Sera Monastery | At this moment, the voice of faith is deafening

Sera Monastery (sera-theg-chen-gling), located about 5 kilometers north of Lhasa city center, at the southern foot of Sera Utsé Mountain. 'Sera' in Tibetan means 'wild rose garden'. Its formal name is 'theg-chen-gling', which means 'Mahayana continent'. Founded in 1419, it was built with the support of the noble Langkazanbu (nam-mkav-bzang-po) by Jamchen Chöjé Shakya Yeshe, a disciple of Tsongkhapa. Sera Monastery covers an area of 114,964 square meters. It is one of the six major monasteries of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, originally designed for 5,500 monks but actually housing over 9,000. The main structures include the Coqen Hall (assembly hall), the 'three great Zhacangs' and 32 Kangtsens. The early buildings were centered around the Mazhacang and Abacang, and after many generations of expansion and renovation, it has reached its current size, hence there is no overall plan in its layout. However, the architecture is adapted to the local conditions, with a prominent main body, dense but not cramped, complex but not chaotic, reflecting the unique style of the Gelug monasteries, resembling a religious capital city. In 1962, it was listed as a key cultural relic protection unit by the autonomous region.