THE UNIQUE FEATURES OF NEWAR BUDDHISMmoney was left over from the specific activities of the giithi was used for an
annual feast.
Each giithi is well-organized and has strict rules and conditions for member-
ship and the performance of prescribed functions. The most senior member of
the giithl is called thiiypa or thakiifi, and he acts as the chairman of the giithi and
of the board of elders who oversee its functioning. Their main function is to
maintain the discipline of the members. The giithi passes judgment in cases of
dispute among members and takes action against those who violate its rules. A
majority vote can levy punishments for infractions or even expel a member.
Infractions would include bad manners, irregularity in attendance, failure to
fulfil one's assigned role in the giithi, breach of caste regulations. Every giithi
has an annual meeting when business is conducted and a feast is held. In addi-
tion to the thiiypa there is also a giithi administrator. The position of administra-
tor is rotated through the membership, and it is the duty of the current
administrator to make arrangements for the annual meeting and feast, and to
finance the feast if there is insufficient revenue from the giithi endowment.
In the case of the vihiiras, the structure of the giithi has been grafted on to the
structure of a Buddhist monastic community. The members of the giithi are
the initiated bhilcyu-safzgha, the elders are the sthavira and the senior-most elder,
the mahii-sthavira. The functions which they oversee are the daily, monthly and
annual Buddhist observances in the vihiira, initiations into the bhi/cyu-safzgha
and the discipline of the sangha, which in this case consists in seeing that pre-
scribed rituals are performed in tum by the members and that social or caste
regulations are observed.
Every Buddhist monastic community in India had some common religious
exercises each day - brief and simple in Theravada monasteries, much more
elaborate in Mahayana and tantric foundations. One of the main features of this
worship was, and still is, Buddha-piijii-the worship of the image of the Buddha
enshrined in a monasteryY The vihiiras of the Valley also have a daily piijii
which is at least a worship of the main image enshrined in the vihiira, the
kwiipii-dya. It seems that originally the vihiiras had a full schedule of rituals
throughout the day. This is no longer true except at a very few places like Jana
Biiha in Kathmandu and Kwa Baha in Patan.^16 All have a ceremony in the
morning (shortly after sunrise, the time depending on the time of the year). This
is the official, prescribed worship, the nitya-piijii, and consists primarily in the
offering of the pancopaciira-piijii and the recitation of hymns. The paiico-
paciira-piijii is a five-fold offering consisting of flowers, incense, light, scent and
food (pwjpa, dhiipa, dipa, gandha, naivedya). Most also have an evening
service, the main part of which is the offering of a light to the deity, the iirati-
piijii.
The daily rituals are performed by the initiated members of the sangha in
tum. The attendant on duty is called the dya-piilii or dya-pii, the guardian of
the deity. In most vihiiras, rotation is through the entire roster of the initiated
from eldest to youngest. However, in a number of the vihiiras the rotation is by