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In-Depth Information
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Yonghegong-Lama Temple
History
The temple was once the official residence of Count Yin Zhen, who became emperor in
1723 and traded up to the Forbidden City. His name changed to Yongzheng, and his
former residence became Yōnghé Palace (Yōnghé Gōng). In 1744 it was converted into a
lamasery (a monastery of lamas) and became home to legions of monks from Mongolia
and Tibet.
In 1792 the Emperor Qianlong, having quelled an uprising in Tibet, instituted a new ad-
ministrative system involving two golden vases. One was kept at the renowned Jokhang
Temple in Lhasa, to be employed for determining the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, and
the other was kept at the Lama Temple for choosing the Panchen Lama. The Lama Temple
thus assumed a new importance in ethnic minority control.
Premier Zhou Enlai stepped in when the Red Guards focused their iconoclastic atten-
tions on the temple. Today the temple is an active place of worship, attracting pilgrims
from across the land and thronging with worshippers, some of whom prostrate themselves
at full length within its halls.
Yōnghé Gate
The first hall, Yōnghé Gate ( Yōnghé Mén), houses a statue of Maitreya, the future
Buddha, flanked by celestial guardians. Above it is a board inscribed with the characters
'If the heart is bright, the wonderful will appear'.
In the courtyard beyond is a pond with a bronze mandala depicting Xumishan, the
Buddhist paradise. In the hall on the right after Yōnghé Gate, the
Esoteric Hall
(Mìzōng
Diàn) contains the fierce, multi-armed deity Deweidejingang. Opposite is the
Exoteric
Hall
(Jiǎngjīng Diàn), where sutras were studied and recited.
