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.

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.

Sunning of the huge Lama Tsongkhapa thangka in Rui Ying Si

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.