The Air is Humming With Voices

Living with 3 000 monks has its sides. For instance, the air is always humming with voices repeating the texts in order to memorize them. This goes on virtually around the clock. At given hours hords of maroon dressed monks suddenly emerge from the buildings and flow through the lanes on their way to or from their Khangtsens. Sera monastery is divided in two parts: Sera Je and Sera Me. Each of them consists of a number of Khangtsen which are, more or less, monk households. They have their separate living quarters and assembly halls. Each part has a big main assembly hall of which Sera Me's new hall is the grandest. Most tourists only stop at the Nyingmapa school's trap , the Golden Temple, across the fields from here. But Sera Me's Taiwanese funded hall is more interesting and has better artwork. The Golden Temple wins the garden contset though. Above Sera Je lies the monastery's own Beverly Hills with lavish bungalows built by celebrity teachers sponsored by foreign students.