 Upon arrival, the Dalai Lama named Erdne as the Šajin (Supreme) Lama of the Kalmyk people.As the spiritual leader, Erdne's role was to lead a Buddhist revival among the approximately 160,000 Kalmyks who live in Kalmykia.As the only Kalmyk person with proper Buddhist training, Erdne soon determined that his responsibility as the Šajin Lama was too great a burden for he himself to bear as a 22-year-old.