Nritya Mandala Mahavihara's Role in Promoting Newar Buddhism, Newar Culture in USA

Rabin Man Shakya

Nritya Mandala Mahavihara was established and consecrated  on Nov 10, 2009. The inauguration rituals of the Mahavihara was carried on by Prajwal Vajracharya himself and senior Gubhaju Yagyamanpati Bajracharya and Sugat Bajracharya who came to the US from Nepal for the launching rituals of the first Newar Buddhist temple in Portland, USA. "The chronicles are testimony to the fact that the last Newar Buddhist Mahavihara was constructed in the Kathmandu valley 350 years ago, and no Mahavihara has been built ever since.  Therefore, the historical and chronicled significance of the Nritya Mandala Mahavihara in Portland lies in the fact that this Newar Buddhist temple was consecrated after 350 years followed  by the launching of the last Newar Buddhist Mahavihara in Nepal," says Prajwal  Vajracharya, a 35th-generation Vajrayana priest, who is also the co-founder of the Mahavihara  in Portland. No doubt, Nritya Mandala Mahavihara is the outcome of the lofty ideas and endeavors of late Buddhist scholar Ratna Kaji Vajracharya, Helen Appell and Prajwal Vajracharya.

The Newar Buddhist monastery in Portland has always been championing the cause Newar Buddhism and Newar culture in USA ever since its inception in 2009.