General rules When visiting a khurul, it is important to wear decent clothes: the clothes should neither be too revealing nor provocative. This not only applies to women, but also to men, for whom, for example, it is not appropriate to wear
shorts or too revealing shirts when visiting. Furthermore, it is not allowed to visit in an intoxicated state. It is recommended to not consume alcohol for at least one day before visiting a khurul. One should also refrain from smoking for at least a few hours before the visit. The reason for this is that the smell of alcohol and cigarettes is, on the one hand, disliked by the deities, and on the other hand, can lead to punishment by those deities that have not yet reached
enlightenment, according to Lodoi, the administrator of
Burkhan Bakshin Altan Sume.
Paying respect and performing Ergts statue of Troitsky When entering the courtyard of a khurul, it is custom to bow three times before the khurul and thus before its deities. To do so, the hands are put together into a position, where the thumbs touch each other and are folded into the palm ('lotus bud'
mudra). In this position, the hands first touch the top of the head, then the forehead, next the throat (or mouth), and the chest, and finally one bows. The hand gestures are meant as
karmic seals to achieve the same enlightenment as Buddha one day. They represent the
Ushnisha,
Urna, the speech of Buddha, and the enlightened mind of Buddha. Inside the main prayer hall, a
prostration is performed in front of the
Buddha. There are two ways of prostration: a full one and none-full one. • Full prostration: the hands are put in the 'lotus bud' mudra position and go from touching the top of the head, to the forehead, to the throat, and to the chest. All this is done while visualizing that one is bowing before the living Buddha himself. When doing those gestures, one can utter a
mantra. For example: :After the hand gesture, one kneels down, touches the ground with one's palms, stretches out with the full body on the ground, touching the ground with one's forehead, and then quickly gets up again. • Non-full prostration: this is done if someone for some reason cannot perform the full prostration (e.g., due to health issues). It follows the same pattern as the full prostration, except that it is not necessary to stretch out completely on the ground, but instead one performs a "five point touch", where one kneels and bows down to the ground, so that the knees, palms, and forehead touch the ground. In Kalmykia, the drink, called
serdzhim, is a strongly-brewed black tea. or another liquid, depending on regional traditions. The tea is poured in a special container and then used by the monks as an offer to the deities during the ritual. Furthermore, there are prayers for certain deities on certain days (e.g., for the
Tara, the
Medicine Buddha, etc.). The monks' prayers are for the well-being of all worshippers and all living beings, but if someone needs the monks to pray for them individually, then this can be done by writing down the name of the person on the prayer sheet. The monks will then stand up during the prayers and read out those names.
Offerings It is also custom to make offerings in khuruls. There are various types of offerings, such as light in the form of
lampadas, scent in the form of
insence sticks, flowers, food items and drinks, and so on. ==List of khuruls and sumes==