The Aging Process - Purpose

Re-envisioning the Bura Janko Ceremony in the 21st Century

We captured in film the glorious, miraculous, and rare celebration of 109-year-old Mayaju Maharjan, consecrated on January 20, 2019, as the first world-historic record of such an aging celebration in the 21st century in Nepal. This event, which we proudly describe as "Na Vuto Na Vabisyati" (never in the past nor in the future), was a truly unique aging festival. Earlier, we presented a research paper on "Bura Janko: Honouring Old Age in Nepal" at the Association for Anthropology, Gerontology, and Life Course International Conference on June 8–9, 2017, at Oxford Brookes University, England.

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http://www.thesudburystar.com/2017/08/07/student-explores-elder-care-tradition 

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https://www.sudbury.com/local-news/in-nepali-culture-being-77-is-really-something-to-celebrate-688196

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We explore the Buddhist version of old age rituals and the ritual manual "Puja-Vidhi-Kriya" for Bhima-Ratha-Rohan, Chandra-Ratha-Rohana (Sahasra Chandra-Darshan, seeing 1,000 full moon days with the worship of the moon), Deva-Ratha-Rohan, and Maha-Ratha-Rohan, compiled and published by Dharma Ratna Vajracharya in 2009. We also examined the English translations of life-cycle rituals and old age rituals by Buddhist priest scholars Badri Ratna Vajracharya and Ratna Kaji Vajracharya, as well as the Dasa-Karma Vidhi: Fundamental Knowledge on Traditional Customs of Ten Rites of Passage among the Buddhist Newars, which Asha Kaji Vajracharya translated.

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Dr. von Rosspatt's work demonstrates that the oldest Bura Janko ritual handbook, or procession and consecration manual, written on a palm leaf manuscript dating to 499 Nepal Sambat (1379 CE), is the earliest literary witness in the Newari language. We will genuinely explore how the Tantric cult of the Dharani goddess "Ushnisvijaya" grounds the Buddhist sequence of old-age rituals and influences the Vedic ritual of Bura Janko. As Hindu Newar priests (the Rajopadhyaya) and Buddhist Tantric priests (the Vajracarya) follow different ritual traditions, like Saivite Saktism and Vajrayana Buddhism, and call on different gods and goddesses, we will look at how the Rajopadhyayas use the Vajasaneyi Madhyandina Samhita (recension) of the Sukla Yajurveda and how the Vajracaryas call on the five Buddhas of the Yoga Tantras.

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In 2010, Pundit Bishnu Rajopadhyaya edited and translated the Bura Janko ritual manual "Nikwagu Jyatha Janko." In 2001, Pundit Heramba Nanda Rajopadhyaya edited and published "Maha-Ratha-Rohan Vidhi," which means "Method of Third Bura Janko Maha-Ratha-Rohan." Both of these books, which were written in the Vedic and Brahmanical periods, are important sources.

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Our research questions are:

1. What are the sacred texts, sculptures, scriptures, manuals, and microfilms in Sanskrit, Pali, and Newari (Newah Bhaya or Nepal Bhasha) languages used for the celebration and consecration of the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth Bura-Buri Janko within the Kathmandu Valley's Newar Society?

2. What are the symbolic discrepancies between Buddhist and Hindu priests in the diverse processions of Bura-Buri and Jaya Janko?

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Buddhist and Hindu priests privately hold the majority of sacred texts and scriptures. We will collect such texts, scriptures, microfilms, and manuals from priests, private possessors, libraries, and relevant sources. We will consult and interview Buddhist priest Raju Vajracharya, who consecrated the fifth Bura Janko for Mayaju Maharjan on January 20, 2019, in Chhauni, near Swyambhu Stupa in Kathmandu, to learn how he acquired the Puja-Vidhi-Kriya manual for the fifth Bura Janko. Additionally, we will interview Buddhist priest Maila Vajracharya from Lalitpur, who performed the fourth Bura Janko for Chhala Maya Shakya in Bhaktapur in 2017, and Pundit Maheswor Juju for the Vedic procession of Bura Janko since the pre-Vedic era.

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Our research is a life-long sacred journey that aims to reshape contemporary and contemplative religion and medicine. This effort represents a unique model of compassionate religion and medicine-led re-envisioning of Bura-Buri Janko/Jya Janko advocacy, navigation, and preservation as cultural heritage, encompassing the endangered Bura Janko ritual procession manuals, handbooks, sacred texts, scriptures, artifacts, and microfilms, with the goal of promoting art-based research and interpretative phenomenological analysis in the global academic arena.