Kathmandu, February 27:

The Tamangs, a Buddhist community, may face a dearth of Lamas (Buddhist priests) in the days to come because the youths are not willing to enter priesthood, scholars of the community have said.

They said such a situation is likely because the community has failed to attract the Tamang youths as its prospective Lamas.

The Tamangs comprise 51 per cent of the total Buddhist community in the country.

If the current situation persists for some more years, there will be no Lamas to replace the present ones, they said, attributing the problem to modernisation and government laxity.

Mahendra Jung Tamang, president of the Nepal Tamang Ghedung, said, “The traditional profession has failed to attract the young Tamangs because they focus more on pursuing their careers in engineering, music, medicine and other fields. No one is interested in preserving the culture and tradition. Religion has no appeal for the present generation.”

Unlike other Buddhist communities, which make children Lama and Ani, Tamang community has no such tradition.

Some members of the community held the government responsible for subordinating the culture and religion. Bijaya Lopchan, president of the Nepal Tamang Students’ Ghedung, said the Tamang community was economically backward in comparison to other communities. “The youths are not attracted to the religious profession as the priesthood does not give economic security.”

“The government should provide some facilities and economical security to those who want to pursue the traditional practice,” Lopchan said, accusing the government of shunning its responsibility. He stressed the need to raise awareness and conduct programmes to encourage the youths to take up priesthood.

According to the secretary of Boudha Ghayang Guthi, Sampurna Kumar Lama (Tamang), the Tamang community could not produce scholars of Buddhism because it was influenced by the Hindu tradition. There are very few Buddhist scholars from the Tamang community, he said, adding that motivation is needed to produce more Buddhist scholars.

He told this daily that scholars of the community have taken initiatives to preserve the Lama tradition. “We have decided to provide free education to those who want to be the Lamas. The youths should be encouraged to enter priesthood, he said.