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Why Sera Monastery is special
The Sera Monastery is one of China's elite
Buddhist monastic educational institutions. It dates back
to the early 15th century.
 Major
tourism highlights include watching the lively
student monk debates and viewing notable religious
artworks and relics.
Interesting insights
about the Sera Monastery
 The Sera Monastery is a large
complex of buildings. These include large religious halls, three respected Buddhist religious colleges,
and many monk dormitories.
The
major focus of the monastery is education, not
worship (though the latter is still an intense pursuit).
Sera
Monastery draws both aspiring monks and learned
scholars. The age span ranges from 8 to 60 and
above.
Sera Monastery tidbits
Over
10,000 monks (according to one estimate) once
resided in the Sera Monastery. Today's number is
under one thousand.
Students
have come from afar neighboring nations, including Japan.
The
Sera Monastery has an admirable site. It lies on an
alluvial apron of a foothill mountain, endowing it with an inspiring
vista of the Lhasa area and backdrop mountains.
Tips for your
vacation tour or trip
Don't
miss watching the monks debate with each other in
a large courtyard. They emphasize their debate
points with heavy foot stomping and loud claps of
the hands. This highly animated debating method is part
of the time-honored monastic educational system.
Also
enjoy viewing the exceptional murals in the
small chapels - and the important statuary in the
major halls.
Nearest major city
Sera Monastery is situated 3 kilometers (2 miles) north of
Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet (Xizang is its Chinese name). See map below for
the photos and descriptions of Tibet's five other
Hillman travel wonders.
Pronunciation guide
Sera: suhr-rah
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