In the last few decades, Nepal has experienced a revival of Buddhism as a result of increased openness by the Nepalese government.
In the early 20th century, five Buddhist monks entered the country having learned one of the oldest schools of Buddhism, Theravada. As the state had been run by a dictator since 1846, the ruling elite did not take kindly to these foreigners who learned their teachings from Tibet. In 1926 the five monks were deported to India and more in 1944. Outside Buddhist influence was clearly prohibited.
Despite the repression of Buddhist monks, certain types of Buddhism were fully accepted. The ethnic group known as the Newars, who generally lived (and continue to) in and around Kathmandu, had a distinctive religious identity. While the higher castes often identified either as Hindu or Buddhist, many Newars practiced a mixture of the two religions. However, Newar Buddhism had no monastic tradition; Buddhist leaders lived normal lives and had families.
In 1946, more pressure was put on the Nepalese government to ease their suspicion of outsiders trying to spread their interpretation of the dharma (Buddhist spiritual path) into the country. With the fall of the dictatorship in 1951, Buddhists from other countries were able to spread new schools of thought. This includes Vajrayana and Mahayana Buddhism which remain prominent to this day. These schools have monastic traditions and, as a result, the 20th century saw a spike in both monasteries and monks. Today around 8% of Nepelse people are thought to be Buddhist. Yet this number is misleading, as Hinduism is a polytheistic religion and considers the Buddha to be the 9th avatar (or incarnation) of Vishnu, a Hindu god. Not only that some Nepalese are both Buddhist and Hindu. Hindus often absorb foreign deities (Jesus is the 10th incarnation of Vishnu for example) and revered persons. Meanwhile, Buddhism can be seen more as a philosophy focused on following a specific spiritual path.
These two belief systems therefore don't clash directly and have, in both past and present, incorporated elements from each other. A good example is the fact that Hindu shrines can often be found next to Tibetan Buddhist prayer flags. A few temples are even shared by both groups.
Some Nepalese people say, with confidence and a large amount of evidence, that there is harmony between Buddhists and Hindus in the modern day. In society, there is little perceived ill feeling between the two. While in law, the constitution prohibits the conversion of people to other religions, which is seen to help promote and maintain peace between different faiths.
Despite this, Nepal's friendliness with China means that the Dalai Lama (the leader of some Buddhist schools) cannot risk coming to Nepal without the possibility of being deported to China. This has caused a sense of uneasiness between the monks and the Nepalese government. This adds another layer to an underlying resentment some Buddhists feel. They believe the government is trying to profit from tourism to Buddhist landmarks in the country while severely restricting some Buddhist practices, such as celebrating the Dalai Lama's birthday or the Tibetan New Year.
On the whole, Buddhism in the last 100 years has gone from strength to strength. It began as a significant influence that permeated through Nepalese identity and religion and has now become more prominent and diverse. Yet, some are uncertain of how geopolitics may affect this harmony.
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