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Religion of Nepal
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Hinduism , Budhism, Tantrism
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Hinduism: |
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Hinduism is one of the major religions of the world.
There are nearly 800 million Hindus today. It is several thousand years
old and holds the distinction of being the most ancient of the world's
living religions.
Hinduism has a basic trinity of three gods- Brahma, Bishnu and Maheshwor
or Shiva. Brahma represents the Hindu principle of origin or creation.
Vishnu is the principle of preservation or nurturing and Shiva
represents the principle of dissolution or destruction.
Hinduism is over 3000 years old, although elements of the faith are much
older. It has no founder, no single teacher, nor prophets. Hinduism is
not a Single Religion. Hinduism is not a term which identifies a single
set of beliefs or ways of worship. Hinduism is the practices of a
variety of different religious groups which come out of India.
The word "Hindu" was coined by the Muslims to refer to those persons who
lived on the other side of the Sindu river. The actual word is the
"Vedic Religion", the religion based on the Vedas. The Vedas are the
ancient scriptures of India. The Vedic religion exists eternally in the
spiritual world. It was revealed to the first created being in this
universe, Lord Brahma, at the very beginning of this universe some 311
trillion years ago. Through an unbroken line of saintly teachers it has
continued to exist in its original pure form up to the present day.
In the Hindu faith followers worship one God, but they have many
manifestations of God. Many people perceive, however, that Hindus
practice idolatry.
Hindus also believe that existence is a cycle of birth, death, and
rebirth, governed by Karma. Karma is the cause of our particular
destiny, the law of nature that ensures that we become what we think or
do. Misfortunes in our present life are the result of acts that we have
committed in the past. Suicide, according to the law of karma, is not
therefore an option: karma cannot be escaped or deferred and its effects
will only be worse if we try to avoid it.
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Budhism: |
Beliefs and practices of Buddhism in Nepal date back to the time of its
founder, Prince Siddhartha Gautam who was born in Lumbini in the
southern Terai region of the country in about 543 B.C. Up to the age of
twenty-nine, the young prince led a very sheltered life in the royal
palace of his father, completely unaware of the problems and suffering
of everyday life outside of the palace walls.
One day, he convinced his charioteer to take him outside the palace and
was shocked at the sight of an old man, a cripple and a corpse. The
realization that there was much misery and unhappiness in the world
persuaded the prince to abandon his luxurious life in the royal palace
in order to search for enlightenment and the real meaning of life.
For many years, Gautam wandered from place to place looking for a
solution to the problems he saw all around him. Finally, while
meditating under a Pipal tree, he became spiritually enlightened.
Henceforth known as Lord Buddha or the " the enlightened one," began to
preach the "Four Noble Truths" to all who would listen. According to
this doctrine, people suffer because of their attachment to things and
people; in other words, the root of all the problems is desire. These
desires and consequently, all problems and sufferings, can be totally
eliminated by following the "eightfold path"-right views, right intent,
right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort right
mindfulness an right meditation.
Buddha journeyed from place to place, teaching and converting hundreds
of followers and died at the age of eighty. However, his many disciples
continued spreading his teachings. At the same time Buddhism splitted
into two main schools of thought: Hinayana and Mahayana. The Followers
of Hinayana do not worship idols of Buddha as the enlightened prince
taught against idolatory. Very few other Nepalese Buddhists have adopted
the Hinayana school of thought, choosing rather to follow Mahayana
teachings. One of the central beliefs of Mahayanists is that one can
achieve nirvana by following the example of Bodhisattvas, Bodhi meaning
enlightenment and Sattva meaning essence.
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Tantrism: |
Both Hinduism and Buddhism in Nepal have been strongly influenced by the
beliefs and practices of Tantrism. " Tantra" is a Sanskrit word
referring to the basic warp of threads in weaving. Difficult to define
due to its varying types and forms, Trantrism is a religion of moral
percepts, meditation, yoga, mantras and a philosophy that believes in
interwovenness of all things.
Tantrism has greatly influenced Nepalese Buddhism by creating the path
of Vajrayana, the Path of the Thunderbolt. The main object used in
Vajrayana Buddhist rituals is a small thunderbolt-like sceptre that is
said to represent the infinite in three dimensions. A large thunderbolt,
or Vajra as it is commonly referred to, can be seen at the entrance of
Swayambhu temple at Katmandu on the top of a long flight steps.
There are basically two types of Tantric gods and goddesses: Dharmapalas
and Yidams. The former is often depicted with flaming red hair, several
arms, legs or heads and three eyes. Yidams are tutelary deities often
found depicted in thangkas; like their Dharmapala counterparts, they are
ferocious deities with many hands and fiercesome weapons.
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Nepal Travel Information
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