Description
In Tibet’s capital, Lhasa, the most famous monastery is Drepung, once the seat of the Dalai Lama till the building of the Potala, and Sera Me, where religious debates take place every day. Close by is the Nechung monastery that used to house the Tibet oracle who was predicting every beginning of the year the fate of the nation.
Drepung was founded in 1416 by Jamyang Chojey, a direct disciple of Lama Tsongkapa, founder of the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism. He secured the funds and built a large part of the complex very quickly, making it possible for 2000 monks to move here after only about one year after starting construction. At its peak, the monastery housed around 10,000 monks coming from all over East Asia. Today the monastery houses about 300 monks. Drepung is one of the three main Gelupka Monasteries.
The name “Drepung” means “rice heap”, which perhaps reflects the large number of buildings that can be seen from far away.
Jamchen Chojey, another direct disciple of Je Tsong Kapa, founded SeraMei in 1419. At the time of its inauguration, the monastery had around 5000 monks. Today the number is close to several hundred.
The monastery was famous for its 5 colleges. During the Cultural Revolution, they were merged into the 3 that are still in existence today. The monastery was savagely attacked during the Cultural Revolution. Most of the buildings were completely destroyed and many monks were killed. After Dalai Lama left Tibet for India during the revolt of 1959, a new Sera Monastery was established in Mysore in India with two colleges and an Assembly Hall that currently has 3000 monks.
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