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Ordained Sangha
Monks participating in the daily clean up at Sera Je Monastery.
Starting at 4 a.m. every morning, on-duty cooks start the work of preparing breakfast for 2,500. These cooks are monks studying at Sera Je Monastery who also benefit daily from the three nutritious meals offered by the Sera Je Food Fund. Each day, between 50-70 monks are assigned kitchen work. Breakfast is served at 6:30 a.m. and after clean-up, lunch preparations begin. Lunch is served at 10:30 a.m. and dinner at 5:00 p.m. Promptly at 6 p.m. the kitchen is thoroughly cleaned to ensure that the food program is operating in the most hygienic way possible.
The work and enthusiasm put into making this program a success is astounding: Truly this is an example of community in action, a collective effort that is beneficial to all involved.
To help illustrate the scale of what is offered, and thus, prepared, here is a list of some of the food and cooking items used in June of this year:
- 19,600 bananas were offered
Monks working together to prepare food for 2,500.
- 5,736 pounds of rice and 3,329 pounds of dahl were prepared
- 10,968 pounds of baking powder and flour were incorporated into recipes
- 1,987 bundles of green vegetables and 5,840 pounds of combined other vegetables were served
- 89 bottles of soy sauce were utilized
- 3,796 cups of cooking oil and 86 gas cylinders were needed
You may join in this colossal effort to offer three nutritious meals every day to the 2,500 monks studying at Sera Je Monastery.
Vegetarian savory puffs.
A giant batch of delicious vegetarian puffs were prepared for 2,500 monks as a test for a possible new addition to the regular rotation of menu items offered every day to the monks of Sera Je Monastery through the Sera Je Food Fund.
The puffs were stuffed with green beans, cheese and white noodles. The monks enjoyed this addition very much!
To see the amazing food offered every day to the monks of Sera Je Monastery visit photo galleries of seven days of breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Sera Je Kitchen Crew preparing to offer the vegetarian puffs to 2,500 monks.
Monks help with clean-up after a meal.
The Sera Food Fund kitchen continues to stay within the budget and be able to offer excellent nutritious vegetarian meals to all the monks of Sera Je Monastery (see photos of 7 days of breakfast, lunch and dinner).
Some recent expenses included:
- US$5,015 for a new steam boiler using wood (to reduce usage of LPG gas cylinders) plus fittings and materials and a new rice cooking vessel.
- US$3,779 for new potato peeling machines, a new wood-cutting machine, seven new steel gas stoves and two steel storage boxes for storing baked breads.
To help illustrate the scale of what is offered through the Sera Je Food Fund, in one month:
- Nearly 25,000 bananas were offered
- 6,166 pounds of rice and 4,369 pounds of dahl were prepared
- 10,579 pounds of baking powder and flour were incorporated into recipes
- 2,509 bundles of green vegetables and 6,382 pounds of combined other vegetables were served
- 107 bottles of soy sauce were utilized
- 3,580 cups of cooking oil and 65 gas cylinders were needed
You may join in this colossal effort to offer three nutritious meals every day to the monks studying at Sera Je Monastery.
Kitchen helpers preparing for meals to feed 30,000 visitors expected on July 6 for His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 78th birthday celebration.
The Sera Je Food Fund Kitchen is preparing to offer food to 30,000 visitors to the monastery in honor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s visit to Sera Je from July 5-12, and in celebration of his 78th birthday on July 6. Many monks stayed all night to help prepare the food; a massive, collective effort.
The menu includes: tea and bread for the morning long life initiation, tea and sweet rice for the birthday celebration, and fried rice and butter tea for lunch.
To support the Sera Je Food Fund:
DONATE
Some of the monks of Dhakpo Khangtsen.
Dhakpo Khangtsen in much need of renovations.
June 2013: Lama Zopa Rinpoche Bodhichitta Fund was very happy to offer US$21,058 to Sera Je Dhakpo Khangtsen for the building of new rooms for the monks. Dhakpo Khangtsen remains one of the poorest Khangtsens (houses) at Sera Je Monastery. It does not have its own Gompa and the monks living there do not have adequate rooms, kitchen, toilet and bathroom facilities. This donation will go toward new rooms for the monks and will help with some much needed renovation.
Monks debating during last year’s Winter Debate. April 2013: The Lama Tsong Khapa Teachers Fund offered US$22,396.26 for the 2012 Winter Debate (Jang Gun-choe). 635 of the top debaters from Sera Je traveled to Drepung Monastery to participate with 8,000 monks from 11 different monasteries. The main participating Institutes were Sera, Drepung, Gaden, Tashi Lhunpo, Gyuto, Gyudme, Rato and Dhakpo Shedrup Dhargeyling monasteries and they met to debate two sessions a day for a minimum of seven hours. Many monks debated until the wee hours of the night.
The Lama Tsong Khapa Teachers Fund covered the cost of travel and food for the 635 monks from Sera Je Monastery to attend the month-long debate.
Monks debating during last year’s Winter Debate. The Great Winter Debate has been an integral part Tibet Buddhism and dates back to the time of Lama TsongKhapa. The debate mainly consists of the most earnest and competent scholars from the great monasteries. The primary course of study during the Winter Debate is Pramanavartika (Tsema Namdrel) by Acharya Dharmakirti on subjects such as epistemology, valid cognition, dialectics, and the Art of Liberation.
Learn more about the Winter Debate.
The Lama Tsong Khapa Teachers Fund also offered a full set of monk’s robes to 27 top scholars who memorized Shantidava’s The Bodhisattva’s Way of Life and an additional full set of robes to another 196 monks: 94 who successfully memorized The Essence of Eloquence (Dang-Nge), 91 who memorized The Clear Meaning of Paramita (Drelpa-Don-Sel), 10 who memorized Skab Dangpoi Spyi Don by Jetsun Chokyi Gyaltsen, and one who successfully memorized The Collection of Six Treaties on the Middle Way.
Ongoing improvements are made year round to Sera Je Monastery Kitchen through the Sera Je Food Fund. A new wood burning steam boiler was purchased for the Sera Je Kitchen to cut down on the usage of LPG gas cylinders. A new rice cooking vessel was also recently purchased.
You can donate any amount to these ongoing efforts.
A look at a typical daily offering of breakfast provided by the Sera Je Food Fund to the monks studying at Sera Je Monastery.
You can also view a typical day’s menu including breakfast and lunch.
Please take a moment to rejoice in this incredible offering of which you can be a part by donating any amount to the Sera Je Food Fund today.
A look at a typical week’s worth of lunches provided by the Sera Je Food Fund to all the monks studying at Sera Je Monastery.
You can also view a typical day’s menu including breakfast and lunch.
Please take a moment to rejoice in this incredible offering of which you can be a part by donating any amount to the Sera Je Food Fund today.
2010 Meeting of Geluk Committee in Nepal.April 2013: The Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund is very happy to be able to offer US$11,500 towards 2013 Special debate held in Nepal in August 2013.
This year the special debate will be held at Kopan Monastery for fifteen days. There will be 450 monks attending from ten different Gelug 
2010 Meeting of Geluk Committee in Nepal.monasteries in Nepal. These are the top debating students from each monastery. In addition this is the first time ever that nuns are participating in the special debate and there will be 90 nuns participating from two Gelug nunneries in Nepal, one of them being Kopan’s own Khachoe Ghakyil Ling Nunnery.
This is the fifth year the special debate has been held in Nepal for the Gelug monasteries. Each year a different monastery hosts the actual debate.
For more information on the annual winter debate, its history, the texts debated and the overall incredible importance of the debate please read more here.
Please rejoice that we can make this offering and thank you to all the kind donors of the Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund. The support given by FPMT’s Lama Tsongkhapa Teachers Fund ensures that the Mahayana teachings are preserved for the benefit of all sentient beings and is critical to FPMT’s mission of transmitting and preserving the Mahayana Buddhist teachings worldwide.
You can also read Geshe Thubten Sherab’s account of a typical day at Sera Je Monastery here.
