty opened in 1884. Closed in 1938, the datsan resumed teaching in 1993.
The datsan's name, Dechen Lhundubling, means "abode of spontaneous realisation of great bliss"; it was borrowed from the Dyreustuy Datsan whose abbot, Rinchin-lama, consecrated the first Tsogchen-dugan in 1816. Its guardian deities are Jamsaran and Lhamo. Since 1993 the Agin Buddhist Academy has trained students on the grounds, and the monastery belongs to the Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia.
The datsan stands in the village of Amithasha, about 6 km southwest of the centre of Aginskoye; the German source gives seven kilometres. Access is by road from Aginskoye, so arrange local transport in advance. The complex is an active monastery and the seat of the Aginsk Buddhist Academy, founded in 1993, so visitors should dress and behave accordingly.
The first stone Tsogchen-dugan was built by Russian masons and carpenters who had previously worked on the Aninsky Datsan, and its single-domed structure was adapted from an Orthodox church design. The new stone Tsogchen-dugan was begun in spring 1879 and consecrated in autumn 1887 by Yenzon-lama without festivities.
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