10th Anniversary Presenters
Reverend Kosho Finch
Priest, Henjyoji Shingon Buddhist Temple
Reverend Kosho Finch is director of The Foundation for Shingon Buddhism, headquartered at Henjyoji Temple in Portland, Oregon. Reverend Finch took initiation in 1999 and traveled to Mount Koya in Japan to receive precepts, final ordination, and transmission of the Shingon teachings. He is committed to maintaining the traditional Shingon lineage while finding innovative ways to share the teachings with those who are new to Buddhist practice.
Priest Prajwal Ratna Vajracharya
Co-founder & Priest, Dance Mandal & Nritya Mandala Mahavihara
Priest Prajwal Ratna Vajracharya was born into a lineage of Buddhist priests of the Kathmandu Valley and was raised in the yogic art of Charya dance, a yogic practice to enhance spiritual awakening through embodying the enlightened deity. As co-founder and resident priest of Nritya Mandala Mahavihara in Portland, he teaches and performs Charya and offers rituals for communities local and worldwide.
Chef Bikram Vaidya
Lead Chef Instructor, Oregon Culinary Institute
Chef Bikram Vaidya was born in the Kathmandu Valley into a lineage of Ayurveda practitioners. His interest in culinary history and the healing properties of food led him on a culinary career odyssey to study with renowned chefs in India, Thailand, Hong Kong, Greece, Peru, and the United States. He has been a member of the Oregon Culinary Institute faculty since 2006.
Dr. Subhash Ram Prajapati
Founder & President, Dabuli Initiative
Dr. Subhash Ram Prajapati is an expert in Ethnomusicology with a focus on Newar and Nepalese language, history, culture, and archaeology. He recently completed his PhD in Ethnomusicology from the University of Washington, where he researched changes in the traditional, folk, and fusion music of Newar Buddhist communities over the past century. He is founder of the Dabuli Initiative, a nonprofit dedicated to strengthening the rich artistic and cultural heritage of Nepal and the Himalayan regions.
Uppa Shakya, Dina Shakya, & Anjali Bajracharya
Uppa Shakya, Dina Shakya, and Anjali Bajracharya are three prominent practitioners in the Nritya Mandala community. Uppa is on the board of the organization and was one of the original dancers when Dance Mandal was formed in Kathmandu in 1996. Dina is the caretaker of Nritya Mandala Mahavihara and assists with all of the rituals at the center. Anjali grew up in the culture of householder priests and lay practitioners in Kathmandu, in the same family as priest Prajwal Ratna Vajracharya.
Dr. Gautama Vajra Vajracharya
Professor Emeritus, University of Wisconsin
Dr. Gautama Vajra Vajracharya is a Nepali Sanskritist and scholar specializing in the art and iconography of the Indian subcontinent. He completed his Ph.D. in South Asian Languages & Literature from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Vajracharya taught at the University of Wisconsin for nearly 30 years and is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Art History. He was a grantee of the prestigious John David Rockefeller III Fund Grant and has published numerous works and books related to Nepali and South Asian art and history.
Alysha Graham
Alysha Graham is an artist, Charya dancer, and Vajrayana practitioner, and recipient of a grant to study traditional Nepalese Buddhist mask making and paubha painting.
Prema Dasara & Myri Dakini Naves
Tara Dhatu
Prema Dasara is the founder and director of Tara Dhatu. She studied Indian Odissi dance with Ramani Ranjan Jena and Nepalese Charya dance with Ratna Kaji Vajracharya, father of Nritya Mandala Priest Prajwal Vajracharya. Myri Dakini Naves has danced with Prema for over six years. She performs, teaches, and leads workshops worldwide for Tara Dhatu.
Dr. Miranda E. Shaw
Associate Professor of Religious Studies, University of Richmond
Dr. Miranda Shaw is an educator and scholar who holds masters and doctorate degrees in the Study of Religion from Harvard University. She is the author of the award-winning book Passionate Enlightenment: Women in Tantric Buddhism, which has been translated into six languages, and Buddhist Goddesses of India. She serves as Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Richmond and continues to explore the profound sacred arts and embodied spiritual practices of Himalayan Buddhism.
Daya Ratna Shakya
Daya Ratna Shakya is a linguist, teacher, and translator known for his award-winning work supporting immigrants and preserving the traditional cultures and languages of Nepal. He has published many works and served as Vice President of the Newah Organization of America and President of the Nepalese Association of Oregon.
Axi Nityananda (Tristan Codrescu)
Madame Palmetto’s Amusement Company
Axi Nityananda (Tristan Codrescu) was raised in New Orleans and nursed in the ways music and art create culture. He studied anthropology, theater, and religious studies and founded the street theater ensemble Madame Palmetto’s Amusement Company. He also received his Masters in Chinese Medicine and founded Open Field Acupuncture & Healing Arts in Portland. Axi recently premiered The Legend of Shakti & Shiva, a mythic clown drama and live kirtan that toured the Pacific Northwest.
Dr. Christoph Emmrich
Associate Professor of South & Southeast Asian Buddhism, University of Toronto
Dr. Christoph Emmrich is an Associate Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Toronto, where he has taught Newar, Burmese, Pali, Buddhist, and Jain Studies since 2006. His latest monograph Writing Rites for Newar Girls: Marriage, Mimesis, & Memory in the Kathmandu Valley is forthcoming from Brill.
Dr. Miroj Shakya
Associate Professor of Religious Studies, University of the West
Dr. Miroj Shakya is Associate Professor and Co-chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of the West in Rosemead, California. He is part of the Rare Buddhist Sanskrit Manuscript Preservation Project and the Sanskrit Language Working Group, and editor of the Catalog of Digitized Rare Sanskrit Buddhist Manuscripts.
Dr. Alexander von Rospatt
Professor of Buddhist & South Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley
Alexander von Rospatt studied closely with Ratna Kaji Vajracharya, father of Nritya Mandala Mahavihara priest Prajwal Ratna Vajracharya, and is now a Professor of Buddhist & South Asian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He specializes in the doctrinal history of Indian Buddhism and in the ritual, narrative, and artistic traditions of Nepalese Buddhism. His forthcoming monograph explores the periodic renovations of the Svayambhu Stupa of Kathmandu, reconstructing their ritual history and cultural context.
Sanskrit Buddhist practice & culture from the ancient crossroads of the Nepal Mandala, now shining in the West