The Zanabazar Buddhist University of Mongolia Library preservation project focuses on digitally preserving the library’s rare and invaluable collection of texts in Tibetan, Mongolian, and other languages. This initiative includes cataloging, digitization, and long-term archiving to safeguard these cultural treasures and make them freely accessible online for scholars, students, and the public worldwide. By uncovering and protecting materials that have remained hidden or vulnerable for centuries, the project ensures Mongolia’s Buddhist literary heritage is preserved for future generations. The Asian Legacy Library (ALL) initiated this project in Spring 2025.
The Zanabazar Buddhist University, founded in 1970 within Gandan Monastery, serves as a center for the academic study and preservation of Mongolian Buddhism. Named after the revered Venerable Öndör Gegeen Zanabazar (1635–1723), a cultural luminary, the university trains monks and laypeople in Buddhist principles and languages. Today, the ZBUM Library safeguards a collection of approximately five million pages (12,500 volumes). Through digital preservation, this heritage is made accessible and secure for generations to come.
ZBUM4-005, (རྗེ་བཙུན་མ་ཡིད་བཞིན་འཁོར་ལོའི་སྒོ་ནས་ཚེའི་དངོས་གྲུབ་སྒྲུབ་བར་བྱེད་པའི་ཡི་གེ་འཆི་མེད་དགའ་སྟོན་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་); “A Text on the Practice of Achieving the Fruition of Life from the Gate of the Unchanging Mind of the Venerable Master.” Manuscript on paper in Ume Tibetan script. This text outlines detailed practices for attaining the fruition of life, emphasizing joy, completeness, and accomplishment, reflecting the esoteric teachings and ceremonial traditions associated with the lineage of the venerable master Dorje of Ltsang Skya Rol.
Make a donation
All funds support ALL’s mission to locate, digitally preserve, and safeguard some of the world’s most precious collections of cultural literary heritage. Contributions enable cataloging, digitization, and long-term online accessibility for texts that have never before been digitized. Your support helps reveal centuries of knowledge hidden in Mongolia’s rarest manuscripts, ensuring these treasures inspire and educate globally.
Project Manager
The Zanabazar Library preservation project is led by a dedicated project manager, Venerable Luvsandorj Tseetsee, and supported by a skilled team trained in cataloging, scanning, and metadata creation. Working with ALL’s international team, the project ensures every text, including fragile pecha-format works, is carefully digitized and documented.