Home > Collections > Environmental & Cultural Geography > Sera Monastery Project > The Ché College (grwa tshang byes)

AN INTRODUCTION TO SERA'S COLLEGES
by José Ignacio Cabezón

The Ché College (grwa tshang byes)

The Ché College is the larger of Sera's two philosophical colleges (mtshan nyid grwa tshang). Shortly after the founding of the monastery, Kunkhyenpa Lodrö Rinchen Sengge (kun mkhyen pa blo gros rin chen seng ge, 15th century), originally a monk of Drepung Monastery, abandoned that institution with 100 or so of his followers. Adopting Sera as their new home, Kunkhyenpa and his followers established a new college that became known as Ché. The word Ché (byes) means "traveler,” and the college came to be known by this name because Kunkhyenpa and his followers originally arrived as "travelers" from Drepung. The full, official name of the college is Sera Ché Khenyen Tratsang (se ra byes mkhas snyan grwa tshang), "The Sera Ché College of Renowned Scholars."

Kunkhyenpa was himself a great scholar (especially renowned for his mastery of Madhyamaka, the philosophy of emptiness), but he was also a visionary. When Kunkhyenpa arrived at Sera he had several visions that confirmed to him that this was the place where he and his followers should settle. For example, when he made his first visit to the Assembly Hall, one of the Sixteen Arhat statues is said to have come to life and spoken to him, saying:

The travelers have arrived from their travels. This is good!
The great Kunkhyenpa has arrived. This is good!
He will raise up the banner of the teachings. This is good!"¹⁰

Later, he had a vision of a series of crows, one melting into the next until the last crow melted into a wild rose bush. He took this as an indication that this was the precise site where he should build the chapel of his tutelary deity, Hayagrīva.

Under Kunkhyenpa's leadership, the Ché College quickly flourished as a center for the study of the great texts and their various "layers" of commentaries. In addition to the classical commentaries, another kind of work, the so-called "textbooks" (yig cha) became an important part of the curriculum. Although there were many textbooks by different authors in use in the College during its early days (including textbooks composed by Kunkhyenpa himself), in time most of these were banned because they were seen as containing views that were at odds with those of Tsongkhapa, the founder of the order. Eventually, the textbooks written by Sera Jetsun Chöki Gyaltsen (se ra rje bstun chos kyi rgyal msthan, 1469-1544) became the core textbooks of the Ché College.

From the earliest days it would appear that monks lived together in informal living arrangements based on the area of the country from which they came. As the College grew, these informal units became institutionalized as the so-called "regional houses" or khangtsen (khang tshan). The Ché College was divided into 18 regional houses that ranged in size from 50 to 1000 monks. Monks from different parts of Tibet would usually enter one or another of these houses depending upon the geographical region of the country from which they hailed. Here is the list of the Ché College khangtsens. Click on the khangtsen name to see a short description of that regional house, and pictures of its headquarters in Tibet (where still extant). In that same window, next to "Regional House Affiliation,"

Click on the khangtsen name to go to a separate data-window with demographic and other information about that particular khangtsen.

1. Hamdong (har gdong)
2. Triu(tre hor)
3. Dagpo (dwags po)
4. Ngari (mnga' ris)
5. Epa (e pa)
6. Hlopa (lho pa)
7. Chadrel (bya bral)
8. Badi (spa ti or sba ti)
9. Denma (‘den ma)
10. Chétsang (byes gtsang)
11. Gomde (sgom sde)
12. Chétsa (byes tsha)
13. La'a (laa ba)
14. Nyelpa (gnyal pa)
15. Samlo (bsam lo)
16. Gyeche (rgyas byes)
17. Po'o (spo bo)¹¹
18. Tsetang (rtsed thang)

The Ché Assembly Hall is the headquarters of the College. It contains a huge meeting hall, and several ancillary chapels (lha khang), each with its own altar and “theme.” (Click here for access to a database entry for the Ché College assembly hall, with pictures.) Oral tradition has it that it was one of the rear chapels of the present assembly hall that was the original assembly hall of the Ché College built by Nyal tön Peljor Lhundrub (gnyal ston dpal 'byor lhun grub, 1427-1514) in the late 15th century. ¹² The present assembly hall was built by the ruler Polhaney (pho lha gnas mi dbang bsod nams stobs rgyal, 1689-1747) in the early 18th century. The most important chapel in the present temple is the abode of the Ché College tutelary deity (yi dam), Hayagrīva, the "horse-headed deity" who is the wrathful manifestation of Avalokiteśvara, the buddha of compassion. This chapel is located at the NW corner of the temple, and it is arguably the most important religious site in the entire monastery, being one of the most popular spots with pilgrims, lay worshippers, and tourists. The cult of Hayagrīva -- a deity whose lineage of transmission derives from the Nyingma (rnying ma) school -- is extremely important in the Ché College, to the point where the monks of the college consider themselves, jokingly, "Yellow (that is Geluk) on the outside, but Red (Nyingma) on the inside." ¹³

The only time that the monks of the Ché College in Tibet meet together today is during the Great “Good Conduct” Prayer Meeting (bzang spyod chen mo). During this weeklong event monks spend many hours a day reciting the “Good Conduct Prayer” (bzang spyod smon lam), and lay people flock form Lhasa and surrounding areas to make offerings. Traditionally, the other major yearly event that took place at the Ché College was the daylong “Dagger Blessing” (phur mjal). The Ché College abbot would spend one entire day blessing monks and lay people with the famous Sera Purba, a magical, ritual dagger that is said to have belonged to a famous Indian tantric saint. That event still takes place, although today it is considered a monastery-wide celebration, and not a festival exclusive to the Ché College.

Hayagrīva, the horse-headed tutelary deity of the Ché College. Statue in the Ché College Assembly Hall, Sera, Tibet.	The Sera Purba, said to be the original ritual dagger that was in use before 1959. It is wrapped in silk. From a photo in Sera Thekchen Ling, Tshe dbang rin chen, ed. (Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1995, back cover)

The Ché College was reestablished in India in 1970, and it preserves most of the traditions of that institution as these were practiced in Tibet before 1959. This is not to say that everything is the same as it was before 1959, however. For example, the administration today is more democratic (and the abbacy less powerful) than it once was. ¹⁴ Monks are provided with three vegetarian meals a day, so that they no longer have to worry about their food. (In Tibet, before 1959, many monks in often went hungry.) Also, in the early 1980’s the Ché College in exile was innovative in founding a separate school within the college for young monks. Today, the "Sera Jeh School," as it is known, provides monks up to the age of 16 with a well-rounded education that focuses on a variety of both traditional and modern subject – from Tibetan language to computer science. At the age of 16 monks enter the traditional debate-based curriculum.

The assembly hall of the Ché College in India	Young monks study under the supervision of their teacher at the Sera Jeh School, Sera, India

Before 1959, the Ché College in Tibet had between 5000 and 7000 monks. Today, in Tibet, it has about 275 monks. In India, the Ché College has about 2500 monks. Click here to gain access to more detailed demographic information and other tabular data on the Ché College.

Go on to read about the Mé College.

---