Sera Long Temple

　　Sera Long Temple is situated on the eastern shore of the sacred lake Mapam Yumtso. It was established by the celebrated Drukpa Kagyu realized master Gongjo Gyuzan, who undertook its construction upon the request of his master, Drukpa Gongco Chokle Zangpo. The temple’s founding took place in the Year of the Earth Monkey (1728 AD), the tenth anniversary of his master’s death. The primary benefactor of the temple was Jingge Ogechutu, the chieftain of the Tuqin Huodui nomadic tribe. This tribe had sent sixty cavalrymen to help the Tibetan army, led by Ganden Tsewang Rabten, repel the invading Ladakhi forces. Having taken many Ladakhi lives, the tribe sought to atone for their actions by sponsoring the creation of a meritorious religious site.

　　The main deity enshrined in the temple is a statue of Chokle Zangpo. Within the temple are preserved four relics of Shakyamuni Buddha (white, pearl-like crystalline substances that naturally grow in size, formed from the cremated remains of high lamas), five hidden treasures (terma) of nectar attained through the practice of Guru Rinpoche, a handwritten scripture by the great translator Vairotsana, the corporeal remains of the Seventh Brahmin, a strand of hair from the Drikung Kagyu master Drubthob Jonten Kyab, the meditation seat of Drukpa founder Tsangpa Gyare, the corporeal remains and silvery-white hair of Master Chojé Phuntsok, the bejeweled cymbal and ceremonial robe of Rinchen Chöje Drakpa, among others. The temple also houses four Shakyamuni Buddha statues of varying sizes, a statue of Guru Rinpoche, a stupa containing the relics of Master Gongjo Gyuzan, as well as clay sculptures of Milarepa, Phagmodrupa, and Gyalwa Gendun Drub. Scriptures such as the 100,000 Verse Perfection of Wisdom Sutra (Prajnaparamita) are also enshrined here.