Its glory long-since faded, the Amarbayasgalant Monastery nonetheless stands out on the almost deserted Mongolian steppes, its chipped red and gold paint contrasting against a green backdrop of mountains. The dilapidated monastery, which dates back to the 1700s, in many ways serves as a metaphor for Buddhism in the country.
Twenty years after the fall of communism, which saw brutal purges that pushed the reli- gion to the brink of extinction, Mongolian Buddhism is struggling to survive in the face of weak finances, a lack of education, suspicious intellectuals, a gnawing religious schism and encroaching Christianity.
In two short decades, the hopes raised when democracy returned to Mongolia appear to have been dashed, even as old monasteries are being renovated and new ones built all over the country; young monks are being sent to India, Tibet and Switzerland to study; and a lay movement continues to grow.
Buddhism arrived in Mongolia from Tibet in the 13th century, during the time of Genghis Khan. The religion thrived until the beginning of the 20th century, when there were some 100,000 monks - one-third of Mongolia's male population were Buddhist lamas - living in 700 monasteries.
Communism began to take hold in the country in the 1920s and, after more than a decade of attempts to wipe out Buddhism failed to shake the faith, Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin and his Mongolian protege, Khorloogiin Choibalsan, unleashed a brutal purge in 1937, destroying temples and decimating the clergy.
No one knows exactly how many monks and nuns were killed but mass graves uncovered in recent years indicate tens of thousands disappeared between the 30s and 60s. Some put the figure at 30,000 killed, with another 10,000 banished to Siberian labour camps. By 1940, institutional Buddhism had ceased to exist in the Mongolian People's Republic.
Erdene Zuu, about 300 kilometres from the nation's capital, Ulan Bator, is one Mongolia's largest monasteries and was once its grandest. Built in 1585 in the ancient capital of Karakorum, the sprawling complex is ringed by a massive wall dotted with 108 stupas and once contained 70 temples and shrines. It was home to some 1,500 monks. Now, only about 20 buildings remain and there are about 50 monks - mainly young boys - and, on most days, fewer visitors. It feels like a ghost town.