Choten Shar Monastery, also known as “Duohe monastery”, its full name in Tibetan is ” Choten Shar Gadan Drashi Rabgyaling,” It belongs to the Gelug Pa of Tibetan Buddhism.
Brief
Located in Duohe Village, about 10 kilometers south of Hezuo City, the monastery was named after the Duohe tribe as it was built within their territory. Established in 1502 AD, the monastery was founded by a great master who came from Tibet to propagate Buddhism in this area.
The monastery is situated at the foot of a mountain, with lush forests to the front and dense woods to the rear. A clear stream, the Daohe River, flows gently at the foot of the mountain, surrounded by bushes, fragrant flowers, and the G306 Provincial Road passing in front of the monastery.
With the development of tourism, the monks of the monastery have also set up a tourist spot on the grassland in front of the monastery, offering delicious Tibetan cuisine. This allows visitors to not only admire the monastery and worship the Buddha, but also to taste a variety of Tibetan dishes such as fresh butter tea, yogurt, Tibetan dumplings, and milk tea, all personally prepared by the monks.
Brief History
In the year 1670 AD, the 5th Panchen Lama issued a protective document, stipulating that no one should harass this temple. The descendants of the local officials of “Ran-Jian·Badan Jiang,” designated the land and people of 6 villages in the Duohe area as supporters of Duohe monastery which was under the protection of Gomang Dratsang (a college of Drepung monastery, Gomang meaning “many doors” in Tibetan). Every Tibetan New Year, representatives from Duohe monastery would go to offer tribute to Gomang Dratsang .
When the 2nd Jamyang Living Buddha went to Tibet, he accepted to manage the land and people of Duohe according to the wishes of Guomang Dratsang, and made offerings to the Guomang Dratsang. From then on, Duohe monastery and the tribe came under the management of Labrang Monastery, establishing a series of practice rituals and monastic discipline.
In 1758 AD, the 2nd Jampelyang took over the Choten Shar Monastery, and since then, it has become a Kalachakra College under the jurisdiction of Labrang Monastery in Xiahe County. Currently, there is one living Buddha and over 80 monks.
After the turmoil of 1879 AD (the 18th year of the Tongzhi reign in the Qing Dynasty), the other 6 villages of Duohe region also became supporters of the Choten Shar Monastery.
When “Zhi Guan Ba·Losang Sherab” and “Wenbu Losang Tutanbu” were in charge of this monastery, they respectively requested the 3rd Jamyang Renpoche to send teachers to instruct the recitation and rhythm of the “Puming Sutra”, and to rectify the discipline, establish rules, and set up a system for the appointment and dismissal of the abbot
The temple suffered destruction twice due to wars in 1924 and 1927. The entire temple was once on the brink of destruction, and nearby villages also suffered greatly.
Between 1940 and 1958, the number of monks increased to nearly a hundred, and the reconstruction of the Buddha hall, scripture hall, and the creation of Buddha statues and stupas took place.
In 1981, the Great Scripture Hall, which was destroyed during the “Cultural Revolution,” was rebuilt with a main building area of 753 square meters and opened to the public.
Features
The most distinctive feature of this monastery is that it is built entirely in the flat-top white wall style of the temples in Lhasa, which is unique in the Amdo.
The monastery has a Dingkeer Dratsang (Kalacakra College), and high-rank lama appointed by Labrang Monastery, including the abbot, recitation master, and two jiwai. The temple houses the sleeping quarters (nangqian) of four living Buddhas, including: Zhi Guanba Cang, Canba Wa, Dewa Cang, and Zhuangwa Cang, as well as a Jiwai Nangqian.
As a Kalacakra College, the Choten Shar Monastery belongs to the Esoteric Astronomy College, and most of the Buddha statues in the temple are esoteric deities and protectors. The temple holds Kalacakra dances and offering dances, and has established rules for practicing colored powder painting, medicine, astronomy, and other subjects. The monks mainly study the generation and completion stages of Kalacakra and the Nine Fierce Vajras, as well as Kalacakra astronomy and Tibetan calendar, and learn the techniques and steps of declamation, language, poetry, calligraphy, painting, and phonology. The main task of the temple is to calculate the Tibetan calendar for the coming year and several years ahead, and to practice drawing colored sand mandala.
The temple is most famous for the great historian “Chi-gan-ba·Gong-qu-ho Tenba Rabgyi” (1801-1866). His work “History of Politics and Religion in Amdo” is an authoritative text for modern researchers studying the Amdo.
Architecture
The main entrance of the Choten Shar Monastery’s main hall is decorated with seven lion heads and two elephant heads, indicating that it is an esoteric college.
On the two walls next to the entrance of the main hall, there are four thangkas depicting the four heavenly kings of Buddhism.
The mural on the right wall describes the cycle of life and death in the three realms (desire realm, form realm, and formless realm) and the six realms (humans, gods, asuras, hungry ghosts, hell beings, and animals), showing the causal relationship of all the factors that lead to the evolution of life.
The mural on the left wall tells an ancient Tibetan myth called the Battle of Shambhala. It is said that Kalacakra transformed into a king and led his people to resist and repel foreign invasions, finally defeating the enemy and defending his own homeland.
The main statue in the center of the main hall is the “Three Masters and Disciples”, with Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelugpa sect, in the middle. The statues on the right and left sides are Jia Caojie and Ke Zhuojie, both of whom were Tsongkhapa’s top disciples. Ke Zhuojie was later recognized as the first Dalai Lama.
The walls on both sides of the main hall are decorated with exquisite esoteric thangkas. Esoteric Buddha statues are more complex than those of the Exoteric sect, with deep symbolic meanings in their colors, decorations, expressions, multiple arms and heads, mudras, and ritual objects.
For example, a blue body represents anger, while red represents power. The three eyes on the head represent the ability to see the past, present, and future. These Buddha statues are responsible for protecting Buddhism, exorcising demons, and assisting the guru.
The top of the main hall is decorated with 31 embroidered thangkas, which are known as the three treasures of Tibetan art along with murals and butter sculptures. The first 16 thangkas are the Sixteen Offering Goddesses, followed by the Eight Auspicious Symbols of Tibetan culture, and the last seven are the Seven True Images.
These thangkas and murals are painted with mineral pigments mixed with materials such as ox bile and bone glue, making them colorful, three-dimensional, and long-lasting.
In the center of the main hall is the future Buddha Maitreya, also known as Qiangba Buddha. The bronze Buddha statues on either side of Maitreya’s niche are all Shakyamuni Buddha, numbering more than a thousand.
Collection of Cultural Relics
The monastery houses precious cultural relics, including a statue of Shakyamuni Buddha, three statues of Tsongkhapa and his disciples, statues of the first to fifth Jamuyang Renpoche, and a bronze statue of Vajradhara. There are also thousands of statues of Shakyamuni Buddha, the Sixteen Arhats, and various thangkas.
There is a two-story-high sandalwood statue of the immovable Buddha as the main deity. In the Maitreya Hall, there is a large statue of Maitreya Buddha, as well as other statues and thangkas. The Mahakala Hall houses a thousand statues of the goddess Tara, with Mahakala as the main deity.
Legend
According to legend, a monk named Damba Jiacuo once went on a pilgrimage to Wutai Mountain, where someone sold him a Vajra with five prongs. Before he could pay, the person disappeared. It is said that this Vajra is now held by the immovable Buddha in the temple.
Scriptures
The Buddhist scriptures in the temple mainly consist of the complete collection of the “Kangyur” and “Tengyur,” the collected works of Tsongkhapa and his disciples, and the classic texts of the Esoteric Buddhism and Exoteric Buddhism
Leave a Reply