Dr Rabin Man Shakya
Portland, Feb 22 (Nepal Oregon News): A solo Charya dance of Anna Shustrova, a Sangha member was organized at the Nritya Mandala Mahavihara in Portland on Sunday Feb 21, 2021.
Sunday was also Anna's birthday which was celebrated at the Mahavihara with face covering, with limited number of people, social distancing and other pandemic guidelines. The birthday was ritualized by Guruju Prajwal. Anna's Charya dance was watched by about 30 people on the zoom.
Charya Dance and Newar Buddhism:
The program kicked off with the Refuge Charya Dance performed by Prajwal Vajracharya, Joshua Proto and Anna Shustrova
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| Refuge charya nritya dance performance. |
On the occasion, Anna presented three dances: (1) White Tara charya nritya (2) Vajravarahi charya dance and (3) Singhamukhi (Singhamukha) charya dance (Dakini with lion face).
Sangha member Joshua Proto sang Charya giti very skillfully for the dances and also played Taa (two little cymbals), while Kanta Dub Dub (Damaru) was played for the dances intermittently by Prajwal Vajracharya.
The Charya dances performed by Anna was beautiful and fascinating, and were able to reflect the stories of the inner qualities and awakening of Buddhist deities.
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| Charya nritya dance Vajravarahi. |
Addressing the zoom participants, Prajwal Vajracharya underscored the importance of Charya dance and deities in Newar Buddhism. Charya nritya dances and Newar Vajrayana Buddhism are intricately interrelated, the senior Charya nritya guru added.
That is why Charya dances are indivisible part of Newar Buddhism. Charya nritya dance is a Newar Buddhist ritual dance with a history going back to more than 1,000 years, he maintained.
Charya nritya dances are performed by Newar Buddhist priests known as Vajracharyas as part of their esoteric meditation, practice and rituals, he added.
White Tara Charya Nritya Dance:
Throwing light on Tara, Prajwal Guruji said: "There are 21 forms of Tara. Actually, they are all the transformed bodies of Lokeshvara Boddhisattva."
White Tara manifests as a young beautiful maiden, he said. Describing about the iconography of White Tara, Prajwal Guruji said:"White Tara is in full Vajra posture. White Tara's left hand is poised at the heart and holds the stem of a lotus. White Tara's right hand is in the Varada Mudra signifying supreme generosity. White Tara is presided over upright on a moon disc to mitigate sufferings of sentient beings."
Giving further details about White Tara, the Guruji said: "This Tara is depicted wearing all kinds of precious jewelries. Image of Amitabha Buddha is on her head as a crown."
Further explaining about White Tara, Vajracharya said that she is the female Bodhisattva of compassion, the supreme mother and collective manifestation of the enlightened activity, of all the Buddhas.
Vajravarahi Charya Nritya Dance:
Speaking about Vajravarahi dakini, Prajwal said that she is the mother of all Dakinis. Vajravarahi is invoked to destroy enemies, he said. "Vajravarahi is one of the most important female deities in Newar Vajrayana Buddhism. She is the central deity in the Five Dakini Mandala and is the mother of all Dakinis," Prajwal went on saying.
Saying that "Vajravarahi is a deity of compassion, but when chased by evil creatures, she can hide under the ground, protecting herself with the help of her boar's mouth", Prajwal stated that Vajravarahi is the deity who can create good out of bad, who can move forward, transforming malice and malevolence into compassion and kindness.
Prajwal shared that Vajravarahi is always in the center of Nepal Mandala. Prajwal further underlined:"A wild boar's head is there on the right side of Vajravarahi's head or on the top of her head. Four to ten of her toddlers are fed from her breast simultaneously. Varahi refers to any of the four boar-headed deities who preside over the Kathmandu valley,"
Singhamukha Charya Nritya Dance:
Furthermore, Pundit Vajracharya said that Singhamukha is a lion-faced Dakini who is a secret form of Vajrayogini. "Singhamukha -- which is a mask dance and is danced with great vigor and dramatic movements -- is a red, fearless and very wrathful deity", added Prajwal Guruji.
Depicting the lion-faced Dakini's iconography, Guruji Prajwal said:"This wrathful deity is manifested in a pink-red or red colored costume. This Dakini also wears rosary/mala which represents the understanding of the various feelings and moods of sentient beings. Singha mukha is wrapped in lion skin, and the snake (naga) wrapped in her belly signifies the treasure."
Laying emphasis on importance of the lion faced Dakini, the Guruji said that Singhamukha is known as a powerful deity that does away with obstacles. Singhamukha is also known as the queen of the Dakinis, he added.
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| Charya nritya dance 'Singhamukhi' (Singhamukha) |
Anna Shustrova is a long term Buddhist practitioner. She was born in Moscow, Russia. In 2012, she moved to the United States where she met Prajwal Vajracharya, and started practicing within Newar Buddhist tradition.She also performed her solo dance in 2015 during Maitreya Loving Kindness Relic Tour and many performances at the Nritya Mandala Mahavihara.
( Nepal Oregon News writer Rabin Man Shakya is a Nepali journalist in USA)
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