Despite Ongoing Covid-19 Pandemic, April Sees Plethora of Events by NMM

Nepal Oregon News reporter

At a time when local community organizations are badly affected by the on-going coronavirus crisis, the Nritya Mandala Mahavihara (NMM) in Portland is abuzz with various events and programs in April, as in the preceding months. Most of the programs were organized by the Mahavihara itself, while some of them were organized  in collaboration with associations like Dance Mandala Hong Kong Sangha.

For example, a zoom teaching on Padmasambhava Nritya was organized by the Dance Mandala Hong Kong on Saturday, April 3, 2021. The virtual teaching on Guru Rinpoche was participated by 35 people from the US, Hong Kong, Canada and Germany. Prajwal Vajracharya's talk and teaching presented a detailed and comprehensive portrayal of  Guru Rinpoche's role and contributions in Biddhism. Guru Rinpoche was more than a Bodhisattva, he is like a Buddha," said Vajracharya.

On the same day, on April 3, 2021, a virtual talk program on "On a nineteenth century chronicle of Nepal" was organized by World Newah Organization (WNO) USA chapter. The scholarly presentation was made by Dr Manik Bajracharya who is currently living and working in Germany.

The talk presented a detailed description about traditional historical writings in Nepal, characteristics, typology and about some published and unpublished Vamsavalis.

The zoom talk on Vamsavali was conducted by Pramesh Shrestha of the WNO-USA chapter while it was moderated by co-founder of Nritya Mandala Mahavihara Prajwal Vajracharya.

Similarly, a regular weekly Dharani recitation was held on every Tuesday in the zoom by the Mahavihara. According to Prajwal Vajracharya, the Mahavihara has been organizing Dharani recitation in the zoom every Tuesday for over a year with the objective of publicizing the importance of Dharani.

Likewise, regular Sadhana practices were held in the zoom on every Wednesday  by the Mahavihara. Usually, 15 people from the US, Hong Kong and Canada participate in the Sadhana practices.

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

Similarly, Charya Giti practice is organized every Friday at 8 AM in the morning in the zoom, and participants include people as far as from Hong Kong, Canada, Germany, Washington, California and Oregon.

Charya Giti is mostly performed and led by Joshua Proto, a Sangha member and participated by others in the zoom. Other Sangha members Leson Baker and Dina Shakya as well as Hong Kong Sangha members Lin Lin and Tina Ho also sometimes perform Charya giti.

"Sacred Buddhist Dance of Nepal" is a three month weekly course with pundit Prajwal Vajracharya. This course is offered live in the zoom from Feb 20 to May 8, 2021 every Saturday.

Ninety minutes class on zoom every Saturday on Charya Nritya is, so far, participated by 50 students from 15 countries across the world, says  Guru Vajracharya.

Likewise, an impromptu second and advanced  teaching by Guru Prajwal Vajracharya on Padmasambhava Charya Nritya was organized in the zoom on Saturday April 17, 2021 by Dance Mandala Hong Kong Sangha.

The second teaching on Padmasambhava Charya Nritya was an advanced one that dealt with subtle and intricate aspects of the Charya dance and its steps. The dance teaching not only demonstrated enlightened qualities through gestures but it also manifested the facial and eye experience and physical movements.

Meanwhile, a virtual talk on Apsaras in China (Dunhuang) and Nepal was organized on Saturday, April 24, 2021 by Dance Mandala Hong Kong Sangha. The talk on Apsaras in China (Dunhuang) was presented by Dr Tina Ho of Hong Kong Sangha while the presentation on Apsaras in Nepal was made by Prajwal Vajracharya of the Nritya Mandala Mahavihara. The talk program in the zoom was participated by 25 people from the USA, Canada and Hong Kong.

Dr Tina Ho's presentation dealt with Apsaras in Chinese Buddhism and murals in ancient Chinese caves while Prajwal's talk presented  comprehensive details on Apsaras in the Newah Buddhism.

Likewise, a virtual reciting of Manjushree Naamsangiti was organized by the Mahavihara to mark the Lhuti Punhi, a Full Moon Day, on April 27, 2021. Fifteen people from the USA, Hong Kong and Canada took part at the Naamsangiti recitation ritual through the zoom.

It is to be noted that the Mahavihara has been organizing Manjushree Naamsangiti Recitation on every full moon day of the month since July of the last year.