Munindra Ratna Bajracharya

Dharmodaya Sabha is the first and foremost national Buddhist organisation of Nepal. It has made a significant and noble contribution in promoting Buddhism and promoting Buddhist tradition in Nepal since 75 years ago. Before 1951A.D, during the Rana regime, there was no freedom of speech as nobody was permitted to speak about Buddhism.
In 1944, the Rana Prime Minister Juddha Shumsher exiled eight monks for refusing to stop teaching Buddhism and writing on Newari language. Buddhist monks and nuns were expelled from the territory of Nepal and they went to Sarnatha in India. The exiled Nepalese monks founded a new organisation named Dharmodaya Sabha with the help of other Buddhists monks at Banaras Sarnatha on 30 November 1944.
It is a great historical association with Venerable U Chandramani

Mahasthavir as chairman and Bhadanta Ananda Kaushalyayana as vice president, Ven. Amritananda general secretary and Mani Harsha Jyoti as treasurer.

Propagation Of Buddhism
The association was established to propagate Buddhism and also to protect against the expulsion of Buddhist monks from Nepal. After Dharmodaya Sabha had been formed, Ven. Amritananda visited many other Buddhists organisations for protesting the action of the Nepalese Government. Later, with generous efforts of Ven. Narada from Sri-Lanka and Ven. Amritananda of Nepal, those expelled monks were allowed to return to Nepal. On 1946, Rana Prime Minister Padma Shumsher allowed all the monks and nuns to return in Nepal. But he did not allow Dharmodaya Sabha to continue in Nepal. The organisation moved from Sarnatha to Kalingpong, where Mani Harsha Jyoti bought a building for headquarter and financed the magazine Dharmodaya. In 1947, the association launched a monthly magazine entitled Dharmodaya in Newari language printed from Kalimpong. Besides, this magazine provided an opportunity for the growing number of writers on Newari literature. Later on, it was published from Calcutta.
Restructuring of Dharmodaya Sabha took place under the Chairmanship of Ven. Amritananda. Dharmodaya Sabha came to Kathmandu along with them. It has certain objectives such as (i) to open Buddhists schools throughout Nepal. (ii) to build a Vihar in every town or village where the majority of the people were Buddhists. (iii) to publish translations of canonicals texts as well as the books on Buddhism in Nepali and Newari. (iv) to propagate Buddhism through educations. (v) to publish two journals, one in English and another in the Nepali language. (vi) to persuade the Nepalese authorities to take the necessary steps to preserve ancient Buddhists monuments and sites like Lumbini and Kapilvastu. (vii) to encourage Buddhists of other countries to visit Nepal and to other facilities to Buddhist scholars.
After the Rana regime fell in 1951, the Buddhists were able to organise all activities freely.

Kathmandu Branch In 1951
Then a branch of the organisation of Dharmodaya Sabha was opened in Kathmandu with Ven. Pragyananda Mahasthavir as President and Amritananda as its secretary. One of the first tasks of the organisation was to organise Buddha Jayanti in Kathmandu. Similarly, King Tribhuvan himself participated in the Buddha Puja on the auspicious of Buddha Jayanti in 1951. After a year of wait, Dharmodaya Sabha succeeded in moving back its headquarters from Kalingpong to Nepal.
Dharmodaya Sabha had come to the foreground as the national Buddhists organisation representing all Nepalese Buddhist communities.
Dharmodaya Sabha, a major Buddhist organisation of the country with its affiliation with the World Fellowship of Buddhists has been instrumental in propagating Lord Buddha's message of peace, compassion and good virtue since the establishment in 1944.
The Sabha played a leading role in organising the conference and greatly expanded the scope of its operation.
Nepal hosted the Fourth World Buddhist Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists association from 15th to 21st November 1956. This conference took place under the leadership of the Ven. Amritananda, the president of Dharmodaya Sabha and elected Vice President of the World Fellowship of Buddhists.
It was indeed a golden opportunity to have got to hold the Fourth Conference of the W.F.B in Nepal. It has to keep the light of knowledge and acclaimed as the birthplace of Lord Buddha in Nepal. This conference was inaugurated by Late King Mahendra at Tundikhel Kathmandu 15th November 1956. Late King Mahendra had taken a lively interest in the proposed Conference and assured all help and cooperation needed for it.
King Mahendra, the Ven. Chandramani Mahasthavir and Dr G.P. Malasakera, the President of the World Fellowship of Buddhists and the great scholar Dr Ambedakar had addressed the opening ceremony.
The 4th W.F.B was the biggest first International Conference that ever took place in Nepal at that time. This event allowed many people in foreign countries to learn about an independent country called Nepal where Gautam Buddha was born 2500 years ago. Dharmodaya Sabha had done a tremendous, unimaginable and historical job of organising the international Buddhist meet at that time which remained a great achievement for Nepal and its Buddhist leaders.

Buddhist Conclave
Dharmodaya Sabha has been organising the National Buddhists Conference every two years. It has completed the 13th National Buddhists conference in various districts. The national conference was successful in bringing together as the three different sectors like as Theravada Buddhism, Newar Buddhism (Vajrayana), and Himalayan Buddhism.
After twenty years Dharmodaya Sabha again hosted the 15th World Fellowship Buddhists Conference at Kathmandu in 1986. This conference was graced and inaugurated by Prince Gyanendra, the then Chairman of the Lumbini Development Trust in Dasarath Stadium in Kathmandu.
The Sabha held the important conference to create awareness among the different sector of Buddhism in Nepal with an attempt to generate a compressive national Buddhist unity. It has done many works to contribute to awakening Buddhism in the world.
It provided leadership for the campaign of announcing Nepal as a secular state in the new constitution of 1991. It has been one of the successful movements which have got 45 branches in different districts awakening Buddhism in their respected places. Dharmodaya Sabha has organised two-day regional conferences in many districts like Kathmandu, Lumbini, Surkhet, Pokhara, Bharatpur, Dhangadi and Rajbiraj every two years. On this occasion, it has awarded a prestigious 'Dharmodaya Dhamma Prize' for many scholars who performed the development of Buddhism in Nepal since 1997.

International Conferences
The Sabha got an opportunity to sending a delegation from Nepal to participate in the various International Conferences to be held in the Buddhists countries of the world. Many Buddhists delegates from various Buddhists countries like South Korea, China, Sri-Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Myanmar and India come to visit the members of Dharmodaya Sabha for enhancing their cordial relations. So it is a well-known association among the followers of Buddhism of the world. It has been one of the most successful movements representing all the Buddhists vehicle of Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana and derived nationality of Nepal. Its Presidency is a highly renowned post. The presidential responsibility is rotated every three years among the Theravada monks, Mahayana (Lamaism leaders) and eminent Bajracharya Gurujus. Similarly, it has some affiliate organisations like Young Men's Buddhists Association and Buddhists Women's Association of Nepal has been affiliated as its associate organization.
The positive aspect of the Dharmodaya Sabha is- it has raised awareness, unity and solidarity among the Buddhists which strengthened and brought all sects of Buddhist under an umbrella.

(The writer is former Reader, Tribhuvan University)