New Year Celebration Purification Ritual Held at Nepali Temple in Portland, America

Dr. Rabin Man Shakya

Portland, Jan 2 (Nepal Oregon News): A New Year Celebration Purification Ritual - Dhalan Danegu - was held at Nritya Mandala Mahavihara in Portland on Wednesday, Jan 1, 2020. The purification ritual which was held for about three hours was performed by Rev Guruju Prajwal Vajracharya.

About 40 people - majority of them were local Americans - joined the Puja for purifying and reviving the old energy of the previous year and for overcoming obstacles and opening to fresh new potential through the annual New Year's purification ritual at the Mahavihara.  

The Gurumandala Workshop  trainees - Helen Appell, Anna Shustrova, Anastasia Roderick, Aleksei Dobry, Joshua Proto, Leson Baker, Gabriel Quitslund, Dina Shakya and Naveena Shakya - were also among those present at the purification ritual. Vajra (thunderbolt) and Gan (bell) were also used by all the Gurumandala participants.

The traditional community ceremony honored oneself and others by making offerings of purified elements and was guided by using one's own mandala of sand.

A special Puja Sankalpa consisting of Jaki, Sinha,  Ita, Dhup, Swan, Jajanka, Taaye etc was  carefully prepared for each participant who were seen sitting cross-legged in different lines inside the Portland Baha.

On the occasion, a mandala - which is a circle or cosmic diagram for ritual or interior visualization, representing various realms of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and their cosmic energies - was drawn for each participant. Also, three Gojas on the sand Mandala were worshipped during the ritual.

On the occasion, participants were also given time for a short meditation. They were later offered with Khen Sagan together with a  fish and Thwon. Similarly, a long Pasuka  (sacred thread) was used, spread, passed over to all the New Year purification ritual participants. It was an important component of the purification rutual.

Vajrayana tradition is based on Tantric Buddhism, so rituals performed by Rev Prajwal Guruju included using of mantras, dharinis, mudras, mandalas and visualization of deities and the Buddhas.

Talking with a journalist from Nepal Oregon News, USA, Rev Prajwal Vajracharya said that mantra is a word which means chanting or meditation, containing within it the sacred power and cosmic energies of a Buddha or Bodhisattvas.

Rev Vajracharya went on to say that the Mantra protects the mind from negative mental states by invoking devine energies within oneself.

Purification ritual event was followed by dinner and an interaction on Newah culture and traditions by Daya Shakya who is also the president of Nepali Association of Oregon (NAO) and NRNA-NCC-USA Oregon chapter.

(Rabin Man Shakya is a Nepali journalist in USA)