'Dhañlyähiti' - an annual display intending to educate people about death:

Death is an inevitable truth that every creature must undergo as the end of its being. Everything starts to decay from its very next moment of its birth. It's the ultimate reality that any worldly things go on changing to decay and there is nothing immortal to grasp. There is only one thing immortal that is the truth of the impermanence and unavoidable death. Ignorance of this truth leads the beings to commit accumulation of defilements in the mind by generating lust, hatred and delusion repeatedly. This is the cause of never ending suffering. Reminding death and educating about death has been an important content of the every religious teaching that generates motivation for merits and awareness for refraining from unwholesome deeds.

Disseminating messages of this sort has been rendering cultural festival in several places of Patan. Every year, in the month of Gunla (August 20 – 22 this year) thousands of people summons at Guita Bahi, Prathm Shree Mahavihar, situated at north-east end of Patan near Gwarko, Ring Road, to visit the holy display of 'Dhañlyähiti' (colloquial of 'dharmañjaya Yäträ Hiti' lit. a spout visited during sacred journey). The auspicious day to visit the place is first day of the dark half of Srawan, the day of Gäijäträ, though the display starts from the fourteenth day of bright half of Srawan, which lasts of four days. In the early night of Gäijäträ, thousands of people set out themselves for visiting four stupas of the Patan, among them, Guita Bahi is one of their important pilgrim. This day, the Salansala, an elongated hall flanking main shrine of monastery is decorated with full of symbo

lic emblems and Buddhist deities.

Peering through metal grills inside, inquisitive eyes seeks for somebody to explain those emblems. A clay model of water spout, a sitting lady on the top it and two fearful deities called Janmadoot and Karmadoot are the main set of display called as Dhañlyähiti. The back of this spout is the shrine of Amoghapäsa Lokesvara and two Tärä on either sides. Besides these, a life size Dipankara Buddha and collection of old traditional utensils were displayed.

This intriguing scene obviously builds curiosity about the small clay spout. Then anyone elder denizen of the community happily tells a story. In the last moment between life and death, your mind is taken away to the transcendental realm where you're taken to a fountain. Before to let you drink the water, a lady will examine and let you drink only if your lifespan has ended. If not, you would be sent back to the mortal realm again. This story is repeatedly told that day. Also he adds that it is very important to visit the place once in the life. The king of the death Yamaräja would ask you whether you have visited the place.

Some elders keep on repeating a story, such as, a king, who was an ardent meditation practitioner was counting his last moments. He remained unconscious for sometimes and then wake up. He explained that he saw several things in dream when he was at coma. The king wished to establish a tradition to display those things that he had seen. These are 'Janmadwära'-gate of birth at Tangal Bahal, 'Prayägpokhari' - the holy pond at Prayagpokhari tole near lagankhel, and 'Dhañlyähiti' - a spout at Guita tole.

This way, people are lured to visit the place by saying one will attain h

eaven after death. Also, many people come to lit incense light in dedication to deceased or the ailing people. But after all, the main underlying intention of this culture is to remind inexorable truth of death. As the pure philosophy is very hard to be assimilated by lay people, through such ritual and culture people are put closer to the reality of the life.

Such displays also represent the way of teaching and learning in Buddhist community. Vihar were former learning centers where monks got ordained and learn religion. Monk life is based on the offerings from community hence they have always liability to people to educate the lay people and stop them for sin. This culture would be a significant testimony of the injecting the teachings skillfully into the lifestyle of lay community people.