Sera Monastery

Categories: Tibet | Monasteries

From Buddhist Encyclopedia

• Chinese :  色拉寺
• Tibetan :  སེ་ར་ Se-ra

Monks practicing their debating skills following afternoon meditation, Sera Monastery, Tibet

Sera Monastery(Se ra Theng chen gling) is one of the 'great three' Gelukpa university monasteries of Tibet. The other two are Ganden Monastery and Drepung Monastery. 'Sera' means 'Enclosure of Roses'. The monastery is about 5 km north of the Jokang in Lhasa.

It was founded in 1419, by Jamchen Chojey (Sakya Yeshe), a disciple of Tsong Khapa. Like the Drepung and Ganden monasteries, it had three colleges :

• Sera Mey Dratsang, built in 1419, which gave basic instruction to the monks.
• Sera Jey Dratsang, built in 1435, was the largest, and was reserved for wandering monks, especially Mongol monks.

Monks are nearing the end of their afternoon meditation, Sera Monastery, Tibet

• Ngagpa Dratsang, built in 1559, was a school for the teaching of the Gelukpa tantras.

Representation of the "Wheel of Life" (bhavacakra) in the monastery.

Sera housed more than 5,000 monks in 1959. Although badly damaged, it is still standing and has been largely repaired. It now houses a few hundred Buddhist monks.

Prayers books in Sera's library

After the Chinese invasion of Tibet and the destruction of the majority of the monasteries in Tibet, Sera monastery was reformed in Bylakuppe, India, near Mysore.

Because none of the monks of the Ngagpa Dratsang (Tantric College) survived the invasion only the Sera Mey College and Sera Jey College were reformed in India

Graduates of Sera Jey College who are known in the west include:

• Lama Thubten Yeshe
• Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
• Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche

Graduates of Sera Mey college who are known in the west include:

• Pabongka Rinpoche—Author of Liberation in the Palm of Your Hands
• Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche—one of the current Dalai Lama's teachers
• Sermey Khensur Rinpoche Geshe Lobsang Tharchin—former abbot of Sera Mey university in Bylakuppe
• Geshe Michael Roach—founder of Asian Classics Instutite, Asian Classics Input Project and Diamond Mountain University and retreat center.

References

• Dowman, Keith. 1988. The Power-places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London and New York. ISBN 0-7102-1370-0

1. [1] An excellent multimedia cultural history of Sera Monastery at the Tibetan and Himalayan Digital Library
2. Sera Monastery: Tibet Lhasa Travel Guide—provides some history of Sera Monastery in Tibet, as well as information for tourists in Tibet who are interested in visiting the old monastery.
3. Sera Mey Monastery (Asian Classics Institute)—Information about the new monastery in Bylakuppe,
4. Wildlife, Tamed Mind—interview with David Patt, Glow Magazine, Spring, 1996. Contains some discussion of the rebuilding of Sera, and of the fate of Ngagpa Dratsang.
5. Personal journal, Jonnalagadda Chandra Kiran—photos taken by a tourist of the monastery and village in Bylakuppe.

Young monks printing scriptures, Sera Monastery, Tibet

Cooking at Sera Monastery

|Sera Monastery's kitchen