Besides, the vast no of texts on buddhist philosophical works, other collections include books on linguistics, history, medicine, and other reference works. Hosting institution university of california, santa barbara ucsb. He has published a dozen books and numerous articles on buddhism and on topics related to the academic study of religion. Sera monastery lhasa, china attractions lonely planet. Sera monastery has long been the buddhism preach place with a large number of monks and small temples around it. Built in 1419 by one of the tsongkhapas eight disciples and completed in 1434, it is a complex of structures with the great assembly hall, the dwellings in the eastern side and three colleges in the western side. This item is in the public domain, and can be used, copied, and modified without any restrictions. There will be live webcasts of his holiness the dalai lamas teachings from sera monastery in bylakuppe, karnataka, india on december 2021, 2017. Sera monastery, lhasa, tibet attraction facts, history, arts.
Despite the fact that it is only a shadow of its former self, it is still functions as a monastery, is impressive architecturally and houses an. The definitive history of sera monastery, one of the great monastic univers. Nov 05, 2019 the definitive history of sera monastery, one of the great monastic universities of tibet, from its founding to the present. In 1982, the sera monastery was announced by the state council of the peoples republic of china as. The sera monastery temple is located on the southern foothills of the uzi mountains in the northern suburbs of lhasa, tibet. Sera monastery was built in the year 1419 by the great scholar jamchen choeje shakya yeshi with a request from his great master je tsongkhapa. The monastery consists of very high buildings, with three gilded temples. Sera monastery was one of lhasas two great gelugpa monasteries, second only to drepung. I have read quite a few over the past decade, drawn in by a memorable lucia di lammermoor at the eno in 2010in order, the bride of lammermoor, waverley, ivanhoe, guy mannering, and redgauntlet. The sera monastery, as a complex of structures with the great assembly hall and three colleges, was founded in 1419 by jamchen chojey of sakya yeshe of zel gungtang 551435, a disciple of je tsongkhapa.
The 1899 edition of the buddhism of tibet or lamaism by l. Sera monastery by jose cabezon, penpa dorjee books on. Throughout its history the monastery has been renowned for producing a. There are many buddha statues and beautiful murals in the halls. As a method of printing on cloth, the earliest surviving examples from china date to before 220 ad. Sera monastery, jose ignacio cabezon, penpa dorjee. Featured texts all books all texts latest this just in smithsonian libraries fedlink us genealogy lincoln collection. Nevertheless, the monastery is worth a visit, particularly in the morning, when the chapels. Sera monastery ebook by jose cabezon, penpa dorjee. Sera was founded in 1419 by sakya yeshe, a disciple of tsongkhapa, also known by the honorific title jamchen choje. The library serves as a textual repository for a vast collection of buddhist texts and scriptures relating to monastery s study curriculum and other buddhist philosophical works.
Throughout its history the monastery has been renowned for producing a large number of great scholars turned highly accomplished spiritual masters and saints. About thl about us sera monastery resources sera monastery about us. The early history of buddhist monasticism in tibet. The definitive history of sera monastery, one of the great monastic universities of tibet, from its founding to the present. Uploaded by cristian violatti, published on 07 september 20 under the following license. During the 1959 revolt in lhasa, sera monastery suffered severe damage, with its colleges destroyed and hundreds of monks killed.
Its oncehuge population of around 5000 monks has now been reduced by 90% and building repairs are still continuing. Woodblock printing existed in tang china during the 7th century ad and remained. The history of sera jey monastery dates back to early 15th century ad. The definitive history of sera monastery, one of the great monastic universities of. Built in the 7th century by king songtsen gampo, this is one of the most ancient buddhist sites in the lhasa region. Woodblock printing or block printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout east asia and originating in china in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later paper. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms. His most recent books include sexuality in classical south asian buddhism 2017, and sera monastery 2019. Scrupulously researched over decades, sera monastery is the most comprehensive history of a tibetan monastery ever written in a western language. Sera monastery has been listed as one of chinas national cultural relics since 1982.
Tibetan mandala, sera monastery ancient history encyclopedia. Religion books buddhism history northshire bookstore. Sera jey library is the institutional library of sera jey monastery. On one august afternoon, i went sera monastery to explore the mystery of the debate. Before sera was built, master tsongkhapa sermoned in a small monastery on the east of the location of nowadays sera. During this period, the preparatory committee for a tibet autonomous region was inaugurated in.
The dalai lama prays to the buddha to confer strength and then he blesses the pestle. The name of the rose by umberto eco, the beautiful mystery by louise penny, dissolution by c. The monastery is located in the north of the lhasa city. With over 9,000 monks in residence in 1959, it was the second largest monastery in the world. As one of the representatives of great three gelug university monasteries of tibet, sera is a great seat of learning in the mahayana buddhist tradition. Sera monastery book by jose cabezon, penpa dorjee official. Sand mandala is a tibetan buddhist tradition involving the creation and destruction of mandalas made from colored sand. The original 200 monks who settled in south india were each given threequarters of an acre of land which was intended.
Today, both in india and in tibet, the monks who enter the monastery are presumed to be textualists serious, fulltime students. Between 3 and 5 pm monfri, young monks can be found scattered in groups of two to four all throughout the courtyard practicing their. Collaborating institutions sera monastery, bylakuppe sera monastery, lhasa tibet academy of social sciences tass university of. To make it easier for the layreader to understand the. This general view of sera monastery from the south is from a collection of 50 photographs of central tibet acquired in 1904 from the imperial russian geographical society in saint petersburg by the american geographical society. Jan 03, 2017 as one of the three great monasteries in lhasa, sera monastery attracts numerous visitors for the famous monks debate. Woodblock printing existed in tang china during the 7th century ad and remained the most common east asian method of printing books and other texts, as well as images, until the 19th century. Ukiyoe is the bestknown type of japanese woodblock art print. The sera bengqin festival is a grand festival held in the sera monastery on december 27 of the tibetan calendar about february in the gregorian calendar. Founded in 1419, sera monastery was one of the three densas, the great seats of learning of the geluk school of tibetan buddhism. In order to give you more details, here i share my journey story with you. Drepung, gaden and sera for learning, contemplating and practicing tibetan buddhist thoughts and science notably known as the second nalanda university in tibet. Sera monastery is one of the three largest tibetan buddhist monasteries of the gelug order in the world. Sera jey is the older and was established in the 15th century by lama kunkyen lodroe rinchen senge.
More than 20 thousand books relating to philosophy, linguistics, buddhism, history and politics are collected and can be borrowed by lamas. Despite the fact that it is only a shadow of its former self, it is still functions as a monastery, is impressive architecturally and houses an unusual, beautiful collection of sacred art. Included in the collection are scriptural texts and books of individual monks who were able to. If you cannot read tibetan, then visit the sand mandala room which is located next to the library to feel the tibetan buddhist philosophy. Sera monastery was founded in 1419, by jamchen chojey 551435, a disciple of je tsongkhapa. Jose ignacio cabezon is distinguished professor of. The original sera monastery is responsible for 19 hermitages, including four nunneries, which are all located north of lhasa in the foothills. The monastery 1820 is not one of scotts better known novels, but i found it one of his most engaging to date.
Dont linger too long at the bookstore and miss the main attraction at sera monastery. The definitive history of sera monastery, one of the great monastic. The printing room in the sera monastery also produced bound books of tibetan scripture, history, science and other books. The history of the monastery is strongly connected to master lama tsongkhapa 571419, the founder of the. Sera monastery is one of the three largest tibetan buddhist monasteries of the gelug. Nevertheless, the monastery is worth a visit, particularly in the morning, when the chapels are at their most active, but also between 3pm and 5pm not sunday, when debating is usually. The monastery is set in scotts beloved border country, in around 1550. Unlike the sera monastery of old, an institution hidden from the world by the snowy peaks of tibet and her policy of isolationism, the sera je of today has had to learn to cope with the modern world. It is one of the six major buddhist temples of the gelug sect of tibetan buddhism. Sera monastery, built in 1419, is located on the northern suburb of lhasa. Between 3 and 5 pm monfri, young monks can be found scattered in groups of two to four all throughout the courtyard practicing their philosophy through debating one another. Sera monastery kindle edition by cabezon, jose, dorjee.
Sera monastery ebook by jose cabezon, penpa dorjee official. Sera monastery in lhasa, though damaged and diminished, survived the cultural revolution and continues, slowly, to be restored. The third volume in melvyn goldsteins history of modern tibet series, the calm before the storm, examines the critical years of 1955 through 1957. It is not possible to fully understand contemporary politics between china and the dalai lama without understanding what happened in the 1950s. Sera monastery travel lhasa, tibet, china lonely planet. Search the history of over 431 billion web pages on the internet. Sera monastery and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. Sera is a moving collection of blackandwhite photographs by sheila rock showing the monks of sera jey monastery near mysore, india she has made an eloquent statement with her photographs of the monks at work, worship, and play the simplicity ofsera is intimate and very appealing. The monastery of the title is the fictional benedictine kennaquhairbased, it seems on the real, cistercian abbey of i have read quite a few over the past decade, drawn in by a memorable lucia di lammermoor at the eno in 2010in order, the bride of lammermoor, waverley, ivanhoe, guy mannering, and redgauntlet. The library serves as a textual repository for a vast collection of buddhist texts and scriptures relating to monasterys study curriculum and other buddhist philosophical works. Sera monastery and drepung monastery are the two biggest geluk monasteries in lhasa. Sera monastery was founded in 1419 by tsongkhapas disciple jamchen choje sakya yeshe, it was built at the base of mount phurbochok on which his teacher tsongkhapa571419 had established a hermitage called sera utse on the ridge above in 1409, sera monastery is one of the three greatest gelugpa monastic colleges throughout tibet, and the other two are drepung monastery and ganden. The tumultuous seventeenth century and the building of new temples. Physically about the same size of the original sera monastery in tibet, in 2002, the monastery in bylakuppe had a monastic population of about four thousand.
Within sera monastery there are two colleges, sera jey and sera mey. Featured texts all books all texts latest this just in. Welcome to the official website of drepung gomang monastery. Aug 01, 2018 sera monastery is one of the big monasteries in lhasa, and is the last buddhist monastery to be built. His purpose in founding sera jey was to preserve the buddhist tradition in general, and in particular, the great lama tsong khapas teachings and instructions in the tradition. As one of the three great monasteries in lhasa, sera monastery attracts numerous visitors for the famous monks debate.
On that day, a dorje pestle is carried to the potala palace. Sera monastery is one of the most popular monasteries in tibet that holds significant cultural and religious importance in the history of tibet and spread and growth of buddhism. Try and visit the monastery during the period when you can witness monks debate on. For example, although alcohol is strictly prohibited by the vinaya, and although monks today keep this rule strictly, we find various geluk lamas throughout history writing short tracts urging monks to refrain from drinking alcohol, which suggests that this was a recurring problem. Sera monastery kindle edition by jose cabezon, penpa dorjee. From sera monastery its possible to take a taxi northwest for a couple of kilometres to littlevisited pabonka monastery. The way of the tibetan monk by sheila rock, paperback. They were for sale right there in the printing room. Sera jey monastery follows its centuries old tibetan gelukpa monastic tradition and culture dating back to. Children of sera je case western reserve university.
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