Entrance to the main Gompa of Rui Ying Si, Liaoning, China
Dorjeshugden.com has received news that a new 5-foot Dorje Shugden statue has been brought to Liaoning, China. This beautiful statue will be installed in a chapel of Rui Ying Si 瑞应寺, a Mongolian-Tibetan Lamasery located in the Mongolian Autonomous part of China.
Rui Ying Si was built during the Qing dynasty in 1669 and the monastery celebrated its zenith during the 44th year of Emperor Kangxi’s reign. Also known as Ganden Dargyerub Ling in Tibetan, the first high Lama there was recognized by the Emperor himself and given the title “Jegün gajar un monggol no ebugen Borqan” which means “Old Buddha in Eastern Mongolia, of the Great Qing Dynasty”
It was also at this time that the Emperor, being happy with the activities of the monastery, awarded a plague to Rui Ying Si with words of praise inscribed in four languages – Manchurian, Mongolian, Tibetan and Han-Chinese.
At its peak, Gaden Dargyerub Ling had 3,600 monks. Besides the main prayer hall, there were four other large prayer halls, five colleges for Buddhist studies, a Dukkar chapel, a Protector chapel, a Tara chapel, a relic chapel and many other chapels which were strategically placed within the monastery walls. All these structures were built according to traditional rules as established by Buddha himself and also advocated by the great Lama Tsongkhapa. Today, there are 800 dormitories for monks and 3000 rooms allocated for both work and rest, to cater to the needs of both lay and ordained practitioners.
Sunning of the huge Lama Tsongkhapa thangka in Rui Ying Si
The monastery now functions both as a tourist attraction (Rui Ying Si is classified as a class 2A tourist site which is protected by the government) and as a stronghold of the Gelug Buddhist tradition, preserving the authenticity of the lineage as well as traditional rituals such as the “Cham” dance.
In addition to being a place of worship and study, Rui Ying Si is a repository of precious Buddhist treasures including a cache of 10,000 stone-carved Buddha statues. It also serves as a place for the Mongolian community to come together for their annual festivals.
During and after the Cultural Revolution, many historical Buddhist artifacts were looted or destroyed. Whatever remained were saved and kept in the monastery. The monastery was recently repaired and parts of it rebuilt with the help of the Central government as well as local Mongolians, an arduous task which took 6 years to accomplish. Today the monastery has regained much of its former glory and stands as a grand monument that serves the sangha and Buddhist community.
A beautiful hand-carved and painted Dorje Shugden statue in Rui Ying Si
A recent addition to the monastery’s host of Buddha images and holy objects of veneration is this 5-foot Dorje Shugden statue. To date, there are 160 monks currently enrolled in the monastery and the Dorje Shugden lineage in Mongolia is kept well and vibrant by these holders of Je Tsongkhapa’s lineage. Although the Protector’s practice is very much alive and prevalent within the community, they maintain their practice in quiet humility according to the Ganden way.
We are happy to share this encouraging news with our readers, knowing that our Protector’s practice is alive and well, and this is a reason for all to rejoice in the continuing growth of Dorje Shugden’s teachings in the world, especially China. We pray that the lineage will continue to grow and increase so that both the tradition of Lama Tsongkhapa and Dorje Shugden will reach out to the world and increase peace and happiness in the lives of all sentient beings.
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Dharmacrazy79
December 28, 2013
Wow, this is amazing.
China was truly a glorious nation, which revered the practice of Buddhism as clearly indicated in the article. The Cultural Revolution certainly removed all this richness from the people. It is wonderful to witness some of this glory return to China through Rui Ying Si. As the respect and embrace for Buddhism return to China, I also rejoice that Lord Dorje Shugden will be present as the Protector.
Dorje Shugden is recognized to be THE Protector of our time. In China, this statement is even more accurate as China is in the peak of its secular glory and the driven nation who is completely dedicated to worldly success and wealth is unlikely to take a step back on this race. Therefore a swift Protector with affinity to China (Wu Tai San, one of China’s most recognized pilgrim sites, worships the growth form of Dorje Shugden – Gyenze) would be most appropriate.
I pray that more statues like this 5 feet Dorje Shugden will find a place in more and more temples and spaces in China.
Icy
December 28, 2013
There is no doubt Lama Tsongkhapa and Dorje Shugden practice will spread and grow swiftly. The Mongolian-Tibetan Lamasery, Rui Ying Si is not only a place of learning and worship but also classified as a class 2A tourist site. Apart from being protected by the Chinese, throngs of tourists will visit and worship there. Obviously, many will create affinity with Dorje Shugden. Dorje Shugden will be exposed to many thus creating awareness for many to easily accept and take on the practice.
Rui Ying Si is not the only such Tibetan Lamasery in China, there are many others having such similar lineage and classification. They become an unimaginable magnitude source of magnetic field to worshippers of Shugden.
Need we say much of Dorje Shugden in China? No, it is a matter of time not too distant, Shugden will be a national hero, a national spiritual protector and a world peace protector.
Agnes Kohl
December 28, 2013
I rejoice whenever I have the merits to read such meritorious news. It is no doubt that Dorje Shugden practice is destined to spread in China far and beyond. I could not agree more with what was said above by Dharmacrazy79 that he is the Protector of THE time and the time now is in China. Being a fast growing and densely populated nation this practice will definitely spread to many and also with the government’s support it will be liberating!
sam kee
January 10, 2014
It is great news that Dorje Shugden has ‘arrived’ in Liaoning, maybe there are already other monasteries and practitioners but were not featured before this. The presence of Dorje Shugden will benefit the more than 50 million people there, spiritually and financially, for Liaoning is one of the top 10 cities in China for trades. Liaoning has rich mineral resources, fruit orchards, natural crude oil, to name a few. Dorje Shugden practice would also benefit the people of North Korea being its close neighbor.