The 3-day consecration ceremonies are tentatively scheduled for the auspicious dates of November 9, 10, and 11, 2009. The procession for the main Buddha statue will be the weekend of Nov 6. Please join us for these spiritually inspiring and historic events!

Ground-breaking for the temple was in March of 2008 and in the fall of 2009 it will be completed. Next will come purification and empowement of the space and the elements. To affirm its roots in and continuity of the ancient Newar traditions, two elder Buddhist priests from Kathmandu are planning to come to perform the ritual ceremonies along with Prajwal, consecrating the temple and vihara in the traditional manner. They will also empower the sangha to perform the daily meditations and ritual that will continue to enhance the spiritual potential of the temple and Vihara, as well as offering an oppurtunity to consult with them and benefit from their expertise regarding the ongoing ritual life of the temple.

After their visit, the temple will then be the ideal environment to dance the deities as ritual and perform traditional ceremonies, as well as be a place of daily meditation and devotion open to all those dedicated to profound practice.

The name of the Dance Mandal study and practice center has recently become the Nritya Mandala Vihara. Vihara, a Sanskrit term (Baha or Bahi in Newar), connotes a Buddhist monastic center, a complex for meditation, ritual, and study, as well as practicing the sacred arts. It houses a library for the scriptures, a main temple, other shrine rooms, residence ‘monks’ or practitioners [‘householder monks’ and families in the Newar tradition] and inspires dedication to inner practice.

In the Dance Mandal complex, the house across the courtyard from the temple will have a library of mainly books on Buddhism as well as other traditions, books on Sacred Arts of many traditions, Newar traditional Buddhist texts and translations as well as scholarly works on many aspects of the Newar religious culture and arts.

Also in the house of the Vihar is a community area, along with the necessary kitchen, for gatherings in this space, as well as a room designated for the art of making costumes, ornaments, and masks.