Biographical Info
Sera Jey Buddhist Culture Center (SJBCC) is a 501 (C) (3) not-for-profit religious and cultural organization established in 2009 in State of New York. The Center functions as an official branch of Sera Jey Monastic University of India in the United States. It is dedicated to the preservation and fostering of Tibet’s unique spiritual tradition and cultural heritage to the Tibetan community of greater New York and the general public. Sera Jey Monastic University in India was re-established in Bylakuppe, Mysore, Karnataka State in 1970. The original Sera Jey Monastic University was established in Tibet in 15th century AD by Jetsun Kunkhen Lodoe Rinchen Senge, a close deciple of Great Lama Tsongkhapa, the founder of Gelug tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.
Since the establishment of Sera Jey Buddhist Culture Center, it organizes and provides a wide range of programs on Buddhism and Tibetan culture to the Tibetan community of greater New York which is the largest in North America and the general public for free of charge. Currently, the Center rents a house in Queens, New York as its base. In June of 2012, Sera Jey Monastic University had appointed Venerable Pare Rinpoche as the Center’s residential lama. The Center is very fortunate of having Pare Rinpoche as it’s residential lama who is one of the most senior lamas of Sera Jey and a humble and great practitioner.