Ganden Döndrubling (Tibetan: དགའ་ལྡན་དོན་འགྲུབ་གླིང།, Wylie: dga' ldan don 'grub gling) or Dongzhulin Monastery (Chinese: 噶丹东竹林寺) is a Buddhist monastery in Yunnan, China around 1574. At the time of founding, the monastery followed Kagyu tradition. Around 1670s, the monastery was converted to Gelug tradition.[1][2]

Ganden Döndrubling
Tibetan transcription(s)
Tibetan: དགའ་ལྡན་དོན་འགྲུབ་གླིང།
Official transcription (China): 噶丹东竹林寺
Religion
AffiliationTibetan Buddhism
SectGelug
Location
LocationYunnan, China
CountryChina
Dongzhulin Monastery is located in China
Dongzhulin Monastery
Location within China
Geographic coordinates28°15′54″N 99°13′55″E / 28.26511°N 99.23198°E / 28.26511; 99.23198
Architecture
FounderSonam Rapten
Date established1574

History

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During the rule of the 5th Dalai Lama around 1670s, Khoshut Mongols invaded the area on behalf of 5th Dalai Lama and converted the monastery to Gelug tradition.[3]

In early-1850s, French Catholic priest Charles Renou who eventually became part of the Catholic mission to Tibet disguised as Chinese trader stayed at this monastery for 10 months to learn the Tibetan language.[4][5]

The monastery was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, and restored in 1985.[6]

 
Dongzhulin Monastery from a distance

References

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  1. ^ "sbom rag dga' ldan don grub gling - Buddhist Digital Archives". BUDA. Buddhist Digital Resource Center. Retrieved 12 March 2024. Found as a bka' brgyud pa institution under the patronage of the 'jang ruler bsod nams rab brtan about 1574 with the name chos sde khrung khrung mtsho sgang. 1677. converted to a dge lugs pa institution and given the name dga' ldan don grub gling. was the largest dge lugs pa monastery in bde chen rdzong which at his heyday had about 700 monks. After 1959 the monastery was restored and the number of monks is not more than 300 with 4 sprul sku.
  2. ^ "Bomrak Ganden Dondrub Ling". The Treasury of Lives. Retrieved 12 March 2024. Bomrak is a Geluk monastery in Jang. It was founded around 1575 as a Kagyu monastery, and converted in 1677 to the Geluk tradition.
  3. ^ Gros, Stéphane (2019). "Chronology of Major Events: With Particular Attention to the Sino-Tibetan Borderlands". Frontier Tibet: Patterns of Change in the Sino-Tibetan Borderlands. Amsterdam University Press. p. 21. JSTOR j.ctvt1sgw7.4. Retrieved 13 March 2024. 1667 The Qoshot Mongol forces make their way into Gyelthang, conquering the area on behalf of the Fifth Dalai Lama. Döndrupling monastery is built there and adherents of the Karmapa and Nyingmapa schools are forced to convert to the Gelukpa school. 1674 ... results in the handing over of Gyelthang to the Dalai Lama.
  4. ^ Bray, John (2019). "Trade, Territory, and Missionary Connections in the Sino-Tibetan Borderlands". Frontier Tibet: Patterns of Change in the Sino-Tibetan Borderlands. Amsterdam University Press. p. 159. JSTOR j.ctvt1sgw7.10. Retrieved 13 March 2024. On September 1852, Renou set out again, accompanied by a small group of Chinese Christians. A few weeks later, he arrived at the monastery of Döndrupling, where he displayed the goods that he had to sell, mainly cloth. ... Renou at first explained that the telescope was not for sale, but then agreed to offer it in exchange for Tibetan lessons. He subsequently spent ten months studying at the monastery.
  5. ^ Tamotsu Nakamura (2005). "Alps of Tibet and Retracing Missionaries' Trails". Himalayan Journal. Vol. 61. Retrieved 12 March 2024. In 1852, an intrepid young missionary named Father Pere Renou, who was first in charge of the Mission, arrived in Yunnan and headed for its northwest corner via Zhongdian, Dongzhulin monastery and Deqen. Being disguised as a Chinese merchant, the young priest stayed in the monastery several months to learn the local Tibetan dialect.
  6. ^ "Dongzhulin Monastery in Deqin County, Diqing". Yunnan Exploration. Retrieved 12 March 2024. Dongzhulin is not as famous as Songzanlin, but more popular with the local Tibetans. During the Cultural Revolution it was destroyed and the restoration was worked out in 1985. It has several "living" Buddhas and each year the Mask Dancing Ceremony attracts thousands of followers.