Serpom Monastery-brief history

[LosangKhyentse]

Situated in Bylakuppe Tibetan Settlement, Mysore District, Karnataka State, India, Serpom Thoesam Norling Monastery is a registered non–profit organization and monastic university for advanced Buddhist studies. The monastery is open to everyone, without any discrimination. Serpom became a monastery on April 25 2008. Its sister monastery is Shar Gaden monastery, which is situated in the Mundgod Tibetan Settlement of Karnataka State.

The monastery grants free education, meals and accommodation to hundreds of monks, since it became a full-fledge monastery. At present the population of our monk numbers in 567, excluding the monks who reside abroad. Serpom Monastery aims to produce Buddhist masters, philosophers, scholars, peace educators, etc, to make greater contribution to world peace and people’s welfare. Here monks study the five main texts of the Mahayana Buddhist curriculum, which takes on average eighteen years. After having completed the studies, monks take part in Geshe Lharam studies, and those who pass the final exam are awarded the Geshe Lharam degree – the highest degree in Buddhist philosophy.
 
Brief History
In 1959, after the uprising in Tibet, many monks fled to India, where the Indian government kindly granted them asylum in Buxa Duar for the next eleven years. Because the climate was unhealthy for Tibetans, the Indian Government then kindly resettled the monks in Bylakuppe, Karnataka State, in 1970. The first job the monks did was to build a road between the place where Sera Monastery was re-established and Tibetan Settlement No 3. A special representative for Tibetan refugees paid them one rupee and fifty paisa for each day’s labor. There were approximately 107 monks from Sera-Mey. And Pomra monastic section had forty-three monks at that time. For the monks’ residency, the Indian government allotted five acres of land, where thirty-eight houses were built; as well as five acres of land for the Sera Lachi, Sera-Jey and Sera-Mey monastic assembly halls. The Indian Government also allotted approximately one acre per monk for their livelihood, providing oxes, cows and tractors to the monasteries. The cows given to Sera-Mey monastery provided twelve liters of milk every morning. The jungle was cut down with bulldozers, and the wood were used to make furniture. With assorted tools, the monks removed roots and cleared rocks in order to fertilize the land. Finally tractors ploughed the land to turn it into fields. Monks labored daily in the construction of the houses and the planting of corn in the fields. Day and night the field was guarded against pigs and elephants. The harvest took four months. The very first year, the monastery had a good harvest -- each plant produced three giant corn cobs. Tibetans who visit the monastery returned with corn as a souvenir.

The Indian government did something that no other country did – they gave Tibetans asylum, houses, land, liberty and a conducive environment for preserving their culture. We are extremely grateful to India, whose kindness is engraved in our hearts forever. One of our daily prayers is for the Great Nation India to triumph and prosper, and for its people to enjoy peace and prosperity. Sera-Mey monastery was built in 1978, together with Phabongkha Labdrang, the chamber of the great Master Je Phabongkhapa (1878-1941). Sera-Mey had 16 monastic sections. One of them was Pomra monastic section which housed majority monks of Sera-Mey monastery. Pomra had forty-three monks from Tibet. For the Pomra’s assembly hall, monks built a house with a tiled roof. In the beginning of the 1970s, young Tibetan monks from throughout India and Nepal started to join Pomra monastic section and increased to over 85 monks. Thus senior monks built a concrete house for a new assembly hall in 1979. For monk’s residency, Pomra build houses in two rows in 1988.

With each passing year the number of monks grew, such that the assembly hall was no longer able to accommodate all the monks during prayers and pujas. Thus another assembly hall (pictured) was built in 1991, and inaugurated on October 27, 1992. The supreme master and great scholar Geshe Yeshi Wangchuk (1928-1997) presided over the opening ceremony, with Kyabje Pabongkha Rinpoche, the manager of Trijang Labdrang honorable Kungo Palden, representatives of Sera Lachi and Gelugpa monasteries, the Chairman of Dhokham Chushi Gandrug and so on. Over three hundred guests attended the Inauguration Ceremony. On that occasion Geshe Yeshi Rinpoche composed the auspicious verse as follows: May the sun, moon and stars, emanations of Dharma practitioners, be radiated In the face of the open sky of the primordial pure mind. May the fruits ripen in the Fields of Merit and Commitment! May the spirit of victory over evils be united and firmed. Because of the continued growth of the monk population, construction of a new assembly hall (pictured) began in March 2005. Pomra Monastic Section, a part of Sera-Mey monastery, separated from Sera-Mey monastery on April 25, 2008, when the monks from Sera-Mey monastery had to give their signatures and take an oath to the effect that they never worship the Dharma Protector Dorje Shugden, nor to share religious and material ties with Shugden devotees. Serpom monks refused to take oath because of the basic human right of religious freedom. Therefore Pomra monastic section became a full-fledged monastery, which is now known as Serpom Thoesam Norling Monastery for the preservation of the Ganden Nyengyu Tradition.
 
Past History
In front of a hill like a sleeping elephant lies a monastery known as Sera monastery, which was founded by Jamchen Choeje Shakya Yeshi in 1419. It is called Sera because the Sewa tree (probably a yellow rose) surrounded the area as a fence (Ra). Prior to the existence of the monastery, Lord Tsongkhapa gave teachings to many disciples. During his composition of the exposition to the Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way (Skrt:praj??m?la), while analyzing emptiness. He has developed a vision, “Sixteen Emptiness”, the subject of Perfection of Wisdom Sutra (Skrt: Praj??p?ramit?) and so on rained down in the form of AH letters. A great seat for scholars in middle way philosophy would emerge in this place, according to Lord Tsongkhapa’s prediction. Lord Tsongkhapa asked Jamchen Choeje to build a monastery. With the patronage of Namkha Sangpo, Jamchen Choeje built the monastery, which was known as Sera Thekchen Ling Monastery, which comprised of two monasteries: Sera-Mey and Sera-Jey. Kunchen Jangchup Bhumpa, a disciple of Lord Tsonkghapa, had built Sera-Mey Monastery in 1421. The monastery consisted of 16 monastic sections, including Pomra.
 
extracted from:

http://serpommonastery.org/aboutus.html

posted by TK

[honeydakini]

Thank you for sharing this history with us TK - It's always inspiring to read the stories of how this massive institutions started and the sincere practitioners behind it all who have made them flourish.

I was reading a few interesting posts on YouTube videos today about how we often "forget" about the core of Gelugpa practices which is Je Tsongkhapa's teachings, lineage and tradition. Many have gotten caught up in the politics of the ban and fight over a single aspect of the teachings - perhaps we sometimes forget that the Gelugpa lineage and Je Tsongkhapa's teachings span ALL the teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni and we allow ourselves to get carried away only in the politics of one part of this.

I was reminded of this again when I read this post. I remember that what struck me most about the Serpom website when I visited it was that it hardly mentioned Dorje Shugden. Though it is a central and VERY IMPORTANT part of their lineage and practice, is it not the sole focus. As they say, "Serpom Monastery aims to produce Buddhist masters, philosophers, scholars, peace educators, etc, to make greater contribution to world peace and people’s welfare. Here monks study the five main texts of the Mahayana Buddhist curriculum." It is about the lamrim, upholding and continuing Je Tsongkhapa's lineage, the vinaya and all the teachings therein.

Dorje Shugden is an integral part of their practice but the larger picture is also Dharma, as a whole, and the attainment of Bodhicitta and Wisdom - this is what we're all striving for, after all! It is rather ironic, if you think about it, that apart from the practice of Dorje Shugden, all their other curriculum, what they have learnt all these years in the monastery and even the teachings they took teachings from, are probably mirror-identical to what is being learnt in Gaden, Drepung and Sera monasteries!! Many of the monks in serpom/Shar Gaden would have grown up and gone to the very same classes with the very same teachers as their monk friends in Sera and Gaden, respectively.

[WisdomBeing]

I agree with you Honey Dakini - that the focus should be more on Dharma rather than the Protector and that the only difference between Serpom and Sera-Mey is the Protector practice. It is a form of apartheid - sad when discrimination the world over is dissipating yet this ostracising of DS practitioners is openly happening.

Personally, how the monks had to build their own monastery from scratch and find their own livelihood is so incredible. The monks not only hiked across the Himalayas - and many didn't make it - but they had to use their own two hands to cut the jungle which the very kind Indian government provided, to build everything up and sustain themselves also. The monks should not be doing secular stuff and just do Dharma.

We in the west have Dharma so easily given to us on a plate in our comfortable homes, with teachers who patiently gift us with the Dharma - through books, youtube, websites if not in person. We are so fortunate and i just strongly feel that we should not waste our opportunity as who knows if/when it will come again.

Just contemplating.

[Geronimo]

I think all of this is called 'shunning,to be shunned, ignored as if one were a ghost or dead.
Probably best to just shun the Dalia Lama and avoid the consequences of being straight forward with others.