Sera lies on the northern edge of Lhasa at the base of Tatipu Hill. Sera means Merciful Hail, denoting its rivalry with the Rice Heap (Drepung), since hail destroys rice. Sera was smaller than Drepung, with 7,000 monks, but very rich and comparable in power. Today it has about 300 monks, and some of its buildings house a farm.

Sera was founded in 1419 by one of Tsong Khapa's eight disciples. It became famous for its tantric teachings, while Drepung drew fame from its governing role. The monks of Sera were considered clever and dangerous. Its small army of warrior monks, the dob-dobs, were admired as athletes but also feared. Sera's rebelliousness sometimes posed a threat to the state. In 1947, its leaders planned to kill the regent and install a rival. The plot failed, but witnesses recount that shops in Lhasa were barricaded and the nobles armed their servants for fear of rampaging monks.

A central lane and fairly simple layout make Sera easy to visit. Stalls by the main gateway sell soft drinks and snacks. A long driveway lead up to the monastery. Sera had three colleges similar to those at Drepung.

Near the west side of the lane is the chanting hall of Seta Je College. Its holy west chapel contains an awesome, hose-headed demon-god, Hayagriva, whose origins go back the pre-Buddhist Bon religion.

Next to this building is the Debating Garden. Monks can be seen preparing for monastic examinations by staging mock debates in the ritual way. Some sit cross-legged under the trees, while others run from group to group giving vigorous handclaps to end a statement or make a point. Master and dignitaries sit on the raised tiers when a real examination takes place. In Tibetan Buddhism, the debating garden is the whetstone on which the mind is sharpened, and the importance of the institution cannot be stressed too strongly. Years of study, memorization, meditation and intellectual struggle produce monks with outstanding abilities who keep alive a profound religious tradition.

Sera's rock paintings are on the east mountainside. Notable are a blue Yamantaka with Prajna, Tsong Khapa above and Sera's first abbot, Sakya Yeshe, at the top. From here you can enter the Assemble Hall( Tsokchen) at roof level and, in an east chapel, find the greatest treasure of treasure of Sera- a gilded Chenrezi with hundreds of ands and eyes. A colossal Maitreys can be seen from both the roof and the chanting hall.

Across the lane, Ngagpa College has many interesting objects, but the chanting hall of Sera Me College down the hill is truly remarkable. It has the best vestibule murals anywhere, its Wheel of Life being particularly noteworthy.

One kilometer east of Sera is an isolated rock where ' sky burials' take place at dawn- Tibetans learned to break the bodies of their dead into small pieces and feed them to the birds. Thus, their last earthly act is to make a compassionate gift of their body to feed other creatures. Vultures, ravens and kites swoop down when the body-breaker, called domdens, have done their work. The whole gruesome process takes about two hours, the dead Tibetans literally vanishing into thin air. In the past, thrill-seeking tourists have outraged local feeling by arriving in car-or bus-loads and demanding to take photos and videos, and so tourists are now banned by low from intruding. Notices to this effect are posted in hotels, Take heed.