Sera Monastery

The Sera Monastery is the representative monastery of the Gelukpa of the Tibetan Buddhism. It lies on the southern slope of the Serawoze Mountain in the northern suburbs of Lhasa. Some people believe it means "hailstone", while others believe it means "raspberry", the full name of the monastery is "Sera Thekchen-ling Monastery". The monastery was built by SagyaYexei, one of the disciples of Tsongkhapa who was the founder of Gelukpa of the Tibet Buddhism in 1419. It is one of the six main monasteries of the Gelukpa of the Tibetan Buddhism. As one of the three main monasteries of Lhasa, it is here that the monks "famous daily debates" take place.

Sera Monastery was founded in 1419, it was residence to more than 5,000 monks and five monastic colleges at its height. Although it is much less active now, there also several hundred monks currently in residence, the afternoon is one of the most interesting times to visit the monastery, at which time monks, after finishing their morning scripture classes debating in the courtyard.

During the 1959 Cultural Revolution in Tibet, Sera Monastery suffered badly damage, with its colleges destroyed and hundreds of monks killed. After the Dalai Lama took asylum in India, many of the monks of the Sera Monastery who survived the attack moved to Bylakuppe in Mysore, India. After initial tribulations, they established a parallel Sera Monastery with Sera Me and Sera Je colleges and a Great Assembly Hall on similar lines to the original monastery, with help from the Government of India. There are now 3,000 or more monks living in Sera, India and this community has also spread its missionary activities to several countries by establishing Dharma centres, propagating knowledge of Buddhism.

The Sera Monastery in Tibet and its counterpart in Mysore, India are the best locations to witness the "Monk Debates" on the teachings of Buddha and the philosophy of Buddhism.

Sera Monastery Tour

Sera Monastery developed over the centuries as a renowned place of scholarly learning, training hundreds of scholars, many of whom have attained fame in the Buddhist nations. So during the Tibet tour, it is the place really worth visiting.