AN INTRODUCTION TO SERA'S COLLEGES
by José Ignacio Cabezón

Types of Colleges and Their Mission

The Deer and Wheel, the symbol of the Buddha's teaching, found atop each of the assembly halls of the colleges of Sera

A college or tratsang (grwa tshang) -- literally, "a grouping of monks" -- in Gelukpa parlance is a subunit of a large monastery. All of the large Gelukpa academies or densa (gdan sa) are subdivided into colleges. Every monk of a densa has an affiliation (khungs) to a college, and this was an important part of his identity, defining him in unique ways -- from the prayers he chanted, to the deity or deities he venerated, to the texts he studied. There existed a (usually) friendly rivalry between colleges within a given densa, and also across the densas. This was especially true of the philosophical colleges (see below). For example, the monks of the Ché and Mé Colleges of Sera were rivals, but so were the monks of the Ché College and the monks of the Loseling College of Drepung. So long as this rivalry was kept within limits, this was seen as useful, and senior teachers encouraged it, albeit mostly in subtle ways. Monks who studied would try to outdo each other (in memorization, debate, and learning) so as to bring honor to their college, and this competitive spirit was seen as a positive thing. The same type of rivalry, by the way, existed between the regional-houses within a given college.

Colleges in the densas were of two types:

• philosophical colleges (mtshan nyid grwa tshang) and
• ritual (sku rim) colleges or tantric colleges (sngags pa grwa tshang)

The philosophical colleges were originally created as professorial chairs: that is, as the seats of individual teachers, where they could instruct monks in one or more of the classical subjects that constituted the scholastic curriculum of studies.¹ When, shortly after the founding of the densas, the monastic populations of these institutions began to grow, and it was no longer feasible for the tripa (khri pa), or "throne-holder," of the monastery to serve as instructor for all of the monks, they² created various subunits called "colleges," placing their senior students as the preceptors (slob dpon)³, i.e., as the head teachers, of each of these college.⁴ This eased the burden on the throne-holder by shifting the instructional and spiritual responsibility for new students to his senior students. For new monks it probably provided a less impersonalized learning experience by giving them a more intimate connection to a teacher that had fewer responsibilities and fewer students, and who was therefore more accessible.

Young monks receiving instruction from one of the senior teachers of Tsangpa Khangtsen. Sera, India.

What had earlier transpired the level of the monastery eventually occurred at the level of the college. The colleges themselves grew in size, and the position of "instructor" became more of an administrative position, eventually called "abbot" or kenpo (mkhan po). The colleges were formally subdivided into smaller units called "regional-houses" or khangtsen (khang tshan), and these now became the new seats for senior teachers. Thus, in time, teachers at the khangtsen level came to replace the college master or preceptor as the locus of instruction.

Before 1959, each of the colleges had its own separate administration: a council consisting of the abbot (the supreme authority who wielded a great deal of power), the disciplinarian, the chant master, several college-level administrators, and "regional-house teachers."⁵ The administrative headquarters of each college was located atop its respective assembly hall, or dukhang (byes ‘du khang), where the abbot also dwelt.

The Philosophical Colleges

Young monks engage each other in an argument during an evening debate session at Sera, India.

The chief mission of the Geluk philosophical colleges was (and is) to train students in the philosophical classics (gzhung chen mo) of Indian Buddhism as these had been interpreted by Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Geluk school, and by his chief disciples. The Geluk school in particular puts tremendous emphasis on the study of the Indian texts. There are many reasons for this. Here we shall cite just two. Tsongkhapa believed that the great tradition of Indian scholastic Buddhism represented the apex of Buddhist learning. To the extent that Tibetan Buddhism had departed from that tradition (and Tsongkhapa believed it indeed had) it was seen as having degenerated. Therefore, Tsongkhapa and his followers saw one of their chief tasks to be that of bringing Tibetan Buddhism back to its Indian roots.

More fundamentally, perhaps, the Gelukpa emphasis on philosophical studies has to do with the perceived relationship of these studies to practice (and especially to the practice of Tantra). Gelukpas generally believe that to practice Tantra the student must have evolved certain spiritual qualities or mental traits: (a) a level of renunciation (nges 'byung), a disgust with the pleasures and concerns of the world, (b) a proper motivation, as epitomized by the "thought of enlightenment" (byang chub kyi sems), the overwhelming wish to attain enlightenment for the sake of others, and (c) a correct understanding of reality, called "right view" (yang dag pa'i lta ba). Although there were systems for developing these traits independently of prolonged formal philosophical study -- for example, through the study and practice of the so-called "stages of the path" (lam rim) tradition⁶ -- it was generally maintained that the most effective and profound way of engendering these qualities was through the study of the Indian classics. Having a conceptual understanding of Buddhism was seen as a necessary preamble to successful practice. Since the great texts of Indian Buddhism were seen as providing the most detailed blueprint of the theory and practice of the path, it was the texts of the Indian tradition that came to be considered the norm.

A curriculum of studies was instituted in the Geluk academies shortly after their founding. Its raison-d'etre was to provide monks with a structured environment in which to engage in the intensive study of the Indian doctrinal/philosophical tradition.⁷ A monk's successful completion of the curriculum culminated in the prestigious degree of Geshé, and only students in the philosophical colleges were candidates for the four ranks of Geshé degree.⁸ (Click here to read more about the Geshé degree.) To achieve the highest rank of Geshé, a monk had to spend 20 or more years in a rigorous program of study and prayer. Monks would progress steadily through 13 different classes that covered 5 major subjects:

• Collected Topics (bsdus grwa)
• Perfection of Wisdom (phar phyin)
• The Theory of Emptiness, or Madhyamaka (dbu ma)
• Monastic Discipline ('dul ba)
• Metaphysics/Cosmology (mdzod)

Logic/epistemology (tshad ma) was studied in a special winter interterm called Jang Gunchö ('jang dgun chos) held at a separate monastery south of Lhasa. Monks of all of the densas attended this interterm. (Click here to read more about the curriculum)

Monks who studied, called "textualists" (dpe cha ba), spent many hours every day in study and prayer. Study consisted principally of memorization (blo 'dzin), (Click here to read more about memorization.) debate (rtsod pa), debate (Click here to read more about debate.), and reading (dpe klog rgyab pa), although monks also received sporadic tuition or oral commentary on the texts (dpe khrid) form their teachers. The curriculum, as we have mentioned, was based on the great texts of Indian scholastic Buddhism, and on their Indian and Tibetan (Gelukpa) commentaries. In actual practice, however, most monks spent the majority of their time studying, and debating from, the college textbooks (yig cha).

Probably less than 25% of all monks in the philosophical colleges, however, were textualists. The remaining monks were mostly workers. Most monks, but especially textualists, spent a good part of their day in prayer assemblies, and prayer was seen as an essential part of the educational process. Prayer, or more generally the accumulation of merit, is believed to clear away obstacles to learning: physical obstacles (such as illness and financial hardships), as well as mental/psychological impediments (like the inability to memorize, to analyze arguments and to understand the meaning of texts). Thus, prayer and learning where believed to go hand in hand.

Monks of the Mé College debating. Sera, India	The monks of the Ché College in a prayer assembly (tshogs). Sera, India

Tantric Colleges

Tantra (sometime referred to as Vajrayāna) is the esoteric, or secret, "vehicle" of Buddhism, an extraordinary form of Mahāyāna Buddhism that, because of its unique techniques (thabs), claims to speed up the process of enlightenment, making it accessible to adepts within a single lifetime. The practice of Tantra begins with empowerment or initiation (dbang) from a qualified master. In an empowerment the master will, through the process of visualization, lead the student into the palace, or maṇḍala, of a specific deity. Inside the palace students are blessed by the deity/master in different ways that are said to "ripen" their minds. This ripening process is believed to be what gives students the permission to engage in tantric meditations on that specific deity.

Young monks learn to chant at the Lower Tantric College. Hunsur, India; early 1980's.

These meditations are usually enacted ritually. "Ritual" in this context refers to the chanted visualization practices wherein the words of the ritual -- sung to special melodies, and accompanied by a variety of musical instruments, hand gestures, etc. -- are meant to elicit images within the mind in a scripted series of generated images that are meant to create for the meditator an enlightened or pure world to replace the world of ordinary appearances in which human beings normally live. In a typical tantric ritual, meditators visualize themselves as having the enlightened body, speech and mind of the deity that is the focus of their practice. Tantric rites can be performed for the attainment of both mundane goals (wealth, long-life, the destruction of interferences), and supramundane goals (enlightenment for the benefit of others). But it is the latter of these -- the transformation, or transmutation, of the body, speech and mind into those of an enlightened being -- that is considered the chief reason for engaging in the practice of Tantra.

The tantric colleges of the Geluk tradition were ritual colleges, with "ritual" being understood in the way that it has just been explained. Occasional teachings might be given about the theory or practice of Tantra, but the chief mission of the tantric colleges was to preserve Tsongkhapa's tantric tradition through the enactment of ritual: that is, through the memorization and practice of ritual texts.

Click here to learn about the early history and present condition of the colleges of Sera.