Setenling Gompa, Ser Gompa, (pinyin

Pinyin

Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...

: Saigesi) is a Jonangpa (or Jonang) monastery about a kilometre from the eastern edge of Aba or Ngawa City , the main city in Ngawa (Aba) County

Ngawa County

Ngawa County , or Aba or Ngaba, is a county of Sichuan Province, China. It is under the administration of the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture. It is located in the remote northwestern part of the prefecture, on the border with Qinghai and Gansu...

, within the Ngawa (Aba) Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture

Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture

The Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture is an autonomous prefecture in Sichuan, whose capital is Barkam town . It has an area of 83,201 km²....

 (Tibetan: Amdo

Amdo

Amdo is one of the three traditional regions of Tibet, the other two being Ü-Tsang and Kham; it is also the birth place of the 14th Dalai Lama. Amdo encompasses a large area from the Machu River to the Drichu river . While culturally and ethnically a Tibetan area, Amdo has been administered by a...

) in northwestern Sichuan

Sichuan

' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. It is located on the Tibetan plateau

Tibetan Plateau

The Tibetan Plateau , also known as the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau is a vast, elevated plateau in Central Asia covering most of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai, in addition to smaller portions of western Sichuan, southwestern Gansu, and northern Yunnan in Western China and Ladakh in...

 at an elevation of 3,200 metres (10,499 ft.). The head lama, Thubten Dorje Rinpoche, is still living in the monastery.

Description

One enters the courtyard through a gate between the office cum shop of the monastery and a mani wall with the large restored Assembly Hall in front. The Assembly Hall contains many tankas and images of Kunkhyen Dolpopa, Jetsun Kunga Drolchok, Taranatha

Taranatha

Tāranātha was a Lama of the Jonang school of Tibetan Buddhism. He is widely considered its most remarkable scholar and exponent....

, Namnang Dorje as well as of the deities Cakrasamvara and Kalacakra.

Left of the Assembly Hall are the Tsenyi Dratsang with a walled garden for debating, the Gonkhang with an image of Takkiraja, the 'tiger-riding' form of Mahakala

Mahakala

Mahākāla is a Dharmapala in Vajrayana Buddhism, and a deity in Chinese and Japanese Buddhism, particularly in the Vajrayana school. He is known as Daheitian in Chinese and Daikokuten in Japanese...

, and the Drubkhang or meditation hermitage with images of Dolpopa, Taranatha, Namnang Dorje and the deity Vajrakila. Newer buildings include the Dukhor Lolang with a three dimensional mandala

Mandala

Maṇḍala is a Sanskrit word that means "circle". In the Buddhist and Hindu religious traditions their sacred art often takes a mandala form. The basic form of most Hindu and Buddhist mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point...

 of Kalacakra and the Head Lama's residence with a Jokhang Chapel containing many fine images, books and tankas.

History

The monastery was founded by Namnang Dorje, and reconstituted in the late 19th century by Dro-ge Yonten Gyatso. There are about 800 affiliated monks.

Ceremonies

• Sunning the Buddha and turning Maitreya
  Maitreya
  Maitreya , Metteyya , or Jampa , is foretold as a future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. In some Buddhist literature, such as the Amitabha Sutra and the Lotus Sutra, he or she is referred to as Ajita Bodhisattva.Maitreya is a bodhisattva who in the Buddhist tradition is to appear on...
  
  Buddha. http://www.chinafacttours.com/tours/china-festival-tours/16-day-tibetan-losar-and-monlam-tour-cft-fes9001.html