Sershul Monastery

The full name of the monastery is “Sershul Mahayana Accomplishment Institute.” It was founded by Kagyu Lobsang Chödrön in 1672 AD and belongs to the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism.

The monastery complex consists of over 100 temple buildings, making it the largest temple complex in Ganzi Prefecture.

The name “Sershul” means “Monastery of the Descendants of the Tribe that Wears Yellow Hats.” The name of the county where the monastery is located, Shiqu County, also derives from this pronunciation.

The monastery is situated at an altitude of 4,100 meters, in the western part of Shiqu County (Watu Township), near the border of Qinghai, Tibet, and Sichuan, about 30 kilometers from Shiqu County town.

Overview

Sershul Monastery has two major academic institutes, one for exoteric (open teachings) and one for esoteric Buddhism. It has five Kanglin (branches) and 15 Zhenza (classes), with an established system for studying scriptures.

Sershul Monastery is one of the two main Gelug monasteries in the Kham region authorized to grant the Geshe degree (equivalent to a doctorate in Buddhist studies), the other being Chaktreng Tsuklakhang in Lithang.

The monastery treasures over 20,000 gilded Buddha statues, including more than 50 sets of the Kangyur (Buddhist Canon). Among its most precious artifacts are a 19-meter tall statue of Maitreya Buddha, the second-largest Buddha statue in Tibetan areas (after the one at Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse), a two-story-high gilded copper stupa containing relics, and a Buddhist staff from ancient Indian temples.

The monastery was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s.

In 1981, it was approved for reopening, and funds were allocated for its restoration. A new prayer hall and prayer wheels have since been built.

At its peak, the monastery housed more than 3,000 monks.

Currently, it is home to 15 living Buddhas, 5 Khenpos (abbots), over 20 Geshes, and more than 800 monks.

Legend of the Monastery’s Founding

According to legend, there were once seven nomadic families from Mongolia living in the area. Among them, a man named Soba Tenpa Tsering wished to build a monastery here, so he sent Kagyu Lobsang Chödrön to Derge to seek approval from the local lord Chokyi.

Soba Tenpa Tsering’s request to build the monastery was granted, and after receiving permission, he officially appointed Kagyu Lobsang Chödrön as the abbot.

Since the Soba tribe wore yellow hats, the monastery was named Sershul, meaning “Monastery of the Descendants of the Tribe that Wears Yellow Hats,” in honor of Soba Tenpa Tsering’s efforts in building it.

Sershul Monastery Architecture

The original monastery covered an area of 46,700 square meters, with five large prayer halls, two rotating prayer-wheel buildings, and more than 1,000 halls and monk quarters.

The current monastery occupies around 70 mu (about 46,667 square meters) and has over 1,000 rooms, including five large prayer halls and two prayer-wheel halls. The monastery houses more than 10,000 various gilded Buddha statues.

All the buildings in the monastery are constructed in the traditional Tibetan architectural style, featuring timber and earth as primary materials, with most structures being two stories high. The exteriors are made of red brick, and the interiors have large wooden columns and beams. These wooden beams are not only painted with depictions of deities and Buddhas but are also intricately carved with exquisite patterns. The monastery’s murals are vibrant and lifelike. Sershul Monastery is a major pilgrimage site for local people and serves as a model and learning center for smaller surrounding monasteries.

Amitabha Hall

The Amitabha Hall Hall is also known as the “Pure Land of Liberation Through Seeing and Hearing.”

Inside, there is a Mandala of the Pure Land, and the hall enshrines 1,151 Buddha statues, with Amitabha as the central figure. The three largest statues are representations of the “Three Saints of the Western Pure Land” and are 3 meters tall.

The statues are made of gilded bronze, and the large, medium, and small Buddha statues were all commissioned by devotees based on their financial abilities.

The construction of the hall, “mandala”, and statues serves to help practitioners who come to the monastery engage in visualization, practice, and realization, ultimately enabling them to gain Amitabha Buddha’s guidance and reach the Pure Land for final liberation: freeing themselves from the cycle of life and death and breaking the cycle of reincarnation.

Each year, Sershul Monastery hosts a grand debating session, with lamas from various Gelug monasteries across Tibet attending. The scene is quite magnificent. Senior lamas who are highly proficient in Buddhist philosophy sit at the front of the hall to adjudicate the debates.

About Abbot

At the age of 16, Chiba Rinpoche was ordained and took novice vows under the reincarnation of Damba Tsering, the Dharma King of Derge, Khenpo Thubten Ngawang.

At the age of 18, many high lamas unanimously recognized him as the reincarnation of the 7th Böncang Rinpoche of Sershul Monastery. The following year (1983), he became the 37th chief abbot of Sershul Monastery, overseeing the religious affairs of more than 60 affiliated monasteries.

At the age of 20, he took full ordination under Khenpo Thubten Ngawang.

In 1995, the Ganzi Prefecture Government officially issued his certificate of recognition as a reincarnated lama, and he was enthroned.

Since 1995, Chiba Rinpoche has held an annual grand prayer festival in Sershul Monastery, known as the “Snowland Grand Prayer Festival,” to pray for the flourishing of the Dharma, national prosperity, favorable weather, ethnic unity, and world peace.

In 1998, Rinpoche invited nearly 100 Han Chinese laypeople from across the country to participate in the festival, during which they collectively recited the six-syllable mantra 5 billion times, the Sublime Good Fortunate Name Sutra 1 billion times, and the Aspiration to Good Deeds 5 billion times.

Through Rinpoche’s compassionate and skillful means, Sershul Monastery completed construction of an unprecedented “Jile Prayer Hall” in the Tibetan region in 2000.

The monastery currently has over 1,300 monks. Under the leadership of the current abbot, Chiba Rinpoche, the monastery is well-organized, maintains strict discipline, and excels in its teachings. Many monks continue to engage in meditation retreats.

In July 2005, students from the monastery’s Buddhist academy took the top four places in the exams of the National Advanced Buddhist Institute for Tibetan Buddhism.

In recent years, the monastery has established a Tibetan medicine hospital, an elder care center, the Xikang Charity Association, a Hope School, and an orphan technical school (under construction), bringing immense benefits to the local Tibetan population.

Precious Relics

Sershul Monastery still preserves many rare Buddhist relics, including a staff used by monks who received ordination at Nalanda University during the time of the Buddha, as well as a statue of Avalokiteshvara blessed by Padmasambhava.

Among the most precious relics, and the monastery’s greatest treasure, is a stupa containing the tooth relic of Tsongkhapa.

Legend has it that three teeth of Tsongkhapa remain, and Sershul Monastery houses the largest one.

The monastery also preserves many rare relics from the cremation of high lamas, including a relic image of Vajrapani found on the skull of Lama Chilung Lob after his death in 1995, and a relic image of Tara found on the heart of Lama Chiba Gatsang after his death in 1997.

These relics are priceless treasures in Tibetan Buddhism.