Dharma Ratna Yami and the Revival of Nepalese Buddhism 

 

 

Dharma Ratna Yami and the Revival of Nepalese Buddhism 

Posted On

18th of May, 2025

Posted By

Prof. Timila Yami Thapa

 

The wind of democracy began to stir. 

And a man—Dharma Ratna Yami—rose to power as the Deputy Minister, under the Prime-Ministership of Matrika Prasad Koirala. A visionary. A rebel. A person blessed with the proper “karma” who has also returned from the Shangri-La (LHASA). A descendant of those who never forgot the critical and risky role. Ceylon said: “We have preserved the sacred relic—the ash (ASHTI DHATU) of Lord Goutam Buddha. Let it return home.” But this was not just a matter of religion. It was a sheer challenge to the order that still gripped the country. 

The expelled Buddhists of Nepal began to return—not only just across the borders, but also across the boundaries of silence. Dharma Ratna Yami became a vessel for their voices. He chronicled their grief, their resistance and the sacred wisdom that lay buried beneath the caste discrimination, the Hindu orthodoxy and the state control. He reminded a nation that the Buddha was born not just in Lumbini—but in the courage of those who dared to remember after all. 

For years, the Brahmin elite had blocked such humble gestures. Yet Dharma Ratna Yami stood firm. He proceeded to King Tribhuvan Shah—not with fear, but with faith. The seal of approval was given. The Holy Ash would come home. The Procession (Sound of drums, footsteps, murmurs) from Narayanhiti Royal Palace, a sacred procession in event set out. The Ash of the Enlightened One was held with top reverence. The object was taken to Ananda-KutiVihar, Swayambhu Mahachaitya Temple.

The local suppressed communities, who had long been deprived of access to any relevant information, were confused and unsure about what was happening. They began to ask questions about the nature of the event and its purpose. Unfortunately, rather than being given the respectful or accurate explanations, they were misled by a bunch of anti-Buddhists who had brainwashed the crowd around the procession into viewing the ritual in a negative light. These individuals used abusive language, referring to it mockingly as a “bone-ash procession in the country of a madman.” In the Newar language, this ritual is traditionally known as the “Bone-Ash Procession.” Some scoffed opposing Voice (angry): “This is madness! Dharma Ratna Yami, the lunatic man's arrangement is this procession of bone ash."  Stones were not thrown—but words of harshness were indeed. 

In the mid-20th century, as Nepal stood on the threshold of political upheaval and cultural amnesia, one man carried the fire of a silenced faith. Dharma Ratna Yami—a noble writer, rebel and relentless truth-teller—walked the tightrope between memory and exile. Born into a time when Buddhism was criminalized in its own birth-place, he was among the first to challenge the erasure for sure. 

This is a deeply moving and historically significant narrative—a compelled retelling of a moment when faith, politics and resistance converged in Nepal’s history. The Newarcommunity witnessed him as a big shot of the period thus concerned. He was born a pure Buddhist by any religion. Together, he was permanently an optimistic than a pessimist, as profoundly taught back in alma mater.  

In 1951, following the Rana regime’s collapse, a considerable leap in religious liberty emerged in Nepal. This enabled Thervad Buddhism, in particular, to prosper and instantly led to the transformation of Ananda-Kuti Vihar, Swayambhu Mahachaitya Shrine into a complete cultural and spiritual center. It became a center of attraction for monks, scholars and devotees from all different parts of Nepal and even from other countries, thus developing a lively Buddhist community in the region. During its existence, the center has organized several meditation retreats, educational activities and other religious ceremonies which have gained it the status of a prominent Buddhist learning and practicing center in the region. Swayambhu MahachaityaTemple, also vaguely known as the Monkey Temple, is located on a hill in Kathmandu Valley, 3 kilometers west of Kathmandu City (old Kantipur). It is situated in the north-west part of the Valley and is regarded as one of Nepal's most sacred Buddhist stupas.