Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s3.t29: se ra theg dgon
Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s3.t29
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se ra theg dgon
v1.c7.s3.t29.1
Se Ra Theg Dgon is a well-known temple of dge lugs pa of Tibetan Buddhism, and one of three major temples in Lhasa.
v1.c7.s3.t29.2
In 1418, byams chen chos rgyal (1354-1435), a disciple of Tsong kha pa, built se ra theg chen gling (se ra theg dgon for short) in the suburb of Lhasa (present-day northern suburb of Lhasa, Tibetan Autonomous Region).
v1.c7.s3.t29.3
Se ra theg dgon founded four grwa tshangs namely rgya grwa tshang, vbrom steng grwa tshang, tod pa grwa tshang and smad pa grwa tshang.
v1.c7.s3.t29.4
In 1466, gnyal ston dpal vbyor lhun grub (1427-1514), a disciple of eminent monk kun mkhyen blo gros rin chen seng ge from vbras sungs dgon founded an academy of byes grwa tshang and established high reputation among monks. Hence, monks from rgya grwa tshang and vbrom steng grwa tshang were attracted to study and practice at byes grwa tshang and promote its development. Till 1705, se ra theg dgon formed the temple layout consisting of three academies namely smad pa, yes and stod pa.
v1.c7.s3.t29.5
*Catalogue of the book collection at the Drepung Monastery, Tibet, China*
v1.c7.s3.t29.6
Sera Monastery, Lhasa, Tibet, China
v1.c7.s3.t29.7
In 1712, Langzang Khan (1671～1717) founded sngags pa grwa tshang (Tantric Academy) at se theg dgon and imposed religious ritual practices in accordance with the canons of Gyudmed in Lhasa, making it a large temple renowned for compatibility of Tantric Buddhism and Exoteric Buddhism.
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In the middle and late Qing Dynasty, the monk quota of se ra theg dgon was set as 5,500 monks and the number of monks increased to over 10,000 in the heyday, making se ra theg dgon one of three major temples in Lhasa and one of six well-known temples of dge lugs pa. In particular, byes grwa tshang, smad pa grwa tshang and sngags pa grwa tshang made a great contribution to train heir monks and promote Buddhist dharma lineage and they built many branch temples in remote areas such as Amdo and mDo Khams.
v1.c7.s3.t29.9
The debate sutra of se theg dgon is a kind of debate method for thinking training that applies Hetuvidya mathematical formulaes devised by phyogs gling (480-540 CE) and chos grags (630-700 CE). In modern times, dge lugs pa spread to India and built a large temple named “se ra theg dgon” in south India.
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(*Kalsang gyal*)