TANTRIC BUDDHISM (INCLUDING CHINA AND JAPAN)process and making, in tum, a contribution to the cultural fabric of Newar
society. As a result the term 'Newar' is not a racial term, but a cultural term,
denoting the very rich and complex culture of the society of the Valley. It
denotes a people who speak a common language, Newari, and who share a
common but diverse culture.
Since the beginning of recorded history in the middle of the sixth century AD
the Valley of Nepal has been ruled by Hindu kings. The first historical kings
were the Licchavis (c.400--900 AD), presumably refugees from Vaisall (near
Muzaffarpur in modem north Bihar) who had left their homeland several cen-
turies before rather than submit to the Mauryan dynasty.^1 They were Hindus and
ruled 'by the favour of Pasupatinath'. They were followed by a line, or several
lines, of kings conveniently grouped together under the name 'Thakur!' who
ruled from c.900 until 1200 AD. This is a period of little information as the
'Thakur!' kings left few inscriptions, and what knowledge we have about this
period is limited to occasional notes on manuscripts, mostly Buddhist, which
end with "copied in the year such-and-such during the reign of king so-and-so".
Yet it is clear from what little we know that these kings were also Hindus. They
were followed by the Mallas, not a single dynasty, but at least three separate
dynasties all claiming Rajput descent and all Hindus who ruled from 1200 AD
until the fall of Bhaktapur to Prithivinarayan Shah in 1769. Yet extant historical
records show that, from the time of the Licchavis down to the present, Hinduism
and Buddhism have existed side by side in the Valley, presenting a picture that
is a reflection of the relationship between the two in India throughout the period
when Buddhism flourished there. Buddhism appears not as a movement separate
from or opposed to the stream of culture of the subcontinent, but rather as an
integral part of the religious culture that grew and flourished in its soil.
The Buddhism of the Valley of Nepal is tantric and therefore Mahayana and
Vajrayana. It is often said to be unique and it is in many ways. However, it is not
unique because it is tantric. It is basically the same kind of Buddhism that one
finds in the Tibetan culture, whether within Tibet or among those of other coun-
tries who share the same culture, such as the Sherpas and other northern border
people of Nepal. The rituals performed by the tantric Buddhist priests of Nepal
are the same as the rituals performed by the lamas and basically the same as the
rituals performed by the priests of the Shingon sect of Japan. The tantric texts on
which their teachings and ritual are based are the same. It is not unique because
of the plethora of multi-armed and multi-headed tantric deities (Buddhas, Bod-
hisattvas, protective divinities). These are found wherever one finds tantric Bud-
dhism. All of these rituals and deities plus the tantras on which they are based
can be traced to the great centres of late Indian Buddhism such as Nalanda,
VikramasTia, Odantapurl, and Jagaddalla.
It is not unique because it is 'mixed up with Hinduism' as has so often been
said. At the level of Buddhist dharma, at the level of understanding the meaning
of rituals and the meaning of the multifarious deities, the Newar Buddhists are
not 'mixed-up' at all. They have very clear ideas. The only ones confused are