Growth of Sera

For forty-seven years since its founding, Sera had four colleges: Gya Tratsang, Dromteng Tratsang, Tod Tratsang, Med Tratsang.
A disciple of Tsongkapa named Kunkyen Lodoi Rinchen Seng-ge, fromerly residing in Drepung Monastery, was confromted with some friction with others because of jealousy there, and finally moved his residence to Sera where he managed to gether a number of followers. But he and dhis followers lacked a permanent residence in Sera, thus took to wandering round about villages Tsal Gungthang, Dechen and Lamo, and were labelled "wanderers".

In the course of time a follower of Kunkyen Lodoi Rinchen Seng-ge, named Nyalton Paljor Lhundrup, receiving financial aid from the Lord and Lady of Newu Dzong, finally in 1466 built the Assembly Hall and chapels for the "Je college", meaning the "college for wanderers". Later, most of the monks from the former Tod Tratsang and partial from the former Dromteng Tratsang joined this newly erected Je College, which became firm and strong then. Hence the Sera remained with three colleges Tod, med and Je, till 1705 for two hundred and forty years.

In the year 1705, Lhasang Khan of Mongolia, a nephew of Gorshi Khan, when becoming the ruler of Tibet, in conression for his killing Desi Sang-gye Gyatso, built the General Asemmbly Hall for sera and used the formner Assemlly Hall, which already was too small then, for his private offer of rituals. This was the beginning of Ngagpa College in Sera.

In 1717 owing to the Dzungarian invaders' killing of Lhasang khan and capture of his followers, the monks of Ngagpa College were dispersed. After three years of Dzungarian invasion, when they were driven off from Tibet, an elder of Ngagpa, lobsang Chonjor, with two others, asked for the help of Tsering Kyab, a local Head in Qinghai, to pass a petition to Emperor Kangxi for the recovery of the college, which soon was met with a satisfactory acknowledgement from the former with a letter. In 1722, with the help of the 7th Dalai Lama, kalsang Gyatso, the rules and regulations of Ngagpa college recovered to its former situation.