Yogic Song & Sacred Dance:
Purification & Healing with Vajrasattva
A Talk with Prajwal Vajracharya & Joshua Proto
INSTRUCTIONS:
CLICK PLAY IN THE VIDEO PLAYER ABOVE
ENTER THE PASSWORD YOU RECEIVED IN YOUR E-MAIL CONFIRMATION
In the Newar Vajrayana Buddhist Tradition of Nepal it is taught that there can be no liberation without singing and dancing — the physical body and the voice are the tools of transformation with which we awaken and free our minds.
Join Prajwal Vajracharya & Joshua Proto for an introduction to yogic song (Charya Giti) and ritual dance (Charya Nritya) as practiced in the Newari Buddhist tradition for the purpose of purifying and healing body, energy, mind, and emotions.
This talk is an introduction to the upcoming course:
The Path of Yogic Singing & Sacred Dancing:
Purification and Healing with Vajrasattva
Four Week Course:
Saturdays October 9, 16, 23, 30
10am (Los Angeles Time Zone)
In this course participants will be instructed in the oral tradition of Nepalese Ragas (musical modes), tala (rhythmic cycles), and will be taught the traditional melodic song of Vajrasattva. Over four classes, students will become familiar with cultivating their voices, matching the pitches of the Raga, and keeping time. In the second part of the class students will learn the complete ritual dance of Vajrasattva, and finally they will merge the song and dance together.
Vajrasattva means “Adamantine Being” meaning pure, stainless, incapable of destruction or diminishment. He is identified with the ultimate, formless state of Buddhahood, and represents the essence of all Buddhas. The purpose of meditating on Vajrasattva is to fully purify all negative karma, mind states, and motivations. Vajrasattva embodies the state of being to which all Mahayana and Tantric practitioners aspire, namely, the adamantine state of full enlightenment.
Vajrasattva is central to Newar Buddhist meditative and ritual practices. Newar priests revere Vajrasattva as the primordial teacher, the source of the Tantric teachings they practice. Before performing any ritual, such as an initiation or ritual of healing, offering, or consecration, Newar gurus/ priests visualize themselves as Vajrasattva so that they may perform the ritual with pure motivation in a state of unity with him. This assures that the ritual will be undertaken not out of any selfish intentions, but solely with the purpose of the elevation, inspiration, and enlightenment of all living beings.
This is a healing and a purification practice for body, speech and mind. Absolutely no prior singing or dancing experience is required. Just as all beings have the potential to attain liberation, everyone can also sing and dance, regardless of the quality of their voice or body condition. All are welcome!
About your Teachers
Prajwal Ratna Vajracharya is a 35th generation Tantric Buddhist priest from Nepal and ritual master of the Charya Nritya dance tradition and other ritual forms performed by the Newar Vajracharya lineage. Prajwal began his training in Charya Nritya at eight years old, receiving formal instruction mainly from his father, the Buddhist scholar and ritual master Ratna Kaji Vajracharya. Prajwal Vajracharya is now the premier teacher, practitioner, and performer of the tradition and is a veteran of several world tours with beginning and advanced students around the globe. He founded Dance Mandal: Foundation for Sacred Buddhist Arts of Nepal to preserve and expand this rare art form and its related traditions. With the survival of this sacred ritual dance threatened by modernization, Prajwal, at his father’s wishes, has dedicated his life to bringing this unique Buddhist heritage from the temples of Nepal to the world, while adhering to its original purpose as a profound spiritual practice.
Joshua Proto, student of Prajwal Vajracharya, is a Buddhist practitioner in the Newar Vajrayana lineage of Charya dance and song. Trained in the Hindustani music style of Khyal from the Kirana Gharana, Joshua has found much joy in using his understanding of Indian Classical music to enrich his practice and excel in his study of Charya singing. He is excited to share his insights from both practices to help students discover the sound of their voice and the embodied wisdom it contains.
As the primary singer at Nritya Mandala Mahavihara in Portland, Oregon, Joshua is responsible for accompanying Prajwal and the temple dancers in over 35 Charya songs. In adherence to his teacher, Prajwal Vajracharya’s wishes, Joshua strives to ensure that the complete practice of Charya as both artistic form and profound spiritual practice can survive and thrive in a modern world.