A Sacred Site in a Secluded Land

When mentioning of China, most people on the planet probably would immediately have a mental picture of an overcrowded land, with a few pockets of original state of nature surrounded by carefully cultivated farmlands and, more recently, rapidly expanding urban landscapes.

But this is only half of the story; and the reason for people to think that way probably because that they have just been standing in the front parlour of the country, yet to venture deep into its secluded backyard which is vast and wild, with many areas still untamed by human hands.

In this immense terrain, there erects a gigantic pillar that holds up an invisible roof of the world - yes, that's the Qinghai-Tibetan High Plateau. At the east edge of this lofty realm bordering central China’s Loess Plateau, there is a region where the Yellow River rushes towards the distant East Sea two thousand metres below the riverbed, and the mountain peaks rise two thousand metres above the shore.

It is in this formidable setting, a humble monastery has kept its demurred presence for more than a thousand years, quietly guarding a red hill bearing seven holy marks, that stand as the testimony to a legendary event in which Padmasambhava, who in the 8th century introduced Lamaism to the Tibetan people, is said to have discovered seven hidden Termas in the hill.

Since its first establishment, Dongmana Monastery (东玛纳寺) has been ruined and rebuilt for many times. The current compound was mainly constructed in early 1980s under the administration of Jiayangjiancuo Lama, and the new halls were officially opened in 1983 by His Holiness the Panchen X.

Dongmana belongs to the Gelug Lineage of Mahayana school, also known as the Yellow Hats sect, and is a branch monastery of Labulengsi (拉卜楞寺), a principal monastic institution in Tibetan Lamaism.