A hermitage (ri khrod) is a small religious residence found in an isolated mountain location. Hermitages begin as the mountain homes of monks, nuns, or pious laypersons seeking the peace of isolated sites to engage in intensive religious practice. Within a few generations of their founding, hermitages often transform, changing from individual meditation retreats into communal ritual monasteries. They usually grow, sometimes becoming large monasteries in their own right. In this part of the Sera website, you will learn about the hermitages related to Sera Monastery.