Sera Monastery, an important gompa near Lhasa
Buildings at Sera Monastery, originally founded in 1419; during the 1959 revolt in Lhasa, Sera monastery suffered severe damage, with its colleges destroyed and hundreds of monks killed. It housed more than 5,000 monks in 1959, though badly damaged during the 1959 uprising, is still functional after restoration. Now there are about 300 monks. The reason for this decline is attributed to the 2008 Tibetan unrest.
Photo by Ludo Kuipers, Sat Sep 09, 2023