Sershul Monastery () is situated on the

Tibetan Plateau The Tibetan Plateau, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or Qingzang Plateau, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central Asia, Central, South Asia, South, and East Asia. Geographically, it is located to the north of H ...

at an elevation of . The Tibetan Buddhist monastery is located near Waxu township in Sêrxü County of the

Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, often shortened to Ganzi Prefecture, is an autonomous prefecture in the western arm of Sichuan province, China bordering Yunnan to the south, the Tibet Autonomous Region to the west, and Gansu to the north ...

Sichuan Province Sichuan is a Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capita ...

, near where the borders of the

Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), often shortened to Tibet in English or Xizang in Pinyin, Hanyu Pinyin, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China. It was established in 1965 to replace the ...

and

Qinghai Province Qinghai is an inland province in Northwestern China. It is the largest province of China (excluding autonomous regions) by area and has the third smallest population. Its capital and largest city is Xining. Qinghai borders Gansu on the nort ...

meet.

Monastery

Sershul Monastery is the largest

Gelug file:DalaiLama0054 tiny.jpg, 240px, 14th Dalai Lama, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Kalachakra ceremony, Bodh Gaya, Bodhgaya (India) The Gelug (, also Geluk; 'virtuous' ...

pa monastery in the

Kham Kham (; ) is one of the three traditional Tibet, Tibetan regions, the others being Domey also known as Amdo in the northeast, and Ü-Tsang in central Tibet. The official name of this Tibetan region/province is Dotoe (). The original residents of ...

region and has the only Buddhist Monastic University in the Kham region that is qualified to teach and bestow the highest Tibetan Buddhist geshe degree. Home to 1300 monks, Sershul Monastery is the largest Gelug monastery in Kham, and the religious center of Sêrxü County—the highest, largest, poorest, coldest, and most remote county in Sichuan Province.

Architecture

Sershul Monastery has six existing temples, most of which are fairly well preserved since before 1949. The largest temple, which is more than 300 years old, contains two great chanting halls devoted to

Je Tsongkhapa Tsongkhapa ( Tibetan: ཙོང་ཁ་པ་, '','' meaning: "the man from Tsongkha" or "the Man from Onion Valley", c. 1357–1419) was an influential Tibetan Buddhist monk, philosopher and tantric yogi, whose activities led to the format ...

, founder of the Gelug Order. It also contains many precious relics including one of Je Tsongkhapa's teeth preserved within a sacred

chorten In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and ''śarīra''—the remains of Bhikkhu, Buddhist monks or Bhikkhuni, nuns. It is used as a place of ...

(

stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...

) in the upper gallery.

Collections

Sershul Monastery was established in 1701 and to date has kept a collection of rare sacred Buddhist objects, like the wooden block and hammer used during the initiation and penance ceremonies of monks at the

Nalanda University Nālandā University (informally NU; or ISO: Nālandā Vishwavidyalaya) is a central research university located in the ancient city of Rajgir in the state of Bihar, India. Designated as an Institute of National Importance (INI) and excelle ...

in India at the time of

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

– some of the objects having a history of more than 2,000 years. The monastery also has many valuable sacred relics left by eminent monks after their deaths. Examples are for instance when Trinley Norbu lama died in 1995, a mark was left on his skull in the image

Vajrapani (Sanskrit; Pali: Vajirapāṇi, 'holder of the thunderbolt', lit. meaning, "Vajra in ishand") is one of the earliest-appearing bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhism. The personification of Indra, the King of the Devas in the Hindu order, he is t ...

. In 1997 when Triwa Lobsang lama died, an image of

Arya Tara Tara (, ; , ), Ārya Tārā (Noble Tara), also known as Jetsün Dölma (Tibetan: ''rje btsun sgrol ma,'' meaning: "Venerable Mother of Liberation"), is an important female Buddha in Buddhism, especially revered in Vajrayana Buddhism and Mahayan ...

was left on his heart.

References

{{Reflist Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture

Monastery

Architecture

Collections

See also

References