Monastery Stay | Mongolia

Cham Dance Buddhist Festival

Tour Description

Khuree Cham_dance starts with special blessing ritual day before. Every year, on the ninth day of late summer lunar month, the Cham has been performed in Dashchoiling Monastery for the last 20 years.

Khuree tsam, which had been prohibited for more than 70 years since 1937, was restored in 1999 by the Gandantekchenlin Monastery, while Zuun Khuree Dashchoiling Monastery launched it in 2003 and continues to perform it every year.

Tsam dance was first introduced by the Padmasambhava, the great meditation master, and is based on secret tantra. It was performed for more than 100 times until 1937, when Abbot of Jidor, Agwaanhaiduv started Khuree tsam for the first time in Mongolia in 1811.

Cham is a secret tantric ritual which pacifies all the negativities, such as suffering, diseases, and droughts that are spread to the external environment due to due to delusions or impure mind. Every movement is a process of alleviating evil.

The monks prepare for the chama by completing meditation, read the scriptures, and then perform the cham. As for the monks, it is very fulfilling to perform cham dance. It is a great act of purification. When we practice for the dance we sweat a lot, which makes us feel better. It is a practical act of cleaning out all the impurities and negative karma that we had accumulated. It is also an important ritual of purifying the mind by accumulating a merit. At least it is the best exercise to stay physically fit.

Previous day of the Cham ritual begins with the blessing of the offering, mandala and cham masks. Then Damzhan Choijoo and the Jaghar cham puja is held for three days.

It is a full day event that starts at 8.00 a.m and continues till late afternoon. 

 

 

Itinerary

Expand All Itinerary Hide All Itinerary

Guiding monk will provide introduction of the ritual and explain the processes to be carried out for the day.

Attend the special prayers puja by the monks. Pray and dedicate the merit of the day to the wellbeing of your beloved ones and all the sentient beings. Before the performance, specific deities  are evoked. In fact, even the dance is a ceremony inspired by tantric traditions that were performed for the greater good of all sentient beings.

 

  • Monastery area
  • Hot tea served
You are invited to take your seat at the specific area where all the audience will be seated. Cham dance is considered to be an act of cleansing evil forces, so if you tune in with the ritual, you will get rid of all your negativities. While seated, try to reflect that the religious significance of the Cham Dance is in the performance itself, and this tradition fits the monastic life as the dance is not focused on movements but on rituals of meditation, hand gestures, chants, invocation of the deities, and the effect it has on the destruction of negativity. Dressed up in vibrant colors with extravagant headgear and masks, the monks take up the roles of deities and demons and put up a mock battle with good prevailing over evil. Short wave device based simultaneous translation will help you follow the ritual.
  • Monastery area
  • Lunch

Customer Reviews

price from

$40 USD

duration

1 day

group size

Minimum 4

Highlights

  • Orientation and explanation about the cham dance ritual
  • Fully guided meditation during cham dance
  • Dashchoiling monastery tour
2025
  • 2023-07-27 - 2023-07-27
2026
  • 4 pax: 40 USD
  • 5-12 pax: 38 USD
  • 13-20 pax: 35 USD
  • 20 and more pax: 30 USD
  • English speaking guide-monk
  • Vegetarian or non-vegetarian lunch
  • Simultaneous translation in English 2
  • Drinks
  • Transportation
  • Health insurance
  • Alcoholic beverages
Cham Dance Buddhist Festival