Sawa Lakh Deep Prajjwalan (Nepali Style) at Nritya Mandala Mahavihara in Portland, USA

Dr Rabin Man Shakya

Portland, Sept 16 (Nepal Oregon News): Living in the United States and trying to keep the culture and traditions of Nepal alive is a formidable challenge which is being faced by the Nepalese in America.

Nritya Mandala Mahavihara, Nepali Association of Oregon (NAO), Nepa Chhen, NRNA - USA - Oregon chapter, Nepal Oregon News are some of the institutions in Portland, Oregon, USA which are committed to preserve and enhance the culture and traditions of Nepal.

Promoting, preserving and protecting our traditional and cultural values are, actually, not an easy work. It is very hard and arduous task, but Nepalese Portlanders are giving it a shot.

Sawa Lakh Deep Prajjwalan - an act of lighting of one hundred twenty five thousand (125,000) cotton wicks soaked in sesame oil, five baked clay dishes and burnt - was performed here at Nritya Mandala Mahavihara in Portland, USA on Saturday,  Sept 15, 2018.

On the occasion, an Itah Kayegu practice was also organized at Portland's Newah Buddhist temple in which about 20 Newah women from Oregon participated.

Itah Kayegu is a manual and handmade process in which a Newah woman using her hands and fingers stretches up the cotton by, kind of, spinning, dragging and intertwining and finally making an Itah which is used for sacred burning.



Speaking on the occasion, Daya Shakya, vice president of World Newah Organization said that Ita Kayegu and  Sawa Lakh Deep Prajjwalan are a unique preliminary practice from the ancient households of the Nepalese people and hence have a tremendous traditional importance.



Today more than ever, depression is a big problem for the people across the world. Addressing the gathering at the temple, Prajwal Vajracharya of the Mahavihara said that scientific importance of Ita Kayegu lies in the fact that it helps to do away with depression as veining mechanism is affected  in a healthy way by the movements of fingers during the Itah Kayegu process.

Anastasia Roderick of the Mahavihara underlined the need to preserve this kind of practice.

Sawa Lakh Deep Prajjwalan is a fine ritual to benefit any wish of a man or a woman. Live burning ritual of Sawa Lakh Itah Chyakegu was initiated by Padma Laxmi Karanjit and her family at the temple. The Prajjwalan ceremony was ritualized by Prajwal Guruju.

The ceremony was followed by tea, snacks, wine and potluck dinner.

(Rabin Man Shakya is a Nepali journalist in America)

Panjaran (Panchadan), a festival of Newar Buddhism, Celebrated at Nritya Mandala Mahavihara, Portland, USA

Naamsangiti, Das Paramita and Daan Gatha Chanted by Newar Portlanders

Dr Rabin Man Shakya

Portland, Sept 8 (Nepal Oregon News): One of the important festivals of the Newah Buddhists "Panjaran"  was celebrated here at Nritya Mandala Mahavihara in Portland, USA.

Panjaran is also Panchadan which means giving away different kinds of alms, such as, grains and fruits like rice, paddy,  salt, peas, bananas, radish etc to people from Vajracharya and Shakya communities.

On the occasion, various Buddhist Tutas like Mahayana Sutra, Naam Sangiti, Bandeshree, Dasparamita,  Daan Gatha and Siddhi Muni were recited by  chief pujari  Guruju Prajwal Ratna Vajracharya, linguist Daya Ratna Shakya,  Guruju Pradeep Vajracharya and  journalist Dr Rabin Man Shakya inside the Buddhist temple at the Mahavihara.



After the reciting of Holy Tutas, as per the Buddhist tradition, different kinds of alms, such as, rice, peas, bananas, apples and money were given away by Mahavihara's Guruju (preist) Prajwal Ratna Vajracharya, Jaya Shakya, Dina Shakya and Anastasia Roderick to Portland"s local Newah Buddhists.

Raw rice was offered to the Panjaran participants from the Gulpa, just like in Nepal, in front of the large statue of Lord Buddha.

At the end of the Panchadan program at the Nritya Mandala Mahavihara, Portland's Panjaran participants were offered the Khir lunch in the " Kayan Yagu Dema" (traditional Newah plate made of brass).

Panjaran ceremony in Portland was reminiscent of Panjaran activities in Kathmandu.

Nritya Mandala Mahavihara has moved to centerstage in Nepalese cultural scenario in Oregon by organizing a lot of programs and ceremonies related to festivals and culture of Nepal.

Prajwal Guruju of Nritya Mandala Mahavihara in Portland said that Portland's Buddhist Mahavihara also keeps the tradition alive by carrying on Tuta Bwonegu for a month until the end of the month of Gunla.

Tuta Bwonegu is a month-long practice of reciting Bajrayana Buddhist Tutas among the Newah Buddhists of the Kathmandu Valley during the month of Gunla (August-September).

There is no doubt that Nritya Mandala Mahavihara has been doing praiseworthy and commendable job by trying to keep the tradition and culture of Nepal alive in the USA.

It is to be noted that the establishment of Nritya Mandala Mahavihara in Portland in 2009 AD has paved the way for local Nepalese Portlanders to carry on with lots of ritual and cultural ceremonies like the way it is done in the Kathmandu valley.

The forthcoming "Sawa Lakh Dipa Prajwolan" (the lighting of one hundred twenty five thousand oily wicks) to be organized at the Mahavihara on Saturday, Sept 15, 2018 is a testimony to it.

(Rabin Man Shakya is a Nepali journalist in America)