Third Edition Spring 2013 - Institute of East Asian Studies, UC ...

Newar Buddhism in KathmanduWedged between India and Tibet, the Kathmandu Valley ishome to a form of Buddhism closely resembling late Indian Buddhismbefore its disappearance. Mixed with elements of Hinduismand the caste system, Newar Buddhism has several contrasting elementswith the Theravada tradition. The primary one being that“The monks are not celibate, renunciatory monks who out of vocationhave abandoned their families. Rather they are hereditarymarried monks who live outside the monastery, have professions,and live within society.” 9 In other words, the Newar monks would,according to Theravada definitions, not be considered monks at all,despite having undergone similar ordination rituals and occupyinga similar place in Newar society. From a Theravada perspective,these are not monks but householders who have given up anascetic life. From the Newar perspective, however, they are seen as“householder monks.”The tradition of householder monks is not a recent developmentin Kathmandu; “The institution of householder monks wasprobably already well established…by the 11th century.” 10 Yet itwas not the only local tradition, as “at that time there was a coexistingtradition of celibate monasticism.” Indeed, a system of celibatemonkhood coexisted with the married monkhood in Kathmandu.Thus, this type of householder monk (whom Theravadans wouldnot consider a monk) has existed for almost a thousand years, attimes in concert with the celibate monkhood. It cannot be seen asa recent development in response to some sort of doctrinal challenge.By what means does a Newar become a householder monk?The ordination requirements are quite different from those of theTheravada traditions. Newar ordination is only open to youngprepubescent boys who are the sons of other monks. These adultmonks are in turn members of one specific caste the Śākya or Va-9 Von Rospatt p. 28210 Von Rospatt p. 294jrāchārya. The boys are welcomed into the fold of monkhood overa four-day period, beginning with an ordination rite. At the endof the ordination rite, the boys become fully ordained and truemonks. Over the next three days, the new monks participate in awide variety of rituals. At the end of the fourth day, the boys disrobeand return to their normal existence. However, for the rest oftheir lives, they are able to act and are treated as if they are fullfledgedmembers of a Buddhist sangha. The vast majority of theboys will never become household priests and be initiated into thesecret esoteric traditions of true clerics. Indeed, most grow up, getmarried, have children, and retain their day jobs. However, duringany period of ritual worship that requires them to act in their rolesas monks, they are able to do so and are treated as if they had neverrenounced their vows. “Thus, Newar Buddhism is not a ‘Buddhismwithout monks’ as some observers have held, but a Buddhism withmonks who have turned householders without giving up theiridentity as monastics.” 11 This identity is on full display during theNewar worship of the Primordial Buddha (Dīpaṃkara). The monksof the Newar sangha act as “merit fields” for people, receiving donationsjust as a renunciatory monk with an alms bowl would.While these householder monks are most certainly “Buddhist”in a Newar context and participate in ritual festivals, theydo so with some reluctance. During several of the major festivalswhere they are required to act in their role as a fields of merit forpeoples’ donations, on occasion they will not appear in person butrather send their children to receive donations, citing feelings ofdiscomfort with receiving gifts from members of lower castes. Thereluctance to fulfill their monastic roles also makes them a poorchoice for tending to the ritual needs of the laity. Therefore, it isimportant to reiterate that the majority of (sometimes reluctant)householder monks do not perform the services typical of actualpriests. The reasons for this are twofold. First, only those of the Vajrāchāryasubcaste are able to act as priests. Second, only a handfulof those in the Vajrāchārya subcaste actually go on to take thenecessary additional esoteric ordination rites that allow them toperform as priests. This role is usually hereditary since the roles of11 Von Rospatt p. 29291 Robert Bowers Curl Laicization in Japanese Buddhism 92