“Newar Buddhists live in the Kathmandu Valley and make up 5.5% of Nepal's population.” Edward Irons, who has built a historical database on Newar Buddhists, discusses the aspects that contribute to Newar Buddhism and what it consists of. There are various texts within this religion that are very important. The difference related to Newar Buddhism is the use of rituals and texts within the Sangha. If you consider Buddhism itself, it is recognized as a widespread religion in countries such as Sri Lanka, Tibet, Burma and China, as well as in many other Asian countries. Ritual texts within religion, along with stories and narratives, create what religion is today. The purpose of this essay is to outline the use of rituals, texts and general history of Newar Buddhism by analyzing different rituals such as tantric ritual texts. David Gellner, author of the tantric ritual texts discussed in class, writes about the culture and ritualized devotion to tantric rituals in this Buddhist sect. Kathmandu Valley is a city in Nepal where Newar Buddhism was born and is home to extraordinary monuments and structures that tourists travel to see. This is one of the largest cities in Nepal and with its large religious community it is growing rapidly. Newars, as Gellner describes, have 20 castes in which they are dispersed throughout the city. There are three cities where Newar Buddhism is located, Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur. The priests come from castes composed of Sakya and Vajracarya. Analyzing the history of Newar Buddhism allows the reader to understand the methodology of how the religious sect functions and what it contributes to the religion as a whole. There are various rituals in which they are discussed through Gellner...... middle of paper.. ....in the form of accessories or any other clothing. Kathmandu Valley is the only city where Sanskrit is used (Gellner 2). The city of Kathmandy Valley is metropolitanized and is full of religious vibrancy. As mentioned above, the occurrence of rituals is very important in this Buddhist sect. All major Newar Buddhist rituals begin with a sponsor performing the Guru Mandala under the watchful eye of a Vajracarya priest. The Guru Mandala as Gellnar explains is a framing ritual and the performer offers the world the mandala to his teacher and the Vajrasattva Buddha. The guru mandala is the most basic ritual of Newar Buddhism and five written versions are used, the oldest of which is a manual called Kriya-Samuccaya. The Guru Mandala ritual can be performed in a God room which is a prayer room and is traditionally used daily.