Naamsangiti - One of the Most Important Preachings of Lord Buddha, says Vajracharya

Nepal Oregon News reporter

"In Vajrayana Buddhism, Manjushree Naamsangiti is one of the most important preachings of Shakyamuni Tathagata. It consists of 167 verses and mantra sentences," Pundit Prajwal Ratna Vajracharya, co-founder of Portland's Nritya Mandala Mahavihara (NMM) said at a Naamsangiti Recitation ritual in the zoom organized on Thursday, Jan 28, 2021 to mark the Full Moon Day. 

15 people from Canada, Hong Kong, Nepal, California and Oregon took part at the Naamsangiti Recitation ritual through the zoom.

It is to be noted that Nritya Mandala Mahavihara has been organizing Manjushree Naamsangiti Recitation on every full moon day of the month since July of the last year. Also, Naamsangiti is recited daily at the Mahavihara during the month of Gunla (Nepal Sambat Lunar Calendar).

At a time when a lot of heritage, historical and religious scriptures are on the verge of extinction, disseminating the sacred tantras and preachings is essential to keep them alive, said Prajwal Vajracharya adding "That's why NMM is dedicated to protect, promote and preserve these sacred things."

When we talk about about Naamsangiti, we need to offer our prayers not only to Tathagat Buddha, but also to Maha Manjushree Bodhisattva and Vajrapani Bodhisattva, said Prajwal.

Vajracharya added:"Naamsangiti is the quintessence of Buddhism because it summarizes all the Buddha's teachings."

The far-reaching importance of Naamsangiti lies on the fact that Manjushree Bodhisattva is the embodiment of all knowledge, Prajwal went on saying.

Naamsangiti was taught by Tathagata Buddha to one of his disciples Vajrapani Bodhisattva and his followers to lead them to enlightenment, Vajracharya stated.

"Reciting of Naamsangiti is useful for mitigating stress and tension and gaining health," he said.

Throwing light on the importance of Naamsangiti, Vajracharya offered a traditional lore: "There is a Khun Bahal (a Vihara of thieves) at Watu Tole in Kathmandu. The Bahal was controlled by spirits, ghosts and spooks. In ancient times, the thieves and criminals used to be sent at this Khun Bahal for the punishment. All of them were found dead the next morning inside the Bahal. Khun Bahal was just like a notorious haunted house. One day, a thief was also sent to that Bahal, but surprisingly, he was found alive and kicking the next day. The thief revealed that he was chanting Naamsangiti all night."

 

Sadhana Practice Brings Positive Changes in Life

Nepal Oregon News reporter

At a time when the whole world is bogged down in coronavirus crisis and so many countries are facing tumultuous political and economic dilemma, more and more people in the world are going for meditation, yoga and Sadhana. 

Sadhana practice brings positive changes in life and it has lots of benefits for mental as well as physical health.

Sadhana is also performed for attaining detachment from worldly things. Sadhana is a Sanskrit word that means spiritual exercise. Sadhana is a spiritual practice in  which the practitioner invokes a divinity, identifying and absorbing it into himself - the primary form of meditation in Vajrayana Buddhism.

Sadhana practice is one of the many activities which has continuously been conducted by Portland's Nritya Mandala Mahavihara for last several years.

Likewise, a regular Sadhana practice was also held in the zoom on Wednesday, Jan 27 at the Nritya Mandala Mahavihara in Portland.

Twelve people from Oregon, California, Hongkong and Canada participated at the Sadhana practice in the zoom.

Speaking on the occasion, before the beginning of Sadhana practice, Pundit Prajwal Ratna Vajracharya threw light on the importance of Chakra in Sadhana.

In Sanskrit, Chakra means 'wheel' or 'disk' which indicates the shape of human energy points that unite mind, body and spirit.

In Newah Buddhism, the God is inside the mind of a human being. If you practice Sadhana, you can salvage yourself from stress, sorrow and other worldly problems, said Vajracharya.

Buddha has salvaged the entire mankind by practicing 16 Sadhanas. Sadhana's relevance has been mentioned in Lalitbistar too, Vajracharya added.

According to Pundit Vajracharya, there are five kinds of Chakra: (1) Mahasukha chakra (2) Vishuddha chakra (3) Anahata chakra (4) Svadhisthana chakra and (5) Muladhar chakra.

Mahasukha chakra (Root chakra), according to Vajracharya,  helps us to balance the bliss (anand) and happiness.

Likewise, Vishuddha chakra's (Throat chakra) function is to help us find aunthentic self-expression, Vajracharya went on saying.

Similarly, speaking about Anahata chakra (Heart chakra), he said   that this chakra's function is to help us tap into unconditional love.

Regarding Svadhisthana chakra (Sacral chakra), Vajracharya stated that this chakra's function is to help us regulate our emotions, feelings and hankerings for worldly things, so as not to be guided or misguided by them.

Speaking about Muladhar chakra (Root chakra), Vajracharya remarked that this chakra which is the foundation of our body, helps us to maintain a sense of groundedness and inner stability.

Pundit Vajracharya also underlined the importance of praying Avalokiteshvara and Padmanatesvara in Sadhana practices. 

Dharani Recitation Contributing to Protection of Heritage

Nepal Oregon News reporter

Many Portlanders and people across America and abroad have been practicing Dharani recitation at Nritya Mandala Mahavihara (NMM) in Portland, USA on a weekly basis continuously for over a year.

In the beginning, Dharani recitation was conducted in person at the Mahavihara  in 2019 but soon after the coronavirus pandemic, the Dharini recitation was conducted through the zoom.

There is no doubt that the NMM's Dharani recitation - which is the only one chanting program of this kind in the West - has proved to be a significant leap forward in contributing to the protection of heritage.

Dharani recitation was always led and chanted by Pundit Prajwal Ratna Vajracharya of the Mahavihara followed by other participants.

A regular Dharani recitation was held on Tuesday, Jan 26, 2021 by the Mahavihara on the zoom. In the beginning, Guru Bandana was chanted by Guruju Prajwal.

After that, Graha Dasha Ya Paath, Saptavidhan Puja - The Seven Limb Prayer (from the Bhadracharya desana),Dharani (Buddha, Bodhisatvas's Mantra and Dharanipada) recitation and Prajnaparamita Hridayam Sutra were chanted by  Sangha member Naveena Shakya followed by other participants.

Zoom participants included Dr Tina Ho (Hong Kong), Hom Shrestha (Canada), Dina Shakya (California), Matt Bourgeois, Gabriel Quitslund, Uppa Shakya (Oregon).

Earlier, speaking about Dharma awareness among the youth, Pundit Prajwal Vajracharya stressed the need for parents' encouragement and involvement in inculcating the value of Dharma on youths' mind.

Throwing light on the role of Dharma in the everyday life of human beings, pundit Vajracharya also added that it can help in many ways to reduce the impact of stress and pressure of life.

Newar Buddhist Temple in Portland, USA Greets New Year 2021 with Purification Rituals amid Covid-19 Pandemic

Dr Rabin Man Shakya

(From left to right: Gabriel Quitslund, Alexei Dobry, Naveena Shakya, Prajwal Vajracharya, Anna Shustrova and Joshua Proto)

Portland, Jan 4, 2021 (Nepal Oregon News): The Nepalese Buddhist temple in Portland - Nritya Mandala Mahavihara - bade farewell to 2020 and greeted the new year 2021 by performing and chanting Gurumandala Puja on Friday, Jan 1, 2021.

Very limited number of people joined the Puja - which was conducted by Mahavihara's co-founder,  pundit Prajwal Ratna Vajracharya - for purifying and reviving the old energy of the previous year and for overcoming obstacles and opening up fresh new potential through the annual New Year's  purification ritual at the Mahavihara because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Mandatory social distancing, covering of face and other pandemic guidelines were strictly followed during the New Year purification puja at the Portland Baha.

This kind of New Year purification puja is chanted at the Mahavihara once every year, Senior Pujari of the Mahavihara Prajwal Vajracharya told a journalist from Nepal Oregon News, adding:"The Puja helps you to move forward with new vigour and enthusiasm all year along."

For this Puja, only 1, 3, 5, 11, 21, or 108 people are able to participate in the ritual, based on tradition, Prajwal went on saying.

The participants at the New Year purification puja were: Joshua Proto, Anna Shushtrova, Naveena Shakya, Alexei Dobry, Gabriel Quitslund and Dr Rabin Man Shakya.

Except the limited number of participants because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the religious program was taken part by 15 other participants on the zoom from Oregon, California, Hongkong and Nepal.

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

A Puja Sankalpa consisting of raw rice, beaten rice, dry fruit, red and yellow color powder, flowers, a little cow milk, three small incense sticks, six cotton wicks, three Gojas, three Jajankas, three coins etc were carefully and meticulously prepared for each participant who were seen sitting cross-legged six feet apart from each other at the Mahavihara.

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.

On the occasion, participants were also given time for a short meditation. Similarly, a long pasuka (sacred thread) was used, spread and passed over to all the New Year purification ritual participants. It was an important component of the purification ritual.

Meanwhile, before the start of purification ritual, Sangha member Naveena Shakya offered  fruits to Tathagata Buddha to commemorate Punya Tithi of the third year of passing away of her mother-in-law Man Shova Shakya.

New Year's purification ritual event was followed by a vegetarian pot-luck dinner and opening of champagnes. Importantly, Yomari dumplings were also served during the New Year feast reminding participants of the Yomari Punhi observed couple of days before the New Year day.

(Gabriel Quitslund and Alexei Dobry during puja)

(Naveena Shakya, Joshua Proto and Prajwal Vajracharya during puja)

(Joshua Proto and Prajwal Vajracharya during puja)

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(Naveena Shakya, Alexei Dobry and Gabriel Quitslund performing rituals.)

(Rabin Man Shakya is a Nepali journalist in America)