Gurung Buddhism

The Basic Concepts of Gurung Buddhism
Gurung Buddhism was firmly and eventually established as the primary religion of the Gurung people. Scholars, community leaders, and Gurung writers glorified and preserved the folk values that Gurung Buddhism has accepted and absorbed. In Gurung communities, many traces of the folk religion or shamanism (Pachyu, Khlepree) exist, and besides these popular beliefs, with their local cults and magical rites, another belief system, pre-Buddhism or Bon prevailed. It is believed that Bon preceded the introduction of Buddhism to the Gurung people. They identify divination and exorcism (driving out) as central elements of the indigenous folk religion but also of Bon and believe that both the folk religion and the more structured Bon contributed to the undeniably shamanistic aspect of Gurung religious practice and customs. In this view, Bon brought an assortment of gods, demons, and spirits of nature into the Gurung Buddhist pantheon (respected people). Bon's formal doctrinal structure was later borrowed from Buddhism. According to the standard history, Bon contended with Buddhism for dominance during the early centuries after introducing Buddhism. In any case, Gurung Buddhism prevailed, but Bon, in some form, has survived in parts of Western Nepal and remote Gurung villages. According to this line of thought, the Bon that has survived was so heavily influenced and infused with later adaptations and borrowings from Vajrayana Buddhism that its original form can no longer be definitively distinguished. Yet Gurung Buddhism is heavily influenced by Bon: both shared traditions of magic and are influenced by the potent "folk religion." Before the famous introduction of Vajrayana Buddhism to Gurung people, forms of Buddhism had already reached Gurung communities and were familiar to most of them. Bonpo has a fully developed theology and a set of tantras that they find correspond with Buddhist practice. Bon is much closer to the Nyingma-pa sect of Vajrayana Buddhism, known among the recognized orthodox Buddhist sects as the "old" school, than the popular folk religion with its multitude of spirits, magical rites, divination, exorcism, auguries, etc. The supernatural aspects of the indigenous cult are accepted by both Bonpos and Buddhists.
And while Bonpos consider their religion a form of Buddhism, the Tibetan Buddhists regard Bon as a distinct, different religion, not a heterodox form of Buddhism. In light of these contending, disparate views about the origin, history, and nature of Bon and its disputed relation to Buddhism, Bon has thus been defined in the three main theories:
1. Bon was the pre-Buddhist religion of the Gurung people;
2. Bon was a form of Buddhism that developed at least as early as the period in which Buddhism was introduced into the Himalayas and was similar in many respects to orthodox Buddhism;
3. Bon was not a religion in its own right but the sum of all the indigenous beliefs, cults of local gods, popular rites, etc., that were once prevalent across the Gurung Villages.

Whatever the origin, history, and nature of Bon, Gurung Buddhists are broadly tolerant of the old practices, some of which have almost no recognizable relationship with Buddhist belief. These native elements, whether they derived from Bon or folk religion, do not harm the living Gurung Buddhism. Many of the rituals and practices meant to defeat evil powers have survived not only in the folk religion but were even, in Buddhist belief, absorbed into orthodox Buddhist rituals. The people of the Gurung cultural world are profoundly and sincerely Buddhist, yet the ancient traditions of folk religion/shamanism remain vital and have left their unforgettable stamp on Gurung Buddhism, contributing to its distinctive nature. Therefore, Gurung Buddhism is the intersection of the sum of all the indigenous beliefs, cults of local gods, popular rites, and Vajrayana Buddhism, along with traditional, pre-Buddhist beliefs, whether Bon or folk religion. It is clear that in Gurung communities, rather than opposing the folk tradition and Bons, mainstream Buddhism accepted and absorbed it and, in so doing, allowed its perimeters to stretch. Buddhism has never concerned itself with extirpating (destroying) heresy (official opinion) and has no concept of excommunication (the action of officially excluding someone from participation).

Looking back at the practice of Buddhism in the Gurung communities, they are not uniform. It seems different from each other by their clan, lineage, and ordination they received. For example, some still practice as their ancestor did at Nar fu Valley in Manang and Mustang, others practice according to Kerlo, and the later practices vary according to their ordained Tibetan monasteries.

Therefore, the concept of Gurung Buddhism has been necessary for the uniformity of Gurung Buddhist rituals and practices. Aiming to unify the Gurung Buddhist organizations across the globe, the Triratna Foundation was established in 2020 in the USA under the leadership of Dr. Kumar Gurung, and the Federation of Gurung Buddhism was established in 2022 in Nepal. The leading Federation of Gurung Buddhism campaigners are associate members of Tamu Baudha Sewa Samiti Nepal, Mr. Dhurba Bahadur Gurung, and Mr. Puspa Bahadur Gurung.

It is concluded that "Gurung Buddhism" is the correct term to address the cultural and religious disagreements going on across the Gurung communities around the globe. They want to integrate the traditional cultural values (folk tradition and Bons) and practices of Vajrayana Buddhism that do not contradict "Panchashila" (the five precepts of Buddhism) and call it "Gurung Buddhism."

Since the Gurung community is transitioning to the mainstream philosophy of Buddhism, "the Gurung Culture-based Buddhist Practice" must be nurtured because ethnic cultural values and rituals are part of ethnic identity. The ancient Gurung culture is based on animism (Bon) culture; animal sacrifice is practiced among the Gurung communities, which is against the Panchila. The dual practice of Bonism (Animism) and mainstream Buddhism in the Gurung communities contradict in terms of animal sacrifice. Therefore, the Triratna Foundation, the federation of Gurung Buddhism, UGBOA, UGSA, and all the Gurung Buddhist associations across the globe have emphasized the practice of Panchashila, a single means by which everyone can come under it.

Pancha Shila is the fundamental moral principle of good conduct in Buddhism. It helps a society function smoothly by maintaining peace, compassion, dignity, equality, and justice for all sentient beings. The five moral precepts are abstaining from killing, abstaining from stealing, abstaining from sexual misconduct, abstaining from false speech, and abstaining from intoxication.