Amber Marie Moore examines what is meant by the term pīṭha in Newar Buddhism, and describes the figure of Uḍḍiyānācārya in Newar narrative.
Stories of encounter with Buddhist vajra-yoginīs as the inhabitants of this earthy domain flourish in connection with sites located around the Kathmandu Valley and throughout the swath of the Himalayan range and Tibet where Vajrayāna Buddhism is practiced. It is notable that descriptions of encounter are crucial in the formation of these sites, and yet there seem to be some key differences in how these interactions happened in Indic tantrism as compared to Buddhism practiced in the Himalayan regions. In light of recent discussions on the nature and location of Uddiyāna in the context of the homeland of Padmasambhava, this paper examines the question, “What exactly is a pītha?," and looks at how this phenomena and the knowledge of Padmasambhava as a figure changes across geographic and cultural landscapes. In Newar sources, Padmasambhava is known as Uḍḍiyānācārya, and I will compare this to Indic and Tibetan views, which I hope will stimulate discussion of the soteriological, epistemic, and ontological views behind the idea and the purpose of a pītha across Vajrayāna Buddhism.
