Brief / profile

Covering an area of 114,946 square meters, the Sera Monastery one of three outstanding monasteries in Lhasa, Tibet (the other two are Drepung Monastery and Ganden Monastery.).

Location

It lies on the southern slope of Serawoze Mountain about 5 km north of Jokang in Lhasa.

Why got its this name
The monastery was named after the wild roses called sera in Tibetan in bloom when it was constructed

Construction
There’re mainly 3 buildings in the monastery namely Coqen Hall, Zhacang and Kamcun. These halls own a lot of scriptures, delicate statues as well as mural.
Located in the northeast of the monastery, the Coqen Hall is 4-story architecture where various rituals are held. With an area of 2,000 square meters, the hall is supported by 125 pillars with various heights. There’re 5 chapels in the hall in honor of Maitreya, Sakyamuni, Arhats, Tsong Khapa, and Kwan-yin.
Zhacang with the meaning of Buddhist College in Tibetan is the spot for monks to study the Buddhist Classics. In the monastery, there’re altogether 3 Zhacangs namely Me Zhazang, Je Zhazaong and Ngaba Zhacang. Among them, the Me Zhazang is the oldest one which was constructed in 1419. The Je Zhazang displays the famous Hayagriva. The last Zhazang is the smallest and newest one, and Jamchen Chojey one of its founders is worshipped.
In addition, Kamacuns are dormitories for monks. There’re about 33 Kamcuns consisting of halls for reading the doctrine, houses as well as tea houses.
Moreover, the Sera Benggin Festival will be held in the Sera Monatery on the 27th December according to the Tibetan calendar.

History
The monastery was originally constructed by Jamchen Chojey-a disciple of Tsongkhapa in 1419 during the Ming Dynasty. In 1959, there were over 5,000 monks in the Sera Monastery. During the long history, some of the buildings were severely damaged, but most of them have been restored. At present, there’re only several hundred Buddhist monks in the monastery.

Transportation.
Tourists can take a taxi to the scenic spot or take a minibus in the downtown area.

Admission fee.
The admission fee for this monastery is RMB 30.

Note
It’s open to the public from 9:00 to 16:00 and the suggested time for this visit is 2 hours. Therefore, you should arrange your visiting time according to these.