Sera Monastery

Around 5km north of central Lhasa, Sera along with Drepung is one of Lhasa's two great Gelukpa monasteries. It was founded in 1419 by a disciple of Tsongkhapa on a site where the teacher and his foremost students had established hermitages. In 1959 Sera housed 5000-6000 monks, today there are only a few hundred. Much of the original complex was destroyed, however the chief colleges and Lhakhangs along with their images and relics were preserved – amongst them a vajra believed to have arrived from India in a miraculous flight.

One of the highlights of a visit to Sera is the mid–afternoon "Buddhism Scriptures Debating" which is attended by monks of the philosophical college. Monks can be seen preparing for monastic exam by staging mock debates in the ritual way. Master and dignitaries sit on the raised tiers when a real exam takes place. The noise and fervor is exciting even if you can’t understand a word they are saying. Sera Monastery together with Ganden Monastery and Drepung Monastery in Lhasa are known as the Three Great Monasteries of Tibet.