Buddhist Iconographies of Nepal and Tibet Show Many Interesting Differences: Dr Vajracharya

Dr. Rabin Man Shakya

Portland, Sept 29, (Nepal Oregon News): A scholarly talk on "Nepalese Buddhist Art and Iconography: What Makes It Distinct ?" by Dr Gautama Vajracharya and a presentation on "Making Nepalese Buddhist Ritual Masks" by Alysha Graham, an artist,  were organized at Nritya Mandala Mahavihara (NMM) in Portland on Saturday, Sept 28, 2019 as part of the NMM's ongoing tenth anniversary programs.

Prajwal Vajracharya, a priest and co-founder of Nritya Mandala Mahavihara, on the occasion gave a short introduction of Dr Vajracharya before the start of the talk.

Although based on the same well-known Sanskrit texts Sadhanamala and Nispannayogavali, the Buddhist iconographies of Nepal and Tibet show many interesting differences, Dr Vajracharya said at the program.

Dr Vajracharya, during the scholarly talk, shared and explained these differences in light of his observations of Buddhist civilization and Himalayan geography and climate.

One of the most interesting differences between the iconographies of Nepalese Paubhas and Tibetan Thangkas  is:  More than 75 percent of Nepalese Paubhas depict Toranas whereas Torana is mostly missing in Tibetan  Thangkas, said Dr Vajracharya.

( Torana is a free-standing ornamental or arched gateway for ceremonial purposes seen in the Buddhist and Hindu arts and architecture of Nepal, India and other South Asian nations.)

Replying to a query of Nepal Oregon News about the study of Nepalese Buddhist art and iconography outside of Nepal, Dr Vajracharya informed that the research and study of Nepalese Buddhist art and iconography started in a French University during King Mahendra's rule. Nepalese Buddhist art and iconography are studied in the US, Britain, Germany and some other European countries, he added.

Vajracharya, who was born into a Newah Gubhaju family in Kathmandu in 1940, learnt Sanskrit from Nayaraj Pant and he was also taught to read ancient inscriptions and iconography.

Dr Vajracharya taught History of South Asian Art for 23 years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Art History.

Dr Vajracharya, who is a renowned Nepali Sanskritist and art history scholar, is the author of books : (1) Nepalese Seasons: Rain and Rirual (2) Frog Hymns and Rain Babies: Monsoon Culture and Art of Ancient South Asia (3) Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure.

Likewise, making a presentation on "Making Nepalese Buddhist Ritual Masks", Alysha Graham, an artist, presented the process of creating masks for Charya Nritya, dance as a spiritual practice. At the program, Helen Appel, co-founder of the Mahavihara gave a brief introduction about Alysha before her presentation.

I grew up in a Gurdjieff community in rural Aurora, Oregon. I am an artist. At age 20, I sat my first 10 day Vipassana retreat taught by S N Goenka. I consider Vipassana to be my root practice and have completed and served 5 ten day courses, Alysha said during the presentation.

At age 25, I found the practice of Charya Buddhist Nepalese deity dance. I also studied the Green Tara and White Tara long forms in Charya through a grant that also included studying traditional Buddhist deity mask making and Thangka painting, Alysha went on saying.

Answering a question of Nepal Oregon News, Alysha said that her inspiration to become an artist came from years of relating closely with nature, her passion for indigenous wisdom, Buddhist philosophy, yoga, health and plant spirit medicine.

Alisha Graham is an artist, Charya dancer and Vajrayana practitioner and recipient of a grant to study traditional Nepalese Buddhist mask making and Paubha painting.

Both Dr Vajracharya and Graham replied to numerous questions asked by Nepalese and American participants at the program. The program which was attended by over 50 American and Nepalese participants was followed by a Nepali style dinner.

(Nepal Oregon News writer Rabin Man Shakya is a Nepali journalist in America)

Newar Buddhist Temple - Nritya Mandala Mahavihara's - Tenth Anniversary in Portland, America: Time for Retrospection

Dr Rabin Man Shakya

Portland, Sept 23 (Nepal Oregon News): Despite the fact that Shakya Muni Siddhartha Gautam Buddha was born in Nepal, Nepal used to be called a Hindu kingdom until recently. Nepal still is a Hindu majority country. At a time when Buddhists of Japan, Korea, Tibet, Taiwan, Burma, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and so on are working very hard to disseminate the ideas of Buddhism throughout the world, the role of Nepalese Buddhists in propagating and enriching Buddhism abroad is insignificant.

The role and scope of Nritya Mandala Mahavihara (NMM) in Portland, USA which is celebrating its tenth anniversary has to be analyzed against such disappointing background.

The Nritya Mandala Mahavihara - which is the only Nepalese Buddhist temple in the West so far - has moved to centerstage in Nepalese community in Oregon by observing the age-old festivals of the Kathmandu valley and by keeping alive the traditions and culture of the people of Nepal.

The tenth anniversary of Nritya Mandala Mahavihara is being celebrated in a grand manner throughout September to November. An opening celebration which consisted of various programs was organized at Henjyoji Shingon Temple in Portland on Saturday and Sunday Sept 21-22, 2019.

At the beginning of the program, various dignitaries of Portland's Dharma communities and some prominent Nepalese Portlanders were felicitated by wrapping Khata on them. The tenth anniversary program was declared open by co-founder of the Mahavihara Helen Appell by lightening diyo on the twarba. 

The anniversary program started with opening chants and prayers by various luminaries of Portland's Dharma communities for an auspicious beginning. An art exhibition and cultural display was also organized on the occasion.

In his welcome remarks, Rev. Kosho Finch of the Henjyoji Shingon Temple said that the objective of the Buddhist Henjyoji Temple is to provide support to all congregrants  in achieving their desired personal and spiritual potential through Shingon Buddhism.

"The Japanese Cultural Academy fosters the study and practice of traditional and evolving Japanese arts," he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Prajwal Vajracharya, priest and co-founder of the NMM said that Dance Mandala was launched in 1996 whereas Nritya Mandala was established in 2009 by Helen Appell and him.. Prajwal threw light on the history of the Mahavihara, the challenges and problems he faced in the beginning.

Nritya Mandala Mahavihara has been working to disseminate values of Newah Buddhism in the West. Similarly, various rituals like rice feeding ceremony, wedding ceremony, Bratbandha, Ihi and Bhimrathrohan rituals are also organized in the Mahavihara, Prajwal said.

The Newah Buddhist temple's ten year history with a slide show of the process and events of bringing Nepalese Buddhism to the West through NMM was able to vividly shed light on the activities of the Mahavihara.

The program was also addressed by Bharat Banskota, president of Nepali Association of Oregon and Daya Shakya, vice president of World Newah Organization and president of NRN NCC USA  Oregon chapter.

One of the attractions of the day's programs was a talk " Nepalese Food Wisdom: Food as Medicine" by Bikram Vaidya. It was a slide-talk journey through the many regions of Nepal's culinary flavors, seasonal foods and their health benefits, culminating in the Kathmandu valley's indigenous foods.

Nepalese wisdom of balancing the five elements through nutrition is shared along with the traditional foods for different festivals of the Valley.

Chef Vaidya was born in the Kathmandu Valley in a lineage of Ayurvedic practitioners. He currently is Lead Chef Instructor at Oregon Culinary Institute in Portland.

Another equally important attraction of the celebration was Nepalese music performance and talk by Dr Subhash Prajapati. Dr Prajapati and his team performed both traditional and folk music from different ethnic groups of Nepal and also featured Newah Buddhist music "Gunla Bajan" of the Kathmandu valley using traditional drums like Dhaa, Nayekhin, Dhimey and Paschima.

Different programs were organized on Sunday, Sept 22 also. "Mudra Movement Workshop" by Prajwal Vajracharya was health through movement with intention, gestures and knowledge of the inner meanings of parts of the body and their five elements, the subtle body can come into balance.

Prajwal in a charismatic way discussed how certain movements and mudras effect health and shared simple yogic exercises for healing for hands, feet and energy channels, as well as the refuge dance for intention.

Prajwal Vajracharya was born into a lineage of Buddhist priests of the Kathmandu valley and was raised in the yogic and ritual art of Charya dance.

A workshop "Making Ritual Objects" by Uppa Shakya, Dina Shakya and Anjali Bajracharya was also organized. The workshop attempted to cultivate a meditative mind and dexterity and health in the hands through the practice of making Nepalese Buddhist ritual objects like Goza, Jajanka and Ita.

Similarly, Dr Subhash Prajapati conducted another workshop on "Sanskrit Scripts and Calligraphy" which explored and practiced sacred Sanskrit writing forms including Ranjana Lipi script developed around 11th century in Nepal.

At the end of the program on both days, the traditional sacred Buddhist dances of Nepal - Charya Nritya - a sadhana (meditation practice) through the embodiment of peaceful, semi-wrathful and wrathful deities, five Buddha energies, offering goddesses and couple dances were also presented before the audience.

The 10th anniversary organized by Nritya Mandala Mahavihara was attended by over 100 participants including luminaries of Portland's local Dharma communities, American and Nepalese Buddhists, office bearers and members of Nepali Association of Oregon, Nepaa Chhen and NRN NCC USA Oregon chapter and a representative from Nepal Oregon News.

Glimpses of the program. Sorry could not make it to all the events.

(Rabin Man Shakya is a Nepali journalist in USA)

Nepali Association of Oregon (NAO) Hosts 17th North West Pacific Picnic

Rabin Man Shakya

Portland, Sept 2 (Nepal Oregon News): There is no doubt that picnics are a part of important activities of the community organizations. Picnics give  people an opportunity to stay away from the hectic daily chores for a day and also an opportunity to communicate and interact with fellow community members.

An annual north west Nepali pacific picnic  was organized by Nepali Association of Oregon (NAO) on Saturday, Aug 31, 2019 at Blue Lake Park in Portland.

The picnic was attended by the Nepalese community members coming from Oregon, Washington and  BC Canada. The community picnic provided an opportunity for Nepalese to enjoy an afternoon and evening of Nepali style lunch and dinner.

According to Bharat Baskota of NAO, total number of people taking part at the pacific north west Nepali picnic exceeded 350 in which 100 participants were from Seattle, Washington and 33 from BC Canada. There were guests from some other states of the USA too and also all the way from Nepal as well.

Our community picnic was a great opportunity to celebrate our Nepali value, Nepali food and traditions, one of the picnic participants told Nepal Oregon News.

This fun Nepalese community event featured volleyball game, soccer, golf, kids games and entertainment programs.

Other Nepalese community organizations of Oregon also lent a helping hand for successfully organizing the picnic event: NRNA NCC USA Oregon Chapter by providing 125 pounds of goat meat, Nepaa Chhen by providing 75 pounds of Aalu Sandheko, Sano Nepal by providing 400 cans of soda.

Also on the occasion, annual pacific north west regional publication "Jamghat" was released jointly by the presidents of the Nepali Association of Oregon (NAO), Nepal Seattle Society (NSS) and Nepal Cultural Society British Columbia (NCSBC).

"Jamghat" which is a bilingual magazine in English and Nepali offers a wide spectrum in terms of community news, poems, articles and messages of the respective chairs of NAO, NSS and NCSBC.

On the occasion, NAO president Bharat Baskota handed over cup and certificates to winners of the sports competitions, $ 50 or more cash donors for the picnic and volunteers of the  picnic event.

The picnic program was also addressed by Daya Shakya, editor of "Jamghat", Bharat Baskota of NAO, Madhav Bhandari of Nepal Seattle Society and Pratima Parajuli of Nepal Cultural Society British Columbia,  Mohan Gurung, Commissioner for Asia and Pacific Region at the Governor of the State of Washington, Harvey Blustain, president of Eugene-Kathmandu Sister City Association.

Honorary Consul of Nepal to Seattle A C Sherpa and general secretary of NRNA NCC USA Pashupati Pandey also addressed the program.

Given the limited resources and time, the regional picnic - which was first  organized in Vancouver, Canada in 2002 - has been able to draw more and more community members from Oregon, Washington and BC Canada.

Well, the fact that the pacific north west picnic has  continuously been organized for last 17 years is a testimony of friendship, harmony and fraternal ties among the Nepalese communities in the US states of Oregon and Washington and BC Canada. This kind of picnic is organized once a year by NAO, NSS and NCSBC respectively.

Later in the evening, the same day, a cultural entertainment program  with second and late dinner was organized for the picnic participants at Nekusing Memorial Theater in Portland by US World Class Taekwondo Hollywood and Nepaa Chhen.

Beautiful and attractive dances, songs, poems and jokes were the part of the evening program.