Temple of the Auspicious Goddess! Kulun Banner! Tongliao, Inner Mongolia

The Kulun Temple of the Auspicious Goddess is located in the eastern part of Kulun Town (now the site of No. 1 Middle School), not far from the Kulun Three Great Temples complex centered around Xingyuan Temple and Xiangjiao Temple. Kulun Banner is the only lama banner in Inner Mongolia where political and religious authority are unified, historically governed by the Xiletu Kulun Lama Banner. The Auspicious Goddess, called "Zhuolige Garidi" in Mongolian, is an important protector deity in Tibetan Buddhism and is especially revered. She is considered a symbol of wealth, luck, and beauty, as well as a powerful guardian deity. The Auspicious Goddess is the main protector deity worshiped in the Kulun Lama Banner and is regarded as the guardian deity of the entire Kulun region, holding an extremely high status. Historically, major decisions by the banner’s Zasag (ruler) required her consultation. The history of the Kulun Temple of the Auspicious Goddess dates back to the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty. According to the "Xiletu Kulun Lama Biography Collection," the temple was supervised and built in the twelfth year of Shunzhi (1655) by the third Zasag Dalai Lama Xibuzagongru of Xiletu Kulun. During his time in Tibet, Xibuzala was trusted by the Fifth Dalai Lama, who gifted him a portrait of the Auspicious Goddess. Xibuzala regarded it as a talisman and in his later years oversaw the construction of this temple, enshrining the image of the Auspicious Goddess and establishing related rituals and ceremonies. The temple includes the main hall and two side halls, all three-bay hard mountain-style buildings. Additionally, there is a Buddhist pagoda in the southwest corner of the temple courtyard called the Nomen Khan Pagoda. Only the main hall and side halls of the temple remain.