Re-establishment at Bylakuppe

Details: Category: History; Published: 01 May 2016; Hits: 3249

After almost 10 years of this special task program aimed for preservation & preparation of a knowledgeable human resource, in 1970 the group of 197 Sera Jey monks with 103 of Sera Mey monks was moved to a special site within the resettlement of Bylakuppe in Mysore District, in the South Indian state of Karnataka, for re-establishing the Sera Monastery, under the patronage of H.H. The Dalai Lama and the Central & State Government of India. A forestland area of 225 acres, measuring ¾ acres in ratio per monk were given to the two monasteries. For Sera Jey Monastery the share for 197 monks were given 147. ¾ acres.

The Indian Government sponsored 38 one-room tiled houses for the overall 300 monks of the two Monasteries, with 24 for Sera Jey and 14 for Sera Mey. The monks did all the construction labour. Also the surrounding area of 225 acres bulldozed were cleared by the monks of the two monasteries, and made available for cultivation. Cultivation was done on these lands during the onset of monsoon rainfall season, and there was one harvest in a year, which was then the only resource and means of survival to the entire monks. In the initial years, the monks were more or less obliged to engage for their livelihood & survival.

Each & every individual monk put up their best effort & time to create & harvest resource for the survival of the community in the initial stage, that laid the strong foundation for the development and establishment of a well organised Monastery.

The first Assembly Prayer Hall of the Monastery at Bylakuppe was built in 1976 and completed by the end of 1978. The Prayer Hall has a capacity to hold an assembly of 1500 monks, which was the total no of monks present at the Monastery then. It was inaugurated in the year 1979. Prior to this first Assembly Prayer Hall, a smaller one with asbestos sheet roofing has been built which was used until then.

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Former Abbots

61st Khensur Ngawang Gyatso
64th Khensur Lhundup Thapkhe
65th Khensur Lobsang Wangchuk
66th Khensur Lobsang Dhonyoe
67th Khensur Dhondup Topgyal
Khensur In Tibet Lobsang Sherab
68th Khensur Ngawang Legden
69th Khensur Lobsang Thupten
70th Khensur Lobsang Tsering
His Eminence Geshe Lobsang Tsering, the 70th abbot of Sera Jey Monastery, was born in Tibet in 1923. He was ordained at the age of five and started his Buddhist philosophical studies at twelve. At the age of seventeen, he joined Sera Jey Monastery and underwent rigorous philosophical studies. He served as a philosophy teacher at his native monastery for three years. In 1959 he was imprisoned by Chinese authorities for seven years and had to undergo extreme hardship. In 1969, he fled Tibet under immense hardship, to India for exile. At Sera Jey Monastery in South India, he earned the first position in his Geshe Lharampa Examination in 1978. In 1986, he was enthroned the 70th abbot of Sera Jey Monastery and made several developments in both spiritual and administrative fields. He devoted his entire life to teaching the Buddhist philosophy to scores of aspiring students.
71st Khensur Jampa Theckchok
His Eminence Jampa Thekchok, the 71st abbot of Sera jey Monastery was born in Phenpo, Tibet in 1930. He was ordained at the age of eight and began his study of major Buddhist texts around the age of ten. His eminence arrived in exile in 1959 and continued his studies in major Buddhist texts. He taught Buddhist studies at Central University of Tibetan Studies, Sarnath, for seven years and travelled aboard to give teachings. In 1993, he was enthroned as the abbot of Sera Jey Monastery and he served the monastery in great length in both spiritual and administrative fields.
72nd Khensur Lobsang Dhonyoe
His Eminence Jetsun Lobsang Donyo, the 72nd abbot of Sera Jey monastery, was born in 1925. At the age of nine, he joined Lhatse monastery, gained basic Tibetan education and memorized all traditional monastic scriptures and studied basic Buddhist epistemology. At the age of nineteen, he joined Sera Jey Monastic University and studied all major Buddhist texts.

In 1961, he left Tibet to take exile in India and continued his study at Buxar in north India. He has served as proof-reader at monastery’s printing office. In 1967, he studied at Central University for Tibetan studies, Sarnath and received the Acharya degree.
In 1999, he was enthroned the 72nd abbot of Sera Jey Monastery and made great contribution to both spiritual and temporal affairs.
73rd Khensur Lobsang Palden
His eminence Jetsun Lobsang Palden, the 73rd abbot of Sera Jey Monastic University, was born in 1936. At the age of twelve, he joined Dhargye Monastic School and memorized all traditional monastic scriptures as well as studied basic Buddhist epistemology and other texts.

At the age of seventeen, he joined Sera Jey Monastery and studied all major Buddhist texts. In 1959, he fled to India and continued his studies at Buxar in north India. In 1965, he studied at Central University for Tibetan studies, Varanasi, and received the Acharya degree.
In 2005, he was enthroned as the 73rd abbot of Sera Jey Monastic University and made great contribution to both spiritual and administrative fields. Moreover, he devoted most of his time to give teachings and oral transmissions on Buddhist scriptural resources to scores of pupil monks.
74th Khensur Lobsang Delek
His Eminence Jetsun Lobsang Delek, the 74th abbot of Sera Jey Monastery, was born in 1939 at Karze district in Tibet. At the age of seven, he joined Karze Monastery and started memorizing traditional monastic scriptures. His given name is Lobsang Delek and received ordained name as Ngawang Soepa while he was newly ordained at age of seventeen. In 1959, he fled to India and continued his Buddhist philosophical studies at Buxar in north India. In 1968, he received the full-ordained vows from His Holiness the Dalai Lama. In 1982, he was honored with first position of Lharam Geshe degree. Moreover, in 2005, he was enthroned as the abbot of Gudme Tantric Monastery, and he became the 75th Sera Jey Abbot on 6 May 2012. Generally, he devotes his precious regular time in giving teaching and conferring different initiations and oral transmissions.
75th Khensur Gedun Choephel
His Eminence Jetsun Gedun Choephel, 75th abbot of Sera Jey Monastery, was born in 1941 at at his native Kartze province in Eastern Tibet and was initiated at the age of 8 in his native Kartze monastery. He joined Sera Jey Monastery – Tibet in 1955. In 1969 left Tibet for India and was among the foremost member monks to re-establish the monastery at exile in South India. He has received the highest monastic scholastic award of Lharam Geshe – Doctorate in Buddhist Philosophy, and has dedicated his entire life to teachings at the monastery. He was enthroned the 75th abbot of Sera Jey Monastery on 18th July 2016.