Reed College Students Visit Newar Buddhist Monastery in Portland
Rabin Man Shakya
Portland, Oct 9 (Nepal Oregon News): Nritya Mandala Mahavihara preserves and shares the tradition of Buddhist practice, arts and culture held by the indigenous Newar people of the Nepal Mandala. Established in Portland, USA in 2009, our center is the first Newar Vajrayana Buddhist temple in the West with performance and art making spaces and a library of old and new Buddhist texts.
Prajwal Vajracharya, co-founder of the Nritya Mandala Mahavihara said this while welcoming the students of Portland's Reed College at the Vihara. A big team consisting of two professors - Kristin Scheible and Kritish Rajbhandari and 22 students of the college visited the Newar Buddhist monastery on Friday, Oct 9, 2026 to get acquainted with the kind of Buddhism that is being practiced in Nepal for centuries.
Prajwal Guruji started his presentation by showing and explaining about the exterior of the Vihara: the stupa, the Tiki Jhya, Toranas, Pancha Buddha etc on the premises of the Vihara.
The Vajracharya Guruji informed the students that the Vihara was built with stuffs and materials brought all the way from Nepal.
The Guruji showed students the Tiki Jhyas at the Vihara and explained that a Tiki Jhya also known as Ankhi Jhyal is a centuries old, hand carved wooden lattice window that serves as the definitive pinnacle of traditional Newar architecture in the Kathmandu valley.
Tiki Jhyas were made and built at the Newar Buddhist monasteries during Malla and Shah-Rana repressive Hindu rule in Nepal, he added.
Throwing light on Torana, the Guruji said that a Torana is a free-standing ornamental or arched gateway for ceremonial purposes seen in the Buddhist and Hindu arts and architecture of Nepal and India. He said that Sixteen Offering Goddesses are depicted on the free-standing Toranas at the Vihara.
The Guruji discussed the significance of a stupa in Newar Buddhism and gave detailed accounts of various parts of the stupa at the Vihara.
Showing students the Pancha Buddha outside of the temple, Prajjwal Guruji said that Pancha Buddhas - Vairochana, Akshovya, Ratnasamvabha, Amitabha and Amoghasiddhi - are central symbolic figures in Vajrayana Buddhism.
During the presentation inside the Vihara, Prajwal Guruji, a 35th generation Vajrayana priest, shed light on various Buddhas like Vipashwi Buddha, Shikhi Buddha, Vishwobhu Buddha, Krakuchanda Buddha, Kashyap Buddha and Kanakmuni Buddha.
During the talk, the Guruji said that, according to Swayambhu Purana, the Kathmandu valley was a huge lake centuries ago and mentioned about Lord Manjushree who cut a gorge at Chobhar in the Kathmandu valley with his flaming sword to allow the lake to drain.
Newar Buddhism is a unique and richly layered tradition of Vajrayana Buddhism practiced by the Newar people of the Kathmandu valley, Prajwal Guruji said and added:"It blends ancient Buddhist rituals with local customs, Sanskrit texts and a vibrant artistic heritage."
During the presentation, the Guruji also underscored the importance of Bahals and Bahis in Newar Buddhism, saying that these monastic courtyards serve as spiritual hubs for rituals and community.
Also, during the meeting with the Reed College students, the Guruji viewed that six paramitas Dana, Sila, Ksanti, Virya, Dhyana and Prajna are six transcendental perfections of Buddhism.
During the gathering with the Reed students, the Guruji emphasized the importance of the five elements in Newar Buddhism - earth, water, fire, air and space.
The Guruji went on saying: In Newar Buddhism, enlightenment and full understanding of the Buddhist teachings of transformation of mind, entails singing and dancing. Specifically, it means meditation which which is equal to dance, and mantra, which is equal to singing."
Describing about Charya Nritya, the Guruji said that Charya dance is a meditational dance that tells stories of the inner qualities and awakening of the Buddhist deities." Charya is a Buddhist ritual dance with a history going back to more than 1000 years. It is performed by Vajracharyas as part of their esoteric meditation practices and rituals."
The Guruji underscored role of his father late Ratna Kaji Vajracharya in reviving Charya, once on the verge of extinction." My father had written and published 20 books on various aspects of Newar Buddhism and had published collection of 560 charya gitis vol 1 and 2," he said.
At the end of the program, the Reed College team visited library, art section, mask section and costume section of the Vihara.
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Pancha Buddha Serve as a Transformational Framework for Humankind, Says Prajwal Vajracharya
Portland, Oct 30 (Nepal Oregon News):
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