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FEATURED ARTICLE Various Religious Groups in Nepal Rev. Uma Lama (Ghising) The constitution establishes the country as a “secular state” but defines secularism as “protection of the age-old religion and culture and religious and cultural freedom.” The constitution prohibits converting persons from one religion to another and prohibits religious behavior disturbing public order or contrary to public health, decency, and morality. The law does not provide for registration or official recognition of religious organizations as religious institutions, except for Buddhist monasteries. All other religious groups must register as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) or nonprofit organizations to own property or operate legally. Likewise, Hongwanji Nepal is also registered as NGO which is a non-profit organization. In Nepal, Jodo Shinshu is not only one religious organization that it derived from Japan. There are some more other religious groups which came from Japan and adapted the name as it is. Except Hongwanji Nepal, the groups that came from Japan are Nepal Eurasia Reiyukai, Soga Gakkai International, Tenrikyo, Nepal Izunome Johrei ( 浄霊 )Center, Reiki Healing center. The two groups Nepal Izunome Johore Center and Reiki Healing Center are known as 12
REV. UMA LAMA (GHISING) therapy centers and are more inclined towards healing through sound and hand energy. However, these groups are known as having a buddhist teaching background. Among these groups, Nepal Eurasia Reiyukai is a very well-known organization. It was established around April 1977 and was called the Friendship Club. Reciting the “Saddharmapundariksutra,” which is also called the title “Namo Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo” of The Blue Sutra (a collection text from Three Fold Lotus Sutra). The basic teaching is appreciation with the slogan “Heart of Gratitude - world of Gratitude.” They emphasize that to receive the teachings of Buddha you don’t have to become a priest. So they claim the teaching is purely focused on lay people. Now more than 1.3 million members are enrolled and about 3,000 people become new members annually. Most enrolled members are from the Hindu tradition and few people are from Buddhist tradition. Furthermore, there is one more group called Nepal Soka Gakkai International (NSGI) which was officially registered as a Buddhist organization on January 1, 1993. The philosophical base of the organization’s practice is Nichiren Buddhism, which is considered a school of the Mahayana tradition. Practitioners are encouraged to practice the daily chanting of Namo-myoho-renge-kyo. They don’t charge membership dues, and no donations are accepted from non-SGI members. If anyone want to donate they ask to buy books or prayer books. There are about 1,100 members. Most of the members come from a Newari Buddhist background known as Shakya Bajracharyas. Hindus are the second largest group of members, and members with Tibetan Buddhist background are very few. The two religious groups mentioned above have similarities in social activities as Hongwanji Nepal. The social activates include constructing water tanks, organizing free health camps, ambulance service, giving computer training, organizing rickshaw project, cleaning cities program, a free service of Japanese language classes, teaching free handicraft training. They also established Eye Hospital service and Lumbini International Research Center. These are the religious groups who have been working in Nepal and propagating their own Agenda diligently. Nepal Eurasia Reiyukai and Soka Gakkai International are both Mahayana Buddhism. Both groups claim their teachings are highly geared towards lay people. The common factor in these two groups is how their both emphadize saying the name of sutra. This is an important part of their practice. When it comes to Hongwanji, most of the enrolled members are from a Tibetan Buddhist background. There are very few members who come from Hindu tradition. In Nepali society, especially in Tibetan buddhism, reciting the name of Buddha, Bodhisattva’, or Gurus is very common. Because it is the name of Amitabha buddha, saying the name (Nenbutsu) has been easy to grasp. For Jodo Shinshu still there are lot more challenges and misunderstanding because both group Nepal Eurasia Reiyukai and Soka Gakkai International have longer histories than Hongwanji Nepal. We found that most of the people assumed that Jodo Shinshu is similar to them and recite “Namo-myoho-renge-kyo.” The common misconception is that the teaching of Buddhism in Japan is Nichirenshu. About the Author Rev. Uma Lama (Ghising) Rev. Uma Lama (Ghising) is the President of the Hongwanji Buddhist Society of Nepal. She attended seminary school at Chuō Bukkyō Gakuin and earned her MA in Shin Buddhism from Ryukoku University. She is the first woman from Nepal to be ordained as a Jodo Shinshu priest. 13
Page 1 and 2: Jodo Shinshu International Take Ref
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Page 6 and 7: FEATURED ARTICLE Nāgārjuna and th
Page 8 and 9: FEATURED ARTICLE - NĀGĀRJUNA AND
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Page 14 and 15: FEATURED ESSAY Commentary on Deaf a
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Page 18 and 19: FEATURED ESSAY Encountering Shinran
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Page 30: EDITOR’S POSTSCRIPT Thank you ver

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