Sera Monastery
Sera Monastery () is one of the 'great three'
Gelukpa university
monasteries of
Tibet. The other two are
Ganden Monastery and
Drepung Monastery |
Representation of the "Wheel of Life" (bhavacakra) in the monastery. |
The original
Sera monastery is in
Lhasa,
Tibet.
It was founded in
1414, 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
*Sera Jey Dratsang, built in 1435
*Ngagpa Dratsang, built in 1559.
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. Sera Monastery is still standing in Tibet, and once again houses some Tibetan Buddhist monks.
Graduates of Sera Jey College who are known in the west include:
*Lama
Thubten Yeshe*Lama
Thubten Zopa RinpocheGraduates of Sera Mey college who are known in the west include:
*
Pabongka Rinpocheâ€"Author of
Liberation in the Palm of Your Hands*
Kyabje Trijang Rinpocheâ€"one of the current
Dalai Lama's teachers
*
Sermey Khensur Rinpoche Geshe Lobsang Tharchinâ€"former abbot of Sera Mey university in Bylakuppe
*Geshe
Michael Roachâ€"founder of
Asian Classics Instutite,
Asian Classics Input Project and
Diamond Mountain University and retreat center.
#
The Sera Monastery Project --An excellent multimedia cultural history of Sera Monastery at the Tibetan and Himalayan Digital Library#
Sera Monastery: Tibet Lhasa Travel Guideâ€"provides some history of Sera Monastery in Tibet, as well as information for tourists in Tibet who are interested in visiting the old monastery.#
Sera Mey Monastery (Asian Classics Institute)â€"Information about the new monastery in Bylakuppe, #
Wildlife, Tamed Mindâ€"interview with David Patt, Glow Magazine, Spring, 1996. Contains some discussion of the rebuilding of Sera, and of the fate of Ngagpa Dratsang.#
Personal journal, Jonnalagadda Chandra Kiranâ€"photos taken by a tourist of the monastery and village in Bylakuppe#
Some Controversy with a Sera Graduate
