The definitive history of Sera Monastery, one of the great monastic universities of Tibet, from its founding to the present.
Founded in 1419, Sera Monastery was one of the three densas,
the great seats of learning of the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism.
With over 9,000 monks in residence in 1959, it was the second largest
monastery in the world. Throughout its history, Sera has produced some
of Tibet’s most important saints, scholars, and political leaders.
The scholars José Cabezón and Penpa Dorjee begin Sera Monastery
with the history of monasticism from the time of the Buddha through its
early development in Tibet and then tell the 600-year story of Sera
from its founding to the present. They recount how the monastery grew
and evolved during the centuries, how it has fared under Chinese rule,
and how it was transplanted in the Tibetan refugee camps of South India.
We are introduced to some of Sera’s most important lamas and hermits,
as well as its curriculum, yearly calendar, the daily life of scholar
monks, and the role Sera monks played in the political history of Tibet.
Former Sera monks themselves, Cabezón and Dorjee demonstrate their
firsthand knowledge of the monastery, its traditions, and daily life on
every page. Scrupulously researched over decades, Sera Monastery is the most comprehensive history of a Tibetan monastery ever written in a Western language.