Input of Sanskrit Buddhist Texts on Mahayana Dharanis, Strotras and Carygitas of Nepal and its importance to Buddhist world

Introduction-

Newar Buddhism: Problems and Possibilities

Most of these Western Buddhists hold the view that Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism is in all respects exhaustive in character while Newari Vajrayana Buddhism is only a corrupt form of Buddhism and hence warrants no observation, investigation or research. Of course, this view is erroneous. One needs to carefully consider the situation in a logical way before making such a hasty conclusion.

The Newari form of Buddhism may be the oldest living tradition of Buddhism in the world. Buddhism as practiced by the Newar Buddhists of the Kathmandu Valley has some characteristic features not found in other Buddhist countries. It was the Buddhism of Shakyamuni as it manifested itself in the Himalayan region. Newar Buddhism can be classified along the tradition of Indian Vajrayana or Tantric Buddhism, which derives its lineage from the Siddha tradition of the Nalanda and Vikramashila Monastic Universities of India.

Nepal Buddhism has not been given proper recognition in the World today,unlike Buddhism of Tibet and China,which have sets of religious text in their own languages, as it exists only in this small valley called Nepal Mandala.In the past 20-30 years, anthropological and ethnographic scholars have been studying and writing about ,many aspects of its culture. This traditional Buddhism of Newars has recently become the subject of great interest and detailed study by Lienhard, Gellner. M. Allen, Bechert, and others. But they failed to recognize it as critically important form of Buddhism.It is a most important form of Buddhism, because it has preserved the original Buddhist texts in Sanskrit which were written and edited during the expansion of Mahayana Buddhism and subsequently translated into Chinese and Tibetan. Many scholars of Mahayana Buddhism have been studying the Sanskrit manuscripts, which are copied and preserved in Nepal Mandala. But they have filed to recognize that they belong to the Nepal Buddhism, and inevitably Nepal Buddhism itself. The important is not only that it has preserved and transmitted Sanskrit texts but also that Nepal-Buddhism sustains and transmits Sanskrit texts in ritual teaching.

tructure.

Some observers have found it to be in a pitiful condition. Not being able to cope with the modern situation the Shakyas and Vajracharyas are taking little interest in their own traditional religion and culture. The Vajracharyas are beginning to neglect taking Acharya Diksa (master initiation) with the result that there is a conspicuous decline in the number of Buddhist priests. The patrons (Skt. Jajaman) pay too little respect to these Buddhist priests because of their ignorance of Buddhist doctrine. These Vajracharyas get little remuneration in return for their services to their patrons in life cycle rituals. Thus, they are compelled to take up various secular professions. These are the obvious reasons for the decline of the traditional Buddhism of the Kathmandu Valley.

Furthermore, most of the Bahas and Bahis (Buddhist monasteries) of three illustrious cities, owing to the lack of proper conservation, are in a dreadful state of dilapidation. Nowadays, we see these Bahas and Bahis being replaced by concrete buildings. In addition, the rare Buddhist manuscripts which Nepal takes pride in are being sold in the common markets for exorbitant prices. We also see the ancient Buddhist sculptures and thankas, being exported to foreign markets. For all these reasons, scholars have begun to speculate about the hasty disappearance of this traditional Buddhism by the end of this century.

The importance of Newars in South Asian Buddhist History has been discussed at great length by Lienhard in his paper "Nepal ! The Survival of Indian Buddhism in a Himalayan Kingdom." Similarly in 1898 Prof. Sylvian Levi, who wrote "Le Nepal", discussed the survival of Sanskrit Buddhism in the Kathmandu Valley. He, with the help of Pt. Kulaman Singh of Kvabahal, translated into French the Mahayana Sutralankara of Arya Maitreyanath. Buddhism disappeared in India. The Theravada tradition flourished in Sri Lanka, Burma and Thailand whereas the Vajrayana/Mahayana traditions were kept alive in Tibet, China, Japan, Korea and Nepal.

How Buddhism disappeared in India is still the subject of great controversy. How Newars kept Vajrayana Buddhism alive in the Kathmandu Valley is an interesting topic in itself.

In 1824. Mr. Brian Hodgson, a British diplomat in Nepal, discovered a great number of Sanskrit Buddhist manuscripts in Nepal. The existence of these before his time was unknown, and his discovery has entirely revolutionized the history of Buddhism, as Europeans knew it in the early part of this century. Copies of these works, totaling 381 bundles, have been distributed so as to render them accessible to European scholars.

Prof. Jayadeva Singh writes in his "Introduction to Madhyamika Philosophy".

In similar matter, Dr. Suniti Kumar Chatterji writes,

Nepalese Buddhism has contributed to academic world by supplying the Sanskrit manuscript

4.Conclusion:

A prospect for Preservation of Sanskrit Buddhist Literature in CD-ROM version

5.After this short presentation a CDROM containing 416 illustrated manuscripts in the possession of Asha Archive,Nepal was demonstrated.Since the manuscripts were written in different old scripts of Nepal, its transliteration in devanagari script was essential.

A printed Chart containing information on the development and evolution of these scripts prepared by Nepal Archive was also distributed.

Nagarjuna Institute at present is inputting these old manuscripts written in various ancient scripts into modern Devanagari character and simultaneously in romanized version through the help of Indian software called iLEAP