By Lama Tenzin Osel

His Holiness Visits Sera

His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited Sera in November.  Unfortunately he didn’t have a lot of time so he only gave a short teaching on the life of Lama Tsong Khapa and some advice for the monks at Sera and bestowed the bodhisattva vows, but I think it was very helpful.

Chess Fever

The residents of Osel Labrang caught the chess virus of a monk named Tenzin Dorje who is my temporary attendant from Kopan.

Now the residents are playing lots of chess in their spare time.  Who do you think is the best?

Commemoration of Passing Away of the Founder of Sera

On the 4th and 5th of December the monks of Sera Monastery commemorated the passing away of the founder of Sera, Jamje Choeje, and Lama Tsong Khapa respectively.

Many of the buildings were decorated with electric lights and butter lamps, and the monks did many pujas and recitations of Lama Tsong Khapa’s mantra.

Good News and Bad News

Good news… Venerable Thubten Chonyi has become a Lharampa geshe as of January 1st.

Venerable Steve Carlier left for his annual teaching tour in Europe in late December and plans to return to Sera end of February.

Bad news… Kunkyen is without his English teacher til Steve returns.

Restaurants at Sera Become Vegetarian Thanks to His Holiness the Dalai Lama:

His Holiness advised to make the Sera restaurants vegetarian when he visited recently and all of them stopped serving meat immediately.