Scriptural Debate of Sera Monastery

About This Attraction

The debates at Sera Monastery have always been famous in the Tibetan area, and are also the focus of the Sera Monastery tour. The debate ceremony of Sera Monastery is held in the debate field in the north of the monastery. After entering the gate of the monastery, you can reach it by walking straight along the wide road for about a kilometer. You don't need to buy a ticket to enter the debate field. There is no need to worry about the extremely strong sun in the afternoon in Tibet, because the many towering trees in the debate field block the dazzling and hot sunlight on the plateau, making it a fresh and cool stage for religious activities. It starts at 3 pm every day and lasts until 5 pm. There are no debates on Sundays and special holidays, so please pay attention. During the debate, the monks often sit on the ground and the other stands opposite. The debates on the scriptures with exaggerated movements are very interesting. The standing monk asks questions in Tibetan, and the sitting monk answers in Tibetan. The debate topics cover all aspects of Tibetan Buddhism. Once a question is asked, the sitting monk must respond without thinking, refute or answer. As the debate deepened, distinctive scenes began to emerge. The standing participants faced each other, using a variety of gestures and rich body movements, even glaring, waving prayer beads, standing on one foot and clapping vigorously to show their power. When asking questions, they raised their arms and chopped down; or pulled the Buddhist beads to show that they would defeat the opponent with the power of faith.