The monks of Sera Jey Monastery are deeply engaged in the study of Buddhist philosophy expounded by the great pundits of the ancient Indian monastic university, Nalanda Monastery.

Beginning more than two thousand years ago, the teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni were examined, studied and practiced by the great Indian pundits of Nalanda, foremost among whom are Arya Nagarjuna, Chandrakirti, Dharmakirti, Asanga, and Vasubhandu. The masters of Nalanda also wrote many commentaries, which were, together with the entire collected teachings of the Buddha, translated into the Tibetan language (starting from the seventh century) before the decline and loss of these teachings in India . In Tibet the complete Nalanda teaching lineages were preserved as a living tradition of spiritual practice leading to profound states of realization of the most positive human qualities such as universal compassion, love, tolerance, altruism, and wisdom.

These precious teachings were further clarified over many generations through commentaries written by many Tibetan pundit-yogis on the basis of their vast study of Indian Buddhist treatises. Lama Tsong Khapa (1357-1419) was one of the greatest Tibetan masters who founded the Geluk tradition, the tradition that is followed by Sera Jey Monastery. Monastic universities were created in Tibet modeled on the great Indian monastic university of Nalanda, and the focus and content of their study programs follows the example of the great Buddhist pundits of Nalanda monastery to this day. Thanks to the kindness of the Indian Government, after the Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1959, many Tibetan monks were able to reestablish some of their monasteries in India under the spiritual guidance of His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. Among these, Sera Jey Monastery is one of the largest and most renowned institutions for studying and practicing Buddhist philosophy in the world, and by being re-established in India, the lost ancient Buddhist cultural heritage has been brought back to the land of its origin.