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Gunla Dharma: The Sacred Month of Devotion in Newar Buddhism

An Intimate Journey of Music, Pilgrimage, and Spiritual Renewal in the Heart of the Kathmandu Valley

The Kathmandu Valley in Nepal is a spiritual museum with ancient cities, vibrant festivals, and intricate Hindu and Buddhist traditions. One of the valley's sacred observances is Gunlā, a month-long journey of devotion, self-discipline, artistic expression, and community engagement. Celebrated during the tenth lunar month of the Nepal Sambat calendar, it echoes the ancient Vassa tradition in early Buddhism. The Newar Buddhist community of the Kathmandu Valley has localized this practice into a culturally rich celebration involving daily pre-dawn pilgrimages, ritual music, alms-giving, and public displays of sacred art. It has provided an annual rhythm of renewal, bringing together families, monasteries, and neighborhoods in acts of shared faith and spiritual mindfulness. Through its deeply rooted traditions, Gunlā embodies the essence of Newar Buddhism, where devotion is not just practiced in temples but woven into everyday lives.

What is Gunla Dharma?

Dipankara Buddha Sculpture in Oxidized Elegance
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Gunla is a lunar month in the Nepal Sambat calendar, corresponding roughly to July/ August in the Gregorian calendar. The word originates from the Newar Buddhist term "Gun," referring to the nine sacred scriptures. “La” refers to a month and can be understood as the "month of virtue" or "month of sacred text".

In the Buddhist context, Gunla is equivalent to the Vassa, the traditional monsoon-season retreat observed by Theravada monastics. This particular retreat may have precursors found in many Buddhist texts, as the historical Buddha and his disciples would observe a retreat each year during these monsoon months, abstaining from their travels to protect crops, prevent harm from the rains and insects, and spend more time in meditation, teaching, and reflection on the scriptures. The Newar Buddhist community, one of the last surviving Vajrayāna Buddhist cultures with strong connections to a vibrant lay-monastic practice, has retained, preserved, and embodied this cultural Buddhist heritage in a colorful way for all to enjoy through Gunla Dharma.

The Origins of Gunla: Myth, Monsoon, and Musical Awareness

Gunla, one of the most honored months in Newar Buddhist culture, is during which myth, perennial need, and practice coalesce into a living tradition that is also situated in the historical past of the Kathmandu Valley. Each year, Gunlā arrives with a renewed sense of reflection and rhythm: musical and spiritual.

1. Monsoon Roots: From Seasons to Spirituality

Heavy rain brings challenges to daily life. In the ancient past, the residents of the valley would seek refuge on the sacred hill of Swayambhunath to play music, offer prayers, and recite sutras to ward off calamity and ensure general protection. Here, what started as a ritual pilgrimage transitioned into what could be considered a sacred retreat (i.e., taking refuge). The pilgrimage reflected the Buddhist idea of Vassa, a time during the monsoon season when monks and "biksu" (Buddhist community members) devote themselves to more intensive study, meditation, and teaching. In the Newar Buddhist tradition, this has evolved into a community practice with a lay perspective that features day-to-day rituals and musical processions.

2. Awakening the Buddha: A Legend of Music and Compassion

Tingsha Cymbals with Cover
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Gunla, a traditional Buddhist ritual, is believed to have been awakened by the Buddha through devotional music. A group of Newar devotees played the Nyeku or Meku Bājan, a deep-toned buffalo horn, during a time of spiritual unrest. The sincerity of their music and devotion led to the Buddha's blessings and dispelling of their suffering, establishing the tradition of using music for awakening and merit-making. This divine encounter inspired the formation of Gunlā Bājan, the ceremonial music that now defines the month. Another legend from Khokana and Lalitpur tells of King Singha Ketu and his devoted Queen Rukamati, who built a stupa in his honor and played the horn while chanting mantras. This story symbolizes the power of remembrance, music, and spiritual love, giving emotional and karmic depth to the modern practice of Gunlā's processions and offerings.

Key Observances During the Month of Gunla

Gunlā Bājan: The Soundtrack of Devotion

Gunla Bajan
Gunla Bajan (Photo From Hotel Shankar)

Gunlā Bājan is one of the most powerful and spiritually essential aspects of the Gunlā month. Gunlā Bājan is a form of sacred devotional music played by local Newar Buddhist groups, or guthis. Each morning throughout Gunlā, musical groups of local men and boys wake before dawn, dress in white ceremonial clothing, and walk through the narrow streets and city squares in large processions to shrines such as the Swayambhunath Stupa, Boudhanath, Itumbaha, Namobuddha, and countless chaityas (stupas) in the neighborhood. The music is played by a traditional ensemble of instruments that carry both symbolic and sonic weight, including: the Dhaa, a large double-sided drum which establishes the basic rhythm; Bhusya and Taa, types of cymbals which create a shimmering texture; the Bansuri, a transverse bamboo flute which provides lyric grace; and long, ceremonial trumpets like the Payentah and Neku, used particularly in the dramatic and ritualistic elements of the compositions. Gunlā Bājan is much more than a performance; it is a type of moving meditation, a public act of devotion, and a collective presentation of merit. The compositions are known only by oral tradition, passed from singer to singer across generations, and carry not only musical traditions that are distinct to Kathmandu, but also spiritual meanings that reinforce community relations and religious continuity at the very center of the valley.

Bahidyah Swānegu: Sacred Art in Public View

Bahidyah Swānegu
(Photo From Utsab Sthapit)

In the middle of Gunlā, Newar Buddhist communities observe Bahidyah Swānegu. The festival occurs on the day after the full moon and coincides with the Gai Jatra festival. As one of the few occasions to publicly display sacred art, families and monastic communities known as bahas and bahis take their time to assemble and display their private collections of Paubha, statues of Dipankara Buddha, and ceremonial items of great worth and rarity. These invaluable items are usually concealed in the household or a temple shrine. Still, to celebrate Bahidyah Swānegu, they will all be set out in a courtyard for the community's visit, veneration, and contemplation. Bahidyah Swānegu will serve as more than just an exhibit; it will foster intergenerational transmission of Buddhist knowledge and values as the newest generations of Newar followers engage with these items and can now visualize the philosophy and aesthetics of their beliefs. Bahidyah Swānegu is not only a religious and spiritual event, but also an artistic celebration of expression, verifying public devotion, continuity of culture, and community identity.

Panjarān and Almsgiving Traditions

Panchadan

Panjarān (Photo From Setopati)

Panjarān is also essential, as it is an almsgiving ritual tracing back to the Buddhist practice of dāna (generosity). During Gunlā, lay practitioners will make offerings of rice, lentils,fruit, coins, incense, and candles, with the help golpa. Politely accepting the alms given to monks, nuns, teachers, and religious people. In the Kathmandu valley, however, the almsgiving ritual is further embellished during Panchadān, which represents the five sacred offerings to the sangha. These rituals are far more complex than just giving. They are forms of reciprocal exchange of merit, respect, and mindfulness, as they help the lay community reconnect with the custodians of dharma. 

Matayā: The Festival of Light in Lalitpur

Mataya
Mataya Festival in Lalitpur (Photo From The Himalayan Times)

One of the most visually spectacular and spiritually alive events of Gunlā is Matayā, an exclusively local event in Patan (Lalitpur). Mataya is derived from Buddhist myth and culture, commemorating the Buddha’s defeat of Māra - the embodiment of desire, fear, and illusion. This pilgrimage represents the conquest of enlightenment over ignorance as a single day's devotion cycling thousands of devotees back onto the streets of the city in unison, showing both spiritual endurance and affective devotion. 

A Matayā pilgrimage begins well before dawn and continues long into the evening, spanning a fixed route usually set between 15 and 20 kilometers that incorporates hundreds of shrines and stupas along the path, and participants of all ages. Local supporters line the streets, cheering, offering food and water, and making the pilgrimage a moment of city-wide celebration of light, compassion, and counter-community solidarity that radiates outwardly to our collective identity in the shared ritual of a cultural pilgrimage. Although Matayā can appear to be a religious activity, collectively it is also a spiritual marathon, a mix of physical dedication, inner devotion, and an affective celebration of joy.

Sutras and Scripture Readings: Respecting the Practice of the Dharma

Sutra Reading in Golden Temple
Sutra or Scripture Reading in Golden Temple (Photo From Nepali Times)

At the heart of Gunlā is the reading of sacred Buddhist texts, and the most notable set of sacred Buddhist texts is known as Navagunlā or "the Nine Virtues. The nine Mahayana sutras or prayer books are chanted and read during the month by monks and laypeople alike, connecting ancient wisdom with present-day practice. The Navagunlā contains several notable sutras, including: 

  • Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra (Lotus Sutra) - acknowledged for its emphasis on universal salvation and the Bodhisattva path.
  • Lalitavistara Sūtra (Life of Buddha) - a biographical text following the Buddha from birth through enlightenment
  • Suvarṇaprabhāsa Sūtra (Golden Light Sutra) - praised for its emphasis on enlightened wisdom and protection through the Dharma
  • Lankāvatāra Sūtra - focused on consciousness, perception, and non-duality.

Additional texts from the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions are also frequently recited, demonstrating the theological diversity within Newar Buddhism. The public and private recitation of these texts, in monasteries, courtyards, and as family units in their homes, engenders a community with scriptural literacy, a sacred rhythm of devotion, and an opportunity for Dharma transmission across generations.

Ethical Discipline and Implementing the Practice: Living The Teaching

Jade Stone Golpa
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Gunlā is not only about celebrating and rituals; it also requires ethical purification and a mindful way of being. Some Newar Buddhists take on a vow of dietary and behavioral discipline that reflects both Vinaya and community values. The disciplines might include:

  • Not eating meat, drinking alcohol, and not eating strong spices.
  • Not speaking or thinking badly about any living being, gossiping, or doing anything intending to harm another.
  • Engaging in daily chanting, meditation, and sometimes generosity.

The disciplines that develop better habits and retention of merits are considered personal commitments to create opportunities to establish merits, purify karma, and live with more harmony with the Buddha's path. When the lay Buddhists make such individual commitments, they participate in acceptable discipline in Buddhism because they are doing so in ways of closure to negativity concerning either Vinaya or householder's practice.

Gunlā Punhi: The Full Moon Celebration

Gunlā's centering point or spiritual zenith is the day of Gunlā, which is a full-moon day, meaning it is celebrated with a full-moon festival that involves large contingents of people, offering of music, and tours to the most significant shrines, e.g., the Swayambhunath Stupa. Before first light, thousands of devotees will walk the hill - whether in silence or through song, bearing butter lamps, incense, flowers, and a profoundly earnest desire to build merit. 

The day is full of merit built upon, and, therefore, worthy of merit accumulation and spiritual renewal. As the stupa is lit up from within by hundreds of lamps, it represents a novice's awakening, the voice of the community and cultural unity, and perhaps most significantly, the victory of Dharma over darkness. The day's festivities welcomed traditional music, dance, and shared food, rhapsodizing the culmination of the spiritual work during the month of Gunlā, and the joy of the whole moon festival.

Modern Interpretation of Gunla Dharma 

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As urbanization continues to shape our cultural landscape, Gunlā also remains vital and assertive as a mediation of Newar Buddhist identity. Though traditional monastic institutions may have receded in number and since, the spirit of the month, and the structures that contribute to life-cycle events from the Gunlā Bājan music to the period of ceremony, continues to be maintained by lay communities and guthis, each with their myriad of roles, but primarily among the youth driving the ensembles.

Young performers are refashioning Gunlā Bājan music and ensembles into hybrid groups that preserve their heritage, along with relevant elements that guarantee the sacred music is shared with new generations. The ability to disseminate what were once rare or even extinct compositions and rituals, now orally sustained, has been made more accessible because of advancements in media dissemination, especially video and technology. In addition to the guthis that have consistently maintained traditions, educational institutions still reinforce the practice, and their casual rosters of monks also aid in institutional retention of the alternatives of Gunlā as liminal sub-processes of the grander rituals.

The complementary aspects of Gunlā do not come without challenges. Commercialization of sacred sites, congested spaces while the month continues to be visible within, digital distractions undermining its importance, and the loss of ceremony and role surrounding land have compromised and instruments represent to many, if the main objective is not accessible in the enveloping bureaucracy; it limits a view of meaning and prevents actualized identity through ritual's performance. Despite these pressures, Gunlā will continue to develop, inspire, and unify this and future generations, as it has done so; it is a material expression of the ongoing resilience of Newar Buddhist culture, and it emulates timelessness, demonstrating the ability of sacred music to foster devotion, community, and internal changes.

Conclusion: Gunlā A Living Dharma

Gunlā, as a living tradition, one of the street festivities of Newar Buddhism, unites spiritual cultivation through the art of sound and creativity of action within the body and ethics of conduct that assert the contours of place and togetherness. It is more than a religious event; it is the cultural pulse that offers meaning within neighborhood streets, individual family courtyards, and during events that draw the entire community together.

Gunlā also exists in the remembering notion as the whole that is immeasurable elements which embed deep devotion as it has been relationally crafted over centuries through sacred scripture and tenets lived through simple action. Accepting urban influence, technology and information overload, and the pressures of life and work, it sustains itself and persists rooted in ancestral faith and wisdom. Young men are picking up their dhaiks, sacred sound within the modern world becomes a recording file download, and students pick up the literature to recite. It is both a spiritual practice and a cultural inheritance. It, as a living dharma, continually argues that faith is an act kept alive with action, which is manifested with the community, and which is offered afresh after every pilgrimage with a sacred beat and a beacon in an ever-changing world that supports having pause, to reflect, resound, and belong, and takes us from the past into the future while shining a light for modern generations.

 

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