Dongke Temple

　　Dongke Temple, also known as "Dongke'er Temple" or "Dongkuo Temple," are all transliterations from the Tibetan language. Its original full name was "Dongke Ju Shan 0 Continent," and it is located in Riyue Township, Huangyuan County, Qinghai Province. The temple belongs to the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. Its current name is "Dongke Buddhist Preaching and Meditation Continent." To the south of the temple, along the river, pine and cypress trees provide dense shade, with tall poplars standing upright, creating beautiful scenery. In the fifth year of the Shunzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1648), it was founded by the Fourth Dongke incarnation, Dorje Gyatso. In the first year of the Yongzheng reign (1723), it was destroyed due to the Lobsang Danjin incident. Its ruins are located about one hundred meters east of the current county town, locally referred to as "Old Temple Terrace." In the first year of the Qianlong reign (1736), it was relocated to its present site by the Fifth Dongke incarnation, Soinam Gyatso. When Dongke Temple was first built, it received strong support from Güshi Khan, who designated vast areas of land around the Riyue Mountain in Huangyuan and the area around the Datong River in Gonghe County, Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, as the temple’s territory. In 1665 (the fourth year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty), the Fourth Dongke incarnation, Dorje Gyatso, was summoned to Beijing and conferred the title of "Manjushri Dharma Master" by the Qing court. He resided in the capital. From then on, successive Dongke incarnations became resident "Hetukhtus" in Beijing.

　　During the Qing Dynasty, the temple complex was grand in scale, featuring a main hall and scripture hall spanning five rooms, two side halls, floors made of cypress wood, ceilings covered with pine planks, and door panels adorned with bronze rings shaped like animal heads inlaid with gold nails. The statues of Sakyamuni Buddha, as well as Manjushri, Samantabhadra Bodhisattvas, and Tsongkhapa, were all gilded copper figures. The pillars of the hall were wrapped with golden dragons painted on a red background, their golden eyes wide and tails raised as if ready to soar through the clouds. Various Buddha statues exhibited lifelike and exquisite craftsmanship. The performance courtyard in front of the hall was as flat as a whetstone. There were hundreds of rooms serving as monk quarters, storehouses, kitchens, and meeting rooms. Among these, the abbot's residence was exquisitely decorated. In 1737 (the second year of the Qianlong reign), after the completion of the temple, a thousand large and small gilded copper statues were purchased from Beijing and enshrined in a specially constructed pavilion. It truly ranked as the foremost Tibetan Buddhist temple in Dangar, and thus Emperor Qianlong bestowed a golden plaque and officially named it "Tebutianxie Dan Shulin." From then on, the reputation of Dongke Temple grew increasingly prominent.

　　The temple originally housed monastic colleges for exoteric Buddhism and Kalachakra teachings, adopting the curriculum of the Sera Je Monastery in Tibet, with over 200 monks. The monks emphasized esoteric practices, particularly renowned for their creation of colorful sand mandalas dedicated to the three major deities: Chakrasamvara, Guhyasamaja, and Yamantaka.

　　Historically, Dongke Temple possessed extensive estates, great wealth, and considerable political influence. The "Dangar County Annals" recorded that its “land was vast and rents abundant, covering all of Dangar. Furthermore, it bordered various villages to the west of Xining County, where it imposed various harsh punishments, wielding power equal to officials and even exceeding them in abuse. At its peak, the monastic population numbered over a hundred.” The temple’s stewards held significant authority. While the temple’s head, the Dongke Hetukhtu, resided in Beijing, “the person in charge of collecting wealth and taxes was the steward alone. Monks who served as stewards for several years could amass family fortunes worth tens of millions, becoming the wealthiest in the region.”

　　Dongke Temple had six branch temples. Within the county, these included the Golden Buddha Temple, Xialala Temple, and Guide Qunaihai Temple. Outside the county, they were the Tianzhu Temple in Tianzhu County, Gansu Province, and the Mati Temple in Sunan. After the religious reforms of 1958, the temple was disbanded, and many precious cultural relics, archives, and scriptures were lost. Aside from a single 48-room abbot’s residence, the main structures were demolished. On March 30, 1983, it was reopened. In 1986, a five-room glazed-tile scripture hall was restored, along with the 48-room abbot’s residence and six courtyards of monk quarters totaling 24 rooms. The scripture hall faces east and is situated westward, with statues inside arranged from left to right, including those of the Buddha of Infinite Life, Bhaisajyaguru (Medicine Buddha), Sakyamuni, and Kashyapa, all made of clay. On either side are clay statues of the Eight Great Guardians, and at the entrance are statues of two guardian deities, Danzheng and Shanduo. There are also individual statues of the Precious Buddha and the Thirteenth Dongke incarnation, all masterfully crafted, lifelike, and diverse in posture. The temple currently has 17 monks (including four novices), with administrative and religious affairs managed by a committee of three.