Main Assembly Hall

Top choice in Lhasa


The main assembly hall (Tsogchen) is the largest of Sera’s buildings and dates to 1710. The central hall is particularly impressive and is noted for its wall-length thangkas and two-storey statue of Jampa. To the left is the large throne of the 13th Dalai Lama, with a figure of Sakya Yeshe to the left of that. There are some incredibly ornate yak-butter sculptures in this hall.

Of the four chapels to the rear of the hall, the central is the most important, with its 6m-high Jampa statue. The statue rises to the upper floor, where it can also be viewed from a central chapel.

Also on the upper floor (to the far left of the central chapel) is a highly revered statue of a thousand-armed Chenresig. Pilgrims put their forehead to a walking stick that connects them directly and literally to the heart of compassion. The pilgrim path enters the building from the back, so this may be the first chapel you come across before descending to the prayer hall. Also here is a chapel dedicated to Tsongkhapa.

To the west of the assembly hall is an ancient Drölma rock shrine that pilgrims circumambulate.


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