borders of Qinghai, Tibet Autonomous Region and Sichuan meet. Sershul is the largest Gelugpa monastery in the Tibetan Kham region and has the only Buddhist Monastic University in the Kham region that is qualified to teach and bestow the highest Tibetan Buddhist geshe degree. Home to 1300 monks, Sershul Monastery is the largest Gelug monastery in Kham, and the religious center of Zachukha (or Sershul) County—the highest, largest, poorest, coldest, and most remote county in Sichuan Province. It has six existing temples, most of which are fairly well preserved since before 1949. The largest temple, which is more than 300 years old, contains two great chanting halls devoted to Je Tsongkhapa, founder of the Gelug Order. It also contains many precious relics including one of Je Tsongkhapa's teeth preserved within a sacred choeten (stupa) in the upper gallery. Sershul Monastery was established in 1701 and to date has kept a collection of rare sacred Buddhist objects, like the wooden block and hammer used during the initiation and penance ceremonies of monks at the Nalanda University in India at the time of Shakyamuni Buddha – some of the objects having a history of more than 2,000 years. The monastery also has many valuable sacred relics left by eminent monks after their deaths. Examples are for instance when Thinley Norbu lama died in 1995, a mark was left on his skull in the image Vajrapani. In 1997 when Triwa Lobsang lama died, an image of Arya Tara was left on his heart. Rinpoche's activities The monastery, under the guidance of Triwa Rinpoche, is managed in an orderly manner, with strict religious discipline and rigorous religious practice. A large number of monks want to join the monastery and today there are several monks who are in silent retreat. In July 2005, students of the Buddhist Monastic University of the Sershul Monastery obtained the first four places in the National Examination for Higher Tibetan Buddhist Institutes in China. In 2006, The monastery established a Hospital of Traditional Tibetan medicine, In 2012 completely a Tibetan Old Age Home, the Menshul Charity, an orphanage with a technical school is learning home of 750 students approximately, even running very well. In this way the monastery solved some substantial social problems for the local government administration and brought hope for the local Tibetans. A grand new temple devoted to Amitābha, a Tibetan medicine hospital, a guest house, and