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ACCOUNT ON THE CONFERENCE ON MONGOLIAN BUDDHISM The conference Mongolian Buddhism: Past, Present, and Future dedicated to the 380" anniversary of Ondér Gegeen Dsanabadsar’s birth (1635-1723) was held on 16-17 April 2015 at Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary. The Department of Mongolian and Inner Asian Studies, the Research Centre for Mongol Studies, the Budapest Centre of Buddhist Studies, the Research Centre for the Humanities, Institute of Ethnology (Hungarian Academy of Sciences), and the Embassy of Mongolia in Hungary co-operated in the organization of this special forum on the study of Mongolian Buddhism. The conference aimed to gather international scholars and monks to discuss different aspects of Mongolian Buddhism and to reveal its distinctiveness. In accordance with the speakers’ own specific research interests, presentations covered not only the activities of Dsanabadsar but also various aspects of Mongolian Buddhism including history, art, philosophy, literature, current practices, monastic life, rituals, and folk religion. 60 speakers of 14 countries presented their research results including scholars, Buddhist monks, and PhD students coming from Australia, Austria, China, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Mongolia, Norway, Poland, Russia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. The conference started with the speech of Brenner Koloman, vice-dean of Eötvös Loränd University, Hamar Imre, the head of the Institute of East Asian Studies, Birtalan Ägnes, the head of the Department of Mongolian and Inner Asian Studies and the Research Centre for Mongol Studies, and D. Dsayaabaatar, the scientific secretary of the National Council for Mongolian Studies. The greeting words of the Most Ven. D. Choidsamts, the Abbot of Gangdantegchenling Monastery, Centre of Mongolian Buddhists was read and L. Mönkhdsargal, the deputy of Öwörkhangai aimag gave his talk followed by the concert ofthe Hungarian Ögbeler Ansamble and the chanting of Öndör Gegeen Dsanabadsar’s Mani prayer by Kundse Chimed. The mostly honoured guests of the workshop were R. Gonchigdor], vice-president of the Mongolian Parliament, Ya. Sodbaatar, member of the Mongolian Parliament, and L. M6énkhjargal as well as the scholar monks of Gandantegchenling Monastery. Her excellence T. Gandi, the Ambassador of Mongolia commemorated the 65" anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Hungary and Mongolia and ex-ambassador of Hungary, Kadar Laszlo presented a statuette crafted by Dsanabadsar 13
