The ritual of offering the guru mandala, i.e. offering a mandala of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, to the guru, lies at the very heart of Newar Buddhism. Yagyaman Pati
Bajracharya is a leading figure, in the contemporary revival of traditional Newar Buddhism,
a religious tradition that goes back, in a direct line of descent, to the great
monastic universities of northern India a millennium and more ago. This
historical pedigree means that the rituals and practices of Newar Buddhism are
unrecognized global treasures of intangible cultural and religious heritage.
The translators and editors of this volume, Samuel M. Grimes and Alexander
James O'Neill, present a faithful English rendering of Yagyaman's polyglot
text. Drawing not only on a deep understanding of his own tradition but also on
Indological scholarship, Yagyaman provides a detailed explanation of the text
of the ritual. More than that, by way of introduction, he also dives deep into
the historical meanings of the key terms 'guru' and 'mandala'. This book is
therefore an indispensable guide for anyone seeking to grasp the essence and
meaning of Newar Buddhism.David N. Gellner FBA,
author of Monk, Householder, and Tantric Priest: Newar Buddhism and its
Hierarchy of Ritual (CUP, 1992)
Guru, Mandala and Guru Mandala, Yagyaman Pati Bajracharya, Vajra Publications, Paperback, 218 pages, $22.00
Samuel M. Grimes is assistant professor of Religious Studies at Fairfield University in Connecticut.
Alexander James O�Neill is assistant professor in Liberal Arts Education at Musashino University in Tokyo.
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