From the mid 16th century onwards, it can be generally argued that Mongolians across the various regions Central Asia began to see themselves as distinct part of the Tibetan Buddhist world – specifically speaking, as part of the Dge-lugs-pa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Although predominantly Dge-lugs-pa due to political relations between the Mongol nobility and the Dge-lugs-pa hierarchs in Tibet, there is evidence which suggest a thriving Nying-ma presence in the Mongolian regions from the 16^th century onwards. The most competent of these Tibetan Buddhist scholars of Mongolian ethnicity composed their literary masterpieces in the medium of the Tibetan language, of which, hundreds of volumes have survived down to us today and remain relatively accessible. These works are veritable untapped goldmines for the study of the wider Tibetan Buddhist world.

This talk will discuss the wealth of literary material left behind by some of these Mongolian scholars and some of the ways in which they can be approached to broaden our understanding of the wider “Tibetan Buddhist World”. I will introduce a work and its author in particular, the Thob yig gsal ba'i me long (composed between 1698-1702) and its author, the First Khalkha Dza-ya Pandita Blo-bzang 'phrin-las (1642-1715). This work is a truly unique example of its genre and its encyclopaedic nature, concise style of writing and influence on later works written by Mongolian monk-scholars can act as a starting point for anyone interested in utilising works composed by Mongolian Tibetan Buddhist scholars for the study of the Tibetan Buddhist world.