Ancestral Temple

Lineage

The main practice of Mula Monastery is the Nyingma school of the Red Sect taught by Guru Padmasambhava, but it does not exclude all the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha from other sects, regardless of Mahayana, Hinayana and Sutra teachings.

characteristic

Since its establishment, Mula Monastery has retained three main characteristics, and has been widely trusted and respected by monks and laymen on the border of Qinghai and Gansu in Guoluo District.

Feature 1: No denominational distinction
Feature 2: No political stance
Feature 3: No regional favoritism
Historical changes:

The founding record of Mula Monastery is unknown, but it is said that it was a meditation center about 500 years ago called “Mula to the Root”, which translates to “Mula Teacher”. There was once a teacher who specialized in archery, who was very brave and good at fighting, and had many sworn brothers, but he had no family. Once, when a friend’s horse was robbed by thieves, he shot an arrow at them and killed three people from a distance in order to chase them, and succeeded in retrieving the horse. That night I had a dream in which a woman dressed in white said, “Though you have good karma, you have many evil karma, and if you do not repent, you will go to hell.” Although he did not believe in Buddhism, he believed in the local gods and believed that it was God’s will, so he was determined to repent according to his words. So I searched everywhere for the Guru, met Master Dundu Langpa in Derge, Sichuan, and learned from him the way to move forward, followed for a while, developed a strong renunciation, and wanted to find a place that no one could find, and finally went to the Yellow River (now Mula District), where there were many caves, and I dug a hole myself, and I went into retreat and concentrated on my practice, drinking the water of the Yellow River when I was thirsty, and eating the leaves or the bark of the Nantian tree when I was hungry, day after day, year after year. One day, when he went out to fetch water, two or three hunters passed through the cave with the meat of wild animals, recognized his former sworn brothers, and urged him to go home, but he was unmoved, and preached the Dharma to the hunters, hoping to influence them, and finally the hunter decided that if he did not return to his hometown, everyone would stay and follow him, so they became his three disciples, and each dug a cave, and practiced tirelessly, and finally they all achieved success, and they were called “yogis”. It gradually developed into a meditation center.

Over time, the center gradually expanded to more than 30 practitioners, who achieved lifelong retreat in this place, which was then called the Mula Great Meditation Forest. In the collection of songs of Murado Jie Longqiang, it is recorded: “The thirty-two great Zen masters and two monks are all in the blood of Mula.”

At this time, there were many practitioners from other places, and now there was a war in Langtang County, Sichuan, and seven families in Mula fled and searched for relatives everywhere, so they came to the Mula Meditation Forest, and some of their descendants became monks, so that the number of people in the Meditation Forest increased day by day and became the situation of the monastery, which was also called “Mula Sangha” at this time.

However, due to the large number of people in the cave, it could not be accommodated, so it moved to flat land and built houses. At that time, there was a war between the Goluo and the Mongols, and it happened that the Mula Sangha was located in the middle of the two places, and the Sangha had to take refuge from it from time to time, so the people decided to change their tents. At that time, there were about 200 practitioners at the time of the arrival of Kadthapasang Gyal, and all the monks lived in tents.

In 1789 A.D., when the war subsided, Sonam Padian (Ongdrup Rinpoche I) of the Siqing sect came here to preach the Katuo teachings. At that time, there were about 200 or 300 lamas who lived in the puja, and there were even more than 1,000 during the puja. A pagoda and a small hall were built in the Rolling Da district, while the rest of the monks still lived in tents. At that time, there were seven days of meditation for Avalokiteshvara, Padmasambhava, and Vajra Pupa, and the rules of the monastery were based on Xiqing Temple.

According to the biography of the famous Dorkhentse Yeshe Dorje, this place has become a Mula village, where there are Bon possessions and sangha groups, and this period is called “Zen Forest with Tents”.

In 1885, the meditation room of Master Governor Richuba was built on the high mountain by the Yellow River for retreat, and the Mula Zen Forest with tents was also moved here. The people built their own houses, built a Guanyin Hall in the center, and the rules of the temple were re-established. Practice-based, anyone who enters the monastery must keep the eight levels of fasting for the rest of his life, can speak during meals one day, and abstain from speaking and fasting the next day, and so on. Every morning at 4 or 5 o’clock, I began to take the ordination and practice the Dharma; Breakfast is served until 8 a.m., and if fasting days are prayed by the public; From 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., fasting is followed by fasting. 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.; At six o’clock do a scrub or water offering; Practice the Dharma from 7 to 9 p.m. and go to bed. Some old monks and practitioners sleep only three hours a day, and the rest of the time is spent on the Dharma, sitting meditation or practicing the Dharma. Do not eat meat, such as wine, meat, and five spices in a secluded place.

In his later years, there were many khenpos, Rinpoche, living Buddhas, and lamas who were close to him, and the number of disciples and followers also increased, and some of them could not keep the eight precepts for the rest of their lives, so they divided into two types of schools and secluded places in the same place, and at that time there were also practitioners of various sects, named “Oriental Buddhism Flourishing Forest”.

In 1983, the Chinese government approved the rebuilding of the monastery, when the Gongtang Living Buddha and the Panchen Lama moved to the flat land under the will of the Panchen Lama, built a large hall and Guanyin Hall that can accommodate 2 or 300 people, and rebuilt all the pagodas. In addition, there are 16 large prayer wheels and hundreds of small prayer wheels outside the temple, and there are more than 40 houses, and the permanent residents are all monks except for the living Buddha, and the women are not allowed to enter the temple to worship at night except during the day.

Nowadays, the number of lamas in the monastery has gradually increased, and now there are 105 lamas approved by the central government, so a large hall that can accommodate more than 1,500 people has been rebuilt.

Life of a Lama:

Later, after discussion, the monastery opened a small grocery department to increase some income, but some old lamas objected, thinking that it was not in line with the teachings of the patriarch and the teachings of the Buddha, so it was closed; After a while, they bought a Dongfeng car, and some sponsors used it to make money to support the temple, but then they felt that it was not appropriate and resold it.

The way of life in the monastery is mainly based on family support, if there is no family, they are raised by their own teachers, and all the offerings received by monks chanting sutras or doing things for others are evenly distributed by the monastery regardless of status and age, with a maximum of about 100 yuan per person per month, a minimum of about 20 yuan, and a normal amount of about 30 yuan. The staple food is tsamba, ghee, cheese or meat that has died naturally. There is no electricity, running water and modern roads.

Future Plans:

In the future, the monastery will be divided into two parts, one for the resident lamas and the other for the monks of the academy. The monasteries are mainly for Dharma cultivation, and the permanent residents are lamas who concentrate on practice, and lamas who have management, administration, financial and other ministries; The college is divided into 12 years, and the courses include Tibetan, Chinese and Statement, Cause Ming, Gong Qiao Ming, Medical Ming, and Nei Ming. Inner Clarity is divided into Vinaya, Prajna, Madhyamaka, Kusha, Sectarianism, Tantric Lamrim, Great Transfiguration Continuation, and Great Perfection. Because there are many lamas, I hope that every monk will not waste time, have more opportunities to learn, regardless of sect, take the essence of each school, promote the complete Buddhism, and achieve perfection in listening, thinking and cultivating.

Annual Events:

From the 6th to the 13th day of the fourth lunar month every year, the Lotus Master Puja of the Katuo sect of the Red Sect is practiced; On April 15, the Buddha’s birthday began to practice eight days of fasting; June 4-10 Shupupa Vajra Puja; From June 15 to July 30, he settled in the summer and settled in peace, during which in addition to practicing the Dharma in the morning and evening, he also cultivated the suffering of the Qing lineage and self-relieved Guanyin for seven days, and its time was mainly to preach; In autumn and August, the cultivation of many scum inheritances is the ninth day of all the Guanyin; Then repair the hundred statues of civil and military affairs for one or two days; In winter, there is a retreat of Guru Rinpoche’s Dharma practice for eight days and eight nights, day and night. Seven days of Tara and Dharma Protector in the tenth month of the lunar calendar; October 25th Lama Tsongkhapa’s Nirvana Day Practice; December 27 to 29 to practice the Wrathful Lotus Master or the Lion-faced Empty Mother Hui Sha Dharma; On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the Eight Saints are auspicious, Dharma protectors and offerings to the Ten Directions of Saints. All of the above are pujas or events that are held regularly throughout the year.