In 1904, when British-Indian forces invaded Tibet, the Thirteenth Dalai
Lama travelled to Mongolia and subsequently to Beijing. As Ishihama
Yumiko’s paper demonstrates, his sojourn in Mongolia connected the
politically divided Tibetan, Mongol, and Buryat Tibetan Buddhist communities,
activated their intercommunication, and contributed to the
evoking of a national consciousness among them. While this consciousness
failed to amalgamate Tibetan Buddhist communities into one entity, it
did establish a nationalist movement that sought to resist Russian and
Chinese control. Ishihama gives particular attention to the Dalai Lama’s
relationship with three Mongol hierarchs from the Khalka, Kokonor, and
Buryat Buddhist communities. His impact on identity formation among
these groups resulted in them devoting themselves to forging unity among
their people.