A New Breed of Monk Rises in Myanmar

The Wall Street Journal, August 19, 2008

<< The Wall Street Journal
Sitagu Sayadaw, one of Myanmar's top monks, sits at his campus in Sagaing.

SAGAING, Myanmar -- Sitagu Sayadaw sits on a raised platform, three visitors kneeling below him, and explains the source of his power as a Buddhist monk. "I don't have any guns but I have very strong weapons: love, kindness and compassion," he says, as two novice monks massage his feet.

He also possesses two traits that have propelled him to the equivalent of monastic superstardom in this Buddhist but military-run country: a knack for self-promotion and a keen sense of self-preservation.

Sitagu Sayadaw represents a new breed of monk who eschews traditional asceticism in favor of tactics more familiar to televangelism. Wherever he goes, a camera crew follows, recording material for the videos of him that are available on the street in major cities. He travels widely in Asia, the U.S. and Europe to lecture and raise funds and is building a multimillion-dollar convention center here along the Irrawaddy River.

Yet his teachings and actions are carefully calibrated so he can co-exist with the junta that has ruled Myanmar since 1962. Though he is, on occasion, a fierce government critic, he counts military top brass among his followers. Last year, the wife of Senior General Than Shwe, the country's supreme leader, paid homage to him at his monastery here. Read more

 

Dalai Lama: China mistreating Tibetans during Games

Reuters, Sunday, August 17, 2008

<< Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama waves at the end of a teaching conference in Nantes, western France, August 16, 2008. The Dalai Lama is in France from August 11 to 23. (REUTERS/Stephane Mahe)

PARIS, Aug 16 - The Dalai Lama said on Saturday China was mistreating and torturing civilians in Tibet while the Olympic Games were going on.

"Unfortunately the Olympic spirit is not being respected at all by Chinese officials in Tibet," he said in an interview on France's TF1 television, when asked if the tradition of an Olympic truce was being respected. Read more

 

YouTube stands up to IOC over Free Tibet video

By Ian Lamont, Slashdot, Saturday, August 16

The International Olympic Committee has withdrawn a DCMA takedown notice that targeted a two-minute long YouTube video of a Students for a Free Tibet protest at the Chinese consulate in New York. The video shows protesters gathering outside the building at night and projecting images of the Olympic symbol, 'tank man,' Tibetan riot footage and clips of victims of the Chinese police crackdown in Tibet. After receiving the request, YouTube contacted the IOC and asked if it really planned to pursue a claim. The IOC retracted the notice and the video was reposted within hours. Stanford Law School's Center for Internet and Society praised YouTube for 'going out of its way to do more than it's required to do under the law to protect free expression.'

Also read: Video: IOC backs off DMCA take-down for Tibet protest.

To watch video Click here

 

Women's Kingdom

By Al-Jazeera, Aug 14, 2008

<< Mwa Swa women refuse to even consider the option to commit to one man

Western China -- Deep in the hills of south western China lives a Buddhist community of 60,000 people called Mwa-Swa.

What makes this community unusual is the women's traditional attitude to sex and fidelity.

Mwa-Swa men and women believe in "walking marriage" – rather than the usual vows and commitments that bind two people together.

In a walking marriage the woman chooses whether to accept a man who walks into her room at night. But even if she agrees, the man has to be gone by morning. Read more

 

Voices from the cave

By Liu Jun, China Daily, Aug 13, 2008

Dunhuang, China -- A traveler falls into a river and calls for help. A huge stag with a fur of nine colors saves the drowning man. The queen of a nearby kingdom dreams about the stag and longs for its fur.

She prompts the king to post a reward for anyone who can locate the deer. The traveler had promised the stag not to tell anyone about it, but on hearing about the reward, he goes to the palace and breaks his promise.

When the king attempts to shoot the stag, the deer's body emits a dazzling light that shields it from the arrows. The stag tells the king how it saved the traveler. The king is moved and sets it free. Due to their greed, the traveler and the queen both die.

This Buddhist fable is depicted in one of the caves of the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, one of the most famous Buddhist sites in Northwest China's Gansu province. In Cave No 257, this story is painted in nine sections. The Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes and a number of other grottoes played an important role in the spread of Buddhism in China, and storytelling became one of the strongest tools. Read more

 

South Korea: Religion Continues to Haunt the Lee Administration

Chosun Ilbo, Aug 11, 2008

Seoul, South Korea -- The Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism has demanded an apology and an answer from the government for leaving out Buddhist temples, including major ones such as Bulguk, Baekyang and Bongeun temples, on a website called the Educational Geographic Information System, operated by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, which shows the locations of schools and surrounding areas.

The site shows even small churches and cathedrals. It is a repeat of a similar incident in June involving a transportation information site run by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, which also omitted information about Buddhist temples.

At the end of last month, Buddhists protested against the police search of a car carrying the Ven. Jigwan, executive chief of the Jogye Order. Police stopped and searched Jigwan’s car right in front of the Jogye Temple downtown. Read more

 

The Dalai Lama's demons

By Capucine Henry and Nicolas Haque, France 24, August 8, 2008

The Dalai Lama is respected worldwide for his peaceful philosophy. Today, some exiled Tibetans, shunned by their peers, no longer believe in his leadership. A controversial buddhist deity lies at the heart of the dispute

Paris, France -- Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, is revered as a hero by his people and respected world-wide for his peaceful philosophy. Today, however, there are cracks at the heart of his community.

A minority of Tibetans exiled in India, including monks, no longer believe in his leadership, and are shunned by their peers. France 24 correspondents Capucine Henry and Nicolas Haque take a closer look into the widening rift that threatens to tear apart the Tibetan people. Read more

 

Contempt ruling delayed in fight over Long Beach temple

By Greg Mellen, Press telegram, August 4, 2008

<< Phat Nuon, 53, left, and Chhan Yin, 61, both of Long Beach, join other Cambodians and Buddhists outside the Long Beach Courthouse to challenge the signing over of Wat Vipassanaram to another religious group after a court order sought access to financial information. (Carlos Delgado/For the Press-Telegram)

LONG BEACH, CA (USA) -- The 70 or so protesters from the Cambodian community who gathered in front of the Long Beach courthouse Monday and the 50 who crammed into Judge Joseph DiLoreto's courtroom will have to wait for the latest chapter to be played out in a dispute for control of the local Buddhist temple they attend.

John Ramirez, the head of the Church of the Revelation, appeared in DiLoreto's courtroom only briefly Monday on a contempt of court complaint. Because he had not been served with the complaint, Ramirez and his church were granted a continuation until Aug. 22.

Ramirez and his church are the latest wild card dealt into a case that has been laboring through DiLoreto's court for more than six months now. Read more

 

Photo exhibit captures Buddhist philosophy

VietNamNet Bridge, August 4, 2008

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam -- Some photographers strive to capture the beauty of nature and human life, but 12 professional photographers and monks in the Ha Noi-based Que Huong Photography Club are out to show the Buddhist philosophy of everyday life.

The non-stop hustle and competitions of daily life have made people ignore themselves and the things around them. In the chaos of it all, everyone could benefit from a minute or two relaxing and musing on the life they are living.

The 63 photos in the Buddhist-themed exhibition Khoang Lang (The Tranquillity) hosted by HCM City Photographers’ Association depict and suggest the call for the restless to come back to their real, human livelihoods. They record the destinies of a handful of fates.

Reflecting on their own life experiences, the photographers embody their philosophies as flowers, trees and landscapes. The style of the exhibit was conceived to a metaphor itself of Buddhist teachings.

Most of the photos in the exhibition have no name, perhaps a way to let viewers discover their own way into the compositions’ meanings and insights. Read more

 

His Holiness the Dalai Lama express concern for Tibet's fragile environment

By Office of Tibet, London, March 26 , 2008

<< His Holiness the Dalai Lama addressing the Sunday special event public talk on the environment. (Photo by Georgina Cranston/Office of Tibet, London)

NOTTINGHAM, UK -- Answering a question relating to Tibet’s environment from the well-known British TV presenter Jonathan Dimbleby, His Holiness the Dalai Lama said the eminent danger facing Tibet’s fragile environment cannot wait.

“One problem facing Tibet is in the field of ecology, which we cannot wait. Many major rivers that flow to India, China and other parts of Asia originate in Tibet. I therefore urge Western and even Chinese environmentalists to visit Tibet to study the true condition of the environment there,” His Holiness said.

The Tibetan spiritual and temporal leader was speaking at a public talk this afternoon on “Caring for our World”, a special event aimed to make young people aware of environmental issues. The talk was hosted by Jonathan Dimbley, who in his introductory remarks admitted that in his journalistic profession for the last couple of decades he bas come across many world leaders, but non as wise and humble as His Holiness.

His Holiness in his brief remark stated that today’s children are the future of the world and therefore they must be educated to show concern for the environment of our planet and the need to create a peaceful and compassionate world. Read more

A Buddhist shrine grows off Highway 395

Louis Sahagun, Los Angeles Times, May 25, 2008

<< Thich Dang "Tom" Phap strolls the sidewalk that will be used for meditation and walking prayers at the Buddhist Meditation Center in Adelanto (San Bernardino County).

'Venerable monk' has faith $12 million center will be built

Adelanto, CA (USA) -- It doesn't take long to get acquainted with the rhythm of things at a new Buddhist shrine in this high desert community presided over by a monk nicknamed "Tom" and a 24-foot-tall statue of a saint said to have miraculous powers.

Thich Dang "Tom" Phap's routine starts with early morning meditation and yard work. When 11 a.m. rolls around, the monk - sandal-shod and in orange robes, a gold shoulder clasp gleaming in the desert sun - stands in prayer before the 60-ton white marble statue of Quan yin.

After lunch, he whacks weeds, washes the statue and naps. In the late afternoon, he has a dinner of soup and rice followed by meditation and prayer. At 9 p.m., Phap calls it a day.
Read more

 

Karmapa draws 1,600 to county

By ED MOORHOUSE, Burlington County Times, May 24, 2008

<< The 17th Karmapa Lama, Ogyen Trinley Dorji

SHAMONG, New Jersey (USA) -- More than 1,600 people from all over the country gathered here yesterday to listen to the teachings of a Tibetan Buddhist leader.

Ogyen Trinley Dorje is the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, which means he is the head of one of the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

According to the Tibetan Buddhist faith, the Karmapa is regarded as the embodiment of wisdom and compassion.

He has traditionally been recognized as the third most important figure in Tibetan Buddhism, behind the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama. Read more

 

Myanmar's top temple source of comfort

AP, May 20, 2008

<< Shwedagon Pagoda itself was damaged by cyclone Nargis Others just cried.

YANGON, Myanmar -- As the steady rain that had been falling all day Monday eased off, the monks at the Shwedagon Pagoda began to chant and the worshippers prayed. Many brought their children, some of whom laughed and played marbles in the pavilion.

Despite the passage of more than two weeks, the reminders of Cyclone Nargis were everywhere. The winds damaged the stupas and pavilion roofs of the hilltop

temple and tore off hundreds of gold leaf panels. Many precious stones fell off.

Still, the city's holiest shrine, which reopened over the weekend after being closed for repairs following the May 2-3 cyclone, drew thousands of worshippers who looked to it for solace.
Read more

 

Buddhism and humanism: A reflection

By Professor Dr. Sukomal Barua, The New Nation, May 19, 2008

Dhakka, Bangladesh -- Today is the Sacred Buddha Purnima, the full-moon day of Vesakha blessed by the birth, Enlightenment and Passing way of the Buddha. The day in very significant and important to the Buddhist world. It brings peace, integrity brotherhood, non-hatred, universal love, compassion and full humanism of the mankind of the world.

We know, humanism is a system of thought or action originating in Western Europe in the 15th century which gives more importance to the affairs of man or human life as against medieval traditions of scholastic theology or philosophy. It was a kind of movement against intellectual or scholastic authority of the middle ages and gave rise to modern intellectual, scientific, and social developments. It insists on the dignity of man and it refuses to find in the divine, anything external and superior to mankind. It concerns itself with mankind and the dignity of mankind.

The name of the French positivist philosopher Comte (1798-1837) is associated with this idea of humanism. Comte was known for his interest in the welfare and betterment of humanity. He believed in a religious order of a secular nature and a providential order of human development. He believed that the organization to the Catholic Church divorced from its supernaturalism, might provide an ideal structural and symbolic model for the new positivist society.

For the Catholic God Comte substituted the worship of Great Being, namely humanity past, present and future. He called his new faith "the religion of humanity." It was a kind of a system of social ethics. His religion of humanity stimulated the rise of secular religious movements like humanism. When the evils of Industrial Revolution become too pronounced, humanistic ideas and the philosophy of Comte got a fillip. Read more

 

Unravelling meaning of life through Buddhism

By Ajahn Brahmavamso, The Buddhist Channel, May 19, 2008

A Wesak reflection on the basics of the Buddha's teachings

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -- Today, Buddhism continues to gain ever-wider acceptance in many lands far beyond its original home. The Buddhist Teaching of the Law of Kamma offers our society a just and incorruptible foundation and reason for the practice of a moral life. It is easy to see how a wider embracing of the Law of Kamma would lead any country towards a stronger, more caring and virtuous society.

The Teaching of Rebirth places this present short lifetime of ours in a broader perspective, giving more meaning to the vital events of birth and death. The understanding of rebirth removes so much of the tragedy and grief surrounding death and turns one's attention to the quality of a lifetime, rather than its mere length.

From the very beginning, the practice of meditation has been at the very heart of the Buddhist Way. Today, meditation grows increasingly popular as the proven benefits to both mental and physical well being become more widely known. When stress is shown to be such a major cause of human suffering, the quieting practice of meditation becomes ever more valued.
Read more

 

Tallest Buddha Statue Undamaged by Sichuan Earthquake

By Le-Min Lim, Bloomberg, May 17, 2008

<<The Leshan Buddha, in Sichuan province, China

Sichuan, China -- The 1,200-year-old Leshan Buddha in China's southwestern Sichuan Province, the world's tallest ancient statue of the deity, was undamaged by the nation's strongest earthquake in 58 years.

Visitors are barred from approaching the base of the statue, for their safety and can only view it from afar, said Chen Bo, an official at the site's management office. The 71-meter tall Buddha draws about 3 million visitors a year and was restored in 2001.

The May 12 quake may have killed 50,000 people, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday. Aftershocks were felt in Leshan City, where the Unesco World Heritage site is located, causing several village houses to collapse, Chen said. Read more

 

Monks' Relief Aims Thwarted

By Graeme Jenkins, National Post
May 16, 2008

<<Burmese people displaced by Cyclone Nargis wait for donations in a Buddhist monastery near Rangoon yesterday. While the official number of dead from last week's tragedy is 70,000, rains in the forecast

Burmese cyclone victims seeking shelter at monasteries forced to relocate; Aid Still At Trickle

RANGOON, Burma -- After the devastation of Cyclone Nargis, the military junta has forcibly relocated tens of thousands of survivors from the Irrawaddy Delta, including many who had sought shelter in Buddhist monasteries, the centre of unrest during protests against the generals last year.

Ko Hla Min, a 35-year-old farmer who lost nine relatives in the storm, claimed people rounded up by soldiers around the devastated town of Bogalay were being used as work gangs.
Read more

 

The real heroes of Myanmar's cyclone disaster

By Tyche Hendricks, San Francisco Chronicle, May 14, 2008

<< Burmese refugees queue for food in the monsoon rain, after Cyclone Nargis swept through. Getty Images photo

Rangoon, Burma -- As the urgency intensifies to get food, water and medicine into the worst-affected areas of Burma 11 days after the country was hit by Cyclone Nargis, the country's military government continues to baffle the world by stonewalling international disaster relief.

The government has taken pains to appear on state television as the sole source of humanitarian relief, even appropriating donations from others so that soldiers can hand out the aid. The United Nations warns of a second catastrophe unless a huge aid effort is begun immediately, and Buddhist monks and other Burmese citizens are quietly tending to the sick and hungry.

The junta's bewildering resistance stems from its fear that outside influence would weaken its control and from a distorted desire to maintain the impression that it is compassionate in the eyes of Burma's Buddhist majority, scholars say. Read more

 

Bombs in ‘terrorist plot’ kill at least 60 in India

150 wounded as explosions hit crowded walled city frequented by tourists

MSNBC News Services, May 13, 2008

<<People look at the one of the sites hit by bomb blasts that tore though crowded markets in the northwestern Indian city of Jaipur on Tuesday.
AFP - Getty Images

JAIPUR, India - Bombs ripped through crowded parts of this ancient city in western India on Tuesday, killing 60 people and wounding 150, police said. The seven explosions in Jaipur took place in markets and several other areas of the city in Rajasthan, a region dotted with palaces and temples that draws hundreds of thousands of tourists every year, said A.S. Gill, the state's police chief.

"Obviously, it's a terrorist plot," he told reporters. "The way it has been done, the attempt was to cause the maximum damage to human life." Read more

Monks back on front lines to aid cyclone victims

AP, May 13, 2008

<<Monks and homeless villagers gather at the monastery of Kyi Bui Khaw village, in Pyapon, a town in the Irrawaddy delta of Myanmar, on Sunday, May 11, 2008, a week after devastating cyclone Nagris slammed into the low-lying region and Yangon. (AP Photo)

KYI BUI KHAW, Myanmar -- The saffron-robed monks who spearheaded a bloody uprising last fall against Myanmar's military rulers are back on the front lines, this time providing food, shelter and spiritual solace to cyclone victims.

The military regime has moved to curb the Buddhist clerics' efforts, even as it fails to deliver adequate aid itself. Authorities have given some monasteries deadlines to clear out refugees, many of whom have no homes to return to, monks and survivors say.

"There is no aid. We haven't seen anyone from the government," said U Pinyatale, the 45-year-old abbot of the Kyi Bui Kha monastery sharing almost depleted rice stocks and precious rainwater with some 100 homeless villagers huddled within its battered compound.
Read more

 

More aid, and heavy rain, on way to Myanmar

U.N. agency to resume shipments on Saturday; U.S. gets OK to send plane

MSNBC News Services, May 9, 2008

<<International Federation Of Red / EPA
Myanmar Red Cross volunteers load water storage containers onto a truck Friday. Families can use these along with water purification tablets to have clean drinking water.

YANGON, Myanmar - More aid is on the way to cyclone-ravaged Myanmar — but so is the heavy rain.

A week after Cyclone Nargis flattened low-lying villages and killed whole families at a time, the military junta finally agreed Friday to allow a U.S. cargo plane to bring in food and other supplies to the isolated country. Myanmar gave the green light after confiscating other shipments, prompting the U.N. to order a temporary freeze in shipments.

The U.N. agreed to resume flights but relief workers, including Americans, were still being barred entry. Read more

 

'A nightmare to make this operation run'

Relief workers say Myanmar obstacles include transportation

Associated Press, May 9, 2008

<<Local aid workers deliver bottled water at the outskirts of Yangon, Myanmar, on Friday. International relief workers say the lack of a more modern transportation system, and government obstacles, have slowed the flow of aid.

GENEVA - No helicopters. Almost no boats. Floods and fallen trees on the roads.

Many obstacles are keeping relief workers from reaching most of the hundreds of thousands of people who are without food or safe drinking water in cyclone-devastated Myanmar, organizers said Friday. U.N. health officials warned of a growing risk of waterborne diseases.

Six days after the storm, the combined effort of relief agencies and Myanmar's government had delivered aid to only 220,000 of an estimated 1.9 million people in need, the Red Cross said Friday.

"We are simply lacking transportation. There are almost no boats and no helicopters. This is really a nightmare to make this operation run," said Anders Ladekarl, secretary-general of the Danish Red Cross, in a satellite telephone interview from Myanmar to Danish broadcaster DR. Read more

Was Burma's cyclone predicted?

By Steve Jackson, BBC New , May 6, 2008

<<The junta is likely to face questions about how much it knew

As the scale of the disaster in Burma becomes clear, questions are being asked over how much the authorities knew about the magnitude of the approaching storm.

US First Lady Laura Bush has accused the military government of failing to act to protect its people.

She says the Burmese authorities were well aware of the threat from Cyclone Nargis, but failed to issue a timely warning to those in the path of the storm.

India's meteorological agency, which monitors cyclones in the Indian Ocean, says it warned the Burmese authorities 48 hours before the storm struck.

The agency says it told Burma where the storm would hit land and how severe it was expected to be.

Burmese citizens have complained that they were not properly alerted, but Burmese state television issued a statement in English saying warnings were given several days beforehand.

"Timely weather reports were announced and aired through the television, and radio in order to keep the people safe and secure in nationwide," the statement said. Read more

Mangrove loss 'left Burma exposed'

By Mark Kinver, Science and nature reporter, BBC News , May 6, 2008

<<Mangrove forests may have reduced the cyclone's impact, a politician says

Destruction of mangrove forests in Burma left coastal areas exposed to the devastating force of the weekend's cyclone, a top politician suggests.

ASEAN secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan said coastal developments had resulted in mangroves, which act as a natural defence against storms, being lost.

At least 22,000 people have died in the disaster, say state officials.

A study of the 2004 Asian tsunami found that areas near healthy mangroves suffered less damage and fewer deaths.

Mr Surin, speaking at a high-level meeting of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Singapore, said the combination of more people living in coastal areas and the loss of mangroves had exacerbated the tragedy. Read more

 

Banned Vietnam Buddhist group claims repression before UN meet

AFP, May 5 , 2008

<<Buddhist monk Thich Khong Tanh (C) of the banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam

HANOI, Vietnam -- A Buddhist group banned in Vietnam has said police in the communist country have tried to evict its monks from a pagoda to use it for a UN-sponsored international Buddhist meeting this month.

The state-sponsored Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) on May 13-17 hosts the 5th United Nations Day of the Vesak, an event expected to draw thousands of followers and scholars from 70 to 100 countries, according to organisers.

The Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV), which is outlawed but still runs scores of pagodas here, has said its members have been harassed and threatened by authorities seeking to bring them under state control.

The UBCV claims police and state officials on April 29 broke the locks of the group's Giac Hai pagoda in southern Lam Dong province, claimed it for use during the UN Vesak events, and temporarily detained its monks.

"Police interrogated the two monks for over three hours, accusing them of belonging to an 'illegal organisation,' engaging in 'political activities' and 'disturbing public order'," said a UBCV statement issued in Paris on Saturday.

The group said the pagoda's head monk Thich Tri Khai had been singled out in a "state-orchestrated policy of repression" against the UBCV, which is led by Thich Quang Do, winner of Norway's 2006 Rafto Foundation human rights award.

Police in Don Duong district, where the pagoda is located, could not immediately be reached for comment.

China agrees to second round of talks with Dalai Lama's envoys

By WILLIAM FOREMAN, Associated Press, May 5 , 2008

Beijing, China -- Chinese officials and envoys of the Dalai Lama have agreed to a second round of talks, China's state-run media said Monday, in an apparent sign of progress in easing tensions raised by violent anti-government riots in Tibet.

State television and Xinhua News Agency indicated that the first round of talks had ended after one day, but no formal announcement was made.

CCTV said on its noon news broadcast that the two Tibetan envoys had to report back to the Dalai Lama in India and that both sides "agreed to meet again at a suitable time."

Xinhua said, however, that the Chinese officials told the Dalai Lama's envoys at their meeting Sunday that the protests had spawned new obstacles to communication.

International critics have accused China of heavy-handed tactics in quelling the anti-government riots and protests in Tibet and Tibetan areas of western China. Some experts believe Beijing agreed to meet with the envoys to defuse that criticism ahead of the Beijing Olympics in August. Read more

Buddhist monk jailed for life over Tibet riots

By Jane Macartney, Reuters, April 30, 2008

<< Exiled Tibetan monks take part in a peaceful protest at Chandmari Monastery in Gangtok on March 17, 2008, in the eastern Indian state of Sikkim which borders Tibet. For their part in the riots, six Buddhist monks receive sentences ranging from life to 15 years in prison.

Chinese security personnel shield themselves against stones thrown by protesters in Lhasa during riots on March 14

Beijing, China -- Six Buddhist monks are among the first people to be jailed for a riot in which Tibetans rampaged through the capital of the Himalayan region six weeks ago, receiving sentences ranging from life to 15 years in prison.

The Lhasa Intermediate People’s Court, in what state media described as an open session, sentenced 30 people to terms ranging from three years to life.

The three people sentenced to life were Basang, a monk from Doilungdeqen county in Lhasa, and Soi’nam Cering, a driver for a property company, and Cering, a 30-year-old businessman from a county outside Lhasa.

The court convicted Basang of leading ten people - including five monks - to destroy a local government office, smash or burn down 11 shops and attack policemen. Read more

Saffron Revolution renewed

By Larry Jagan, The Bangkok Post, April 29 , 2008

Sporadic street protests erupted in several Burmese cities over the weekend. Says a Burmese businessman: "The country is a social volcano ready to erupt."

Rangoon, Burma -- Sporadic street protests erupted in several Burmese cities over the weekend, as people prepare to go to the polls in May to vote on a new constitution. More than 50 demonstrators, led by some 20 saffron-clad monks, tried to make their way to the country's famous Shwegadon Pagoda in Rangoon on Saturday. Police prevented them for entering the temple and quickly herded them away.

The Burmese authorities have prohibited Buddhist monks from entering the historic pagoda precincts since the massive protests last September. Many other monks who planned to join the procession were detained while travelling on buses from the suburbs and other neighbouring cities to the protest.

There was another small protest at Rangoon 's Tamwe Bazaar. More than a hundred protesters also took to the streets in Sittwe, the capital of the predominantly Muslim province of Arakan in western Burma. There were also unconfirmed reports of small demonstrations in several other cities over the weekend. Read more

Unholy goings-on at Buddha Gaya

By Sunil Vijayapala, Lankaweb, April 28, 2008

Bodhgaya, India -- I am in Buddha Gaya, India, for an extended stay. I arrived earlier this month, and I am attempting to meditate in what is possibly the holiest place in the universe.

This morning, April 11, my meditations were disrupted by a commotion on the premises. I was shocked to find a Hindu pooja being conducted near the Muchalinda pond, with tom-toms beating and a huge crowd singing, and half-naked men climbing on to Lord Buddha's statue in the centre of the pond.

For a Buddhist who wants to practise Samatha or Vipassana Bhavana, Buddha Gaya has become probably the most off-putting spot on this planet. Two weeks into meditation (I am here to stay for a couple of months), I was compelled to hand over a protest letter to the Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee.

In my letter, I said that this place was simply not conducive to meditation. The committee members are all Hindu, with no concept of the Buddhist disposition of peace and tranquillity. I also suggested that mobile phones be banned, at least within the inner square. Also, a few Buddhist monks use megaphones and loudspeakers, disturbing the peace. I suggested the temple area be declared a "zone of silence". Read more

Colour of Peace

TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHS BY BENOY K. BEHL, Flonnet.com, April 25, 2008

In the vast lands of the trans-Himalayas, the temples of the Second Diffusion of Buddhism are like an oasis of colour

Kashmir, India -- The First Great Diffusion of Buddhism in the trans-Himalayas was in the 8th century. Guru Padmasambhava established the religion in the entire mountainous region, from Ladakh in the west to Arunachal Pradesh in the east. He had studied at Nalanda University in eastern India.

Padmasambhava was a famed master of Tantric Buddhism and was called to Tibet when it was found that the people of that land were not taking to Buddhism easily. They remained fearful of evil spirits and demons, which they believed inhabited the mountains and the winds.

The guru brought with him his greater magic, tamed the demons and made them defenders of the Buddhist faith. He swept across the high-altitude plateau with the Cham, or sacred masked dance, with which he purified the land and made it ready for Buddhism. To this day the Cham is performed across the entire mountainous region to keep the land pure for Buddhism to prosper. Padmasambhava continues to be deeply revered as a deity and is known as the second Buddha. Read more

Paying homage to our only home in the universe

Editorial, The Buddhist Channel, Earth Day
April 22, 2008

Today, together with millions all over the world, the Buddhist Channel will lay down its regular routine and bow towards its spiritual home, our venerable mother Earth. As we breathe in, we pay homage to the only place we know that allows us to practice the Buddha-Dharma. As we breathe out, we pay our gratitude to this hallowed planet, for allowing us to savor a bit of what it means to be Enlightenend, for allowing us to hope. Read on, and we hope you will enjoy this special edition just as we have enjoyed putting it together. We would like to dedicate this Earth Day special to all sentient beings.

This Earth Day Special has a special message from His Holiness The Dalai Lama:

"We are also being drawn together by the grave problems we face: overpopulation, dwindling natural resources, and an environmental crisis that threatens our air, water, and trees, along with the vast number of beautiful life forms that are the very foundation of existence on this small planet we share. I believe that to meet the challenge of our times, human beings will have to develop a greater sense of universal responsibility. Each of us must learn to work not just for his or her own self, family or nation, but for the benefit of all mankind. Universal responsibility is the real key to human survival. It is the best foundation for world peace, the equitable use of natural resources and, through concern for future generations, the proper care of the environment."

Living Lightly on Earth

By Upasaka Nyanaloka, The Buddhist Channel
April 22, 2008

Although the interdependence of all things lies at the heart of Buddhist teaching, ecology as such is a modern formulation. We might certainly plead that it is a much needed restatement of the Buddhist vision in modern times, we might side with the poets (among them, the Buddha himself) and agree that truth gets lost in the words and therefore needs restating anew from age to age. It is still up to us, however, to prove our claim from traditional sources in order to carry everyone with us.

For such a position to be convincing we need to look at three areas.

First we must prove from the Buddha's own words that an ecological vision is included in his teaching. Secondly, we must be able to point to areas of the training recommended by the Buddha where our ecological concern can be put into practice. Many would argue that, on the contrary, the Buddha's is a system of spiritual growth that trains us away from identification with the phenomenal world. In addition, then, we must look for similar interpretations of the Dhamma by earlier Buddhists. If we find that we are in fact following in the footsteps of others, then our case will be proved. Read more

Japanese Buddhist temple withdrawn from Olympic torch route

The Guardian, April 18 , 2008

<<The Buddhist Zenkoji temple in Nagano, Japan. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Nagano, Japan -- A famous Buddhist temple in Japan has been withdrawn from the Olympic flame relay over security concerns and anger at China's crackdown on Tibetans.

The Zenkoji temple in the city of Nagano said it had received 1,000 letters from across Japan calling for it to withdraw from the April 26 procession after the crackdown in predominantly Buddhist Tibet, where monasteries were raided and monks arrested.

The temple was due to be the starting point of the flame's passage through Japan, taking runners through the city for 11.5 miles (18.5km).

A city official, Koichi Yajima, said the monks were concerned about the safety of the temple and its worshippers should the relay spark the kind of angry demonstrations witnessed so far in Europe and the United States. Read more

"Watching the sun" - Hyangiram Hermitage

By Shim Hyun-chul, The Korea Times, April 18 , 2008

<<The horizon of the South sea is seen from Hyangiram Hermitage, which literally means “watching the sun,” located at Mt. Geumo in Dolsan-eup, Yeosu, South Jeolla Province. / Korea Times Photos by Shim Hyun-chul

Dolsan-eup, Yeosu (South Korea) -- After passing narrow paths between rocks and climbing the narrow stairs for 30 minutes, the South Sea appears, spread right before your eyes.

This is Hyangiram Hermitage, located at Dolsan-eup, Yeosu, South Jeolla Province. It is a place where one can find peace while watching the deep blue horizon, listening to the gentle striking of the wooden gong by a monk and breathing in the scent of candles.

Hyangiram Hermitage was designated as cultural asset No. 40 of South Jeolla Province. It was originally called ``Wontongam'' when it was built by renowned Buddhist monk Wonhyo in 644, the fourth year of King Uija of the Baekje Kingdom (18 B.C.-660 A.D). Its name was later changed to Hyangiram Hermitage. Read more

In Tibetan Monasteries, the Heavy Hand of the Party

By Jill Drew, The Star (Washington Post Foreign Service), April 15 , 2008

<<Apart from religious studies, Tibetan monks are required to attend lessons designed by the Chinese Communist Party to tighten control of a religion whose leader, the Dalai Lama, is viewed in Beijing as a threat to the party's supremacy

BEIJING, China -- Arjia Rinpoche was 47 years old and a senior Tibetan abbot when he first signed a document denouncing the Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism's spiritual leader.

It was 1997, and about 50 Communist Party workers had come to his monastery to conduct what is called a "patriotic education" campaign -- 45 days of instruction in the Chinese version of history and a requirement that all monks sign a document accepting Chinese rule in Tibet and rejecting the Dalai Lama as a "separatist." For many followers, that amounts to painful renunciation of their religion's central figure.

"It was not our wish, not our thought, but we don't have choices," Arjia said. "We have fear."

Such campaigns are now a standard feature of life in Tibetan monasteries and nunneries. They are one of many tools Chinese leaders use to tighten party control of a religion whose charismatic leader, the 72-year-old Dalai Lama, is revered in Tibet, respected around the world and viewed in Beijing as a threat to the party's supremacy. Read more

Is the temple of Buddha’s footprints the temple of doom?

By Andrew Marshall, The Sunday Times, April 13, 2008 (Copyright Andrew Marshall 2008. Reprinted with permission from the author), April 13 , 2008

<<Buddhist monks from the Thai capital, Bangkok, visiting AIDS patients at the Phra Baht Nam Phu Temple in Lop Buri, 75 miles north of Bangkok (File Pic)

It’s a Buddhist temple that cares for dying Aids patients. It’s also a hugely successful money-making operation, attracting thousands of tourists with its displays of mummified corpses. So where does all that money go?

Bangkok, Thailand -- The Soccerbot is a computer-controlled training machine that can shoot footballs at speeds of up to 55mph. With tireless accuracy, it can do low passes, curved shots and corner kicks. Soccerbot is priced at about £80,000, and only one has been made.
Read more

Dalai Lama avoids talk of Tibet woes

Petti Fong, Western Canada Bureau Chief, April 12 , 2008

<<The Dalai Lama arrives at a conference on compassion at the University of Washington, in Seattle, on April 11, 2008. ELAINE THOMPSON/AP

SEATTLE–In contrast to the chaotic reception of the Olympic torch relay in San Francisco earlier this week, it was all peace and compassion in Seattle yesterday as the Dalai Lama arrived to welcoming crowds and no protesters in sight.

Police, wary of potential clashes between pro-Tibetan and pro-Chinese supporters, were visible on street corners. But both groups stayed away from venues where the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader appeared.

At Key Arena where the Dalai Lama was part of a panel on the topic of the seeds of compassion, security personnel checked bags and did not allow anyone inside carrying banners or flags.

Heavy security surrounded the Dalai Lama, including motorcycle police and officers on horseback when he arrived at the venue. Read more

Eye to eye with the Dalai Lama

By Ward Serrill, The Seattle Times, April 11 , 2008

Seattle, WA (USA) -- "The eyes are the windows to the soul," says an old English proverb. I am about to look into a pair of eyes that will change my life.

The 14th Dalai Lama walks into the room and sweeps his gaze across the dozen or so people standing around, bowing slightly to each of us, his hands pressed together in blessing. I smile at him, which he returns as he sits for the interview.

I expected a larger man. One always does with someone bigger than life. But here sits this humble leader, short though amply fleshed with round features. He looks healthy like a 71-year-old baby. His head is shaved, his eyebrows dark. He listens with open eyes, a ready smile under the surface, taking in, quietly, all.

We have created a small set to do an interview for a television special on Buddhism in America. I marvel at my luck. Here I am where hundreds of thousands of devotees would clamber to be, a few feet from his Holiness, with nothing to do but observe and listen as I hold the boom pole and microphone.

For 24 minutes I observe, ignored by all, invisible as a bird in the shadows. I see this: He never anticipates an answer. He listens as if for the first time and his answers defy expectation. Attempts to get him to comment on the West's obsession with materiality and its conflict with Buddhist principles fail, though he does say that we in the West try on religions as we do hairdos. Read more

An exercise in futility to denounce Dalai Lama

By Frank Ching, The New Straits Times, April 10, 2008

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -- DESPITE the seeming sophistication of the present generation of the country's leaders, China's heavy-handed denunciation of the Dalai Lama since the Lhasa riots of mid-March, blaming everything on him and his "clique", shows that the Communist Party has not changed some of its basic characteristics, such as seeking to depict its opponents as evil beyond compare.

Official organs of the Chinese government have called the Tibetan spiritual leader not only a "separatist" -- someone who wants to split Tibet from China -- but a swindler, a liar, a slave owner and the "scum of Buddhism". One official newspaper said the Dalai Lama has "never done anything good".

Such characterisations are reminiscent of the choice epithets bestowed on Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong, who was dubbed a prostitute, a serpent, a sinner of a thousand years, and a tango dancer.

More to the point, they recall the venom heaped on the Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni during the Cultural Revolution after he made a documentary on China -- a film banned in the country but widely denounced nonetheless as "anti-Chinese" by those not permitted to watch it. Read more

Gaya shrine suffers civic delay

Telegraph India, April 9, 2008

Bodh Gaya, India -- Plan to demolish illegal constructions around Maha Bodhi Temple has suffered a setback, yet again.

This is the second time that the Gaya Municipal Corporation has failed to carry out a demolition drive within the deadline period of the third week of March. The last deadline expired in November 2007.

This time the civic body had served notices to building owners, including 12-and-an-odd foreign monasteries, to pull down illegal structures voluntarily, else municipal bulldozers would do the job, they had warned. Even two weeks after the deadline, bulldozers are nowhere to be seen.

According to the civic body plans, an area of 500m on all four sides of the shrine’s boundary was to be developed as a “buffer” zone — an idea propounded by Unesco that recently notified the shrine as a world heritage site. Read more

Buddha leads

SANITSUDA EKACHAI, The Bangkok Post, April 8 , 2008

Former revolutionary Seksan Prasertkul explains why Buddhist spirituality can heal the malaise of globalisation

Bangkok, Thailand -- Can the ancient teachings of the Buddha, which date back more than 2,500 years, cure the modern angst of globalisation? Ask Seksan Prasertkul, and the answer from the former Marxist revolutionary is a firm "yes".

"The problems arising from globalisation are essentially spiritual," said Seksan, a former leader of the 1973 students' uprising and a one-time guerrilla who once chose violence as a path towards change.

Buddha dharma, or Buddhist teachings, as the spiritual medicine for human suffering is therefore needed more than ever in the age of globalisation, he said.

In his view, globalisation is not all bad. Its fierce forces of greed and competition may have spurred more intensive individual pursuits of material gains that destroy human connections. The great disparity it creates may have triggered deep resentment among the oppressed who often turn to tribal violence to stave off globalisation threats. Read more

Buddha's birthday 'for all cultures'

By AMANDA KING, Howick and Pakuranga Times, April 7 , 2008

<<CELEBRATION: The same festival was held at the Botany temple last year.
“It’s to foster a better understanding of other cultures and religious groups,” says temple manager Rev Man Wang.

Auckland, New Zealand -- BUDDHA’S birthday celebrations at the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist temple in Botany on Sunday will be a day for all cultures and religions to come together, the organisers say.

“Buddhism accepts diversity and teaches people to work for the happiness of all people regardless of their faith, race and background.”

This is the third year the festival has been held there and thousands of families from all walks of life have attended the events.

The event officially begins at 9am with chanting. Vegetarian food stalls open and activities start around 9.30am. Read more

Buddhism fastest growing religion in West

By Janaka Perera, Asian Tribune, April 7 , 2008

Colombo, Sri Lanka -- Buddhism is being recognized as the fastest growing religion in Western societies both in terms of new converts and more so in terms of friends of Buddhism, who seek to study and practice various aspects of Buddhism.

Dr. Ananda Guruge, leading Buddhist Scholar and former Sri Lankan Diplomat made this observation during a public lecture at the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress Hall Colombo on Friday, April 4.

The lecture titled, "Role of the Sri Lankan Leadership in the Protection of Buddhism" was delivered under the auspices of the Buddhist and Pali University, All-Ceylon Buddhist Congress and the Buddhist Times Trust.

The Chief Guest was Speaker of the House W.J.M. Lokubandara. Among the others present were Buddhist Congress President Jagath Sumathipala, Venerable Wegama Piyaratana, Venerable Professor Dhammavihari, Major-General (Rtd.) Jaliya Nammuni (Centre for Buddhist Action) and former Archaeological Commissioner Dr. Roland Silva.

Dr. Hema Goonatilake of the Buddhist Times Trust was the Convener.

Said Dr. Guruge:

"Both on account of a series of Diaspora from China, Taiwan, Korea and Vietnam, adherents to Northern Schools of Buddhism are numerically preponderant. Interestingly, the intellectual interactions between these ethnic Buddhists and those devoted to Buddhism in the West have created a new demand for a deep understanding of early Buddhism as preserved in Pali sources in Southern Buddhism. Read more

Hanamatsuri celebrates Buddha’s birth

By Alfred Bloom, Honolulu Star Bulletin, April 5 , 2008

<<Hanamatsuri, literally flower festival, is celebrated to commemorate the birth of Siddhartha Gautama.

Honolulu, Hawaii (USA) -- The story of Buddha's birth is rich in symbolism and suggestions of meaning, appealing to the imagination and feelings. It is a question for us whether we can draw any meaning for ourselves out of such ancient stories.

The fanciful nature of the stories of the white elephant, the baby's birth fully grown, supernatural rain and flowers tends to limit their meaning to children. Nevertheless, they tell us about the role of Buddhism in the world.

Hanamatsuri, as a festival of Buddha's birth, developed in China and Japan as an occasion of beauty and joy. Spring was an auspicious time in nature. An ancient account tells us that when Buddhas are born, "all evil is ended, everything has fully matured." Read more

An American monk in Charleston

By Bill Lynch, The Charleston Gazette, April 4 , 2008

<<Douglas Imbrogno
Bhante Rahula’s way of life at the Forest Monastery in Hampshire County has some similarities to the way he lived in the caves of Sri Lanka. He still lives very simply in a hut, but there are fewer poisonous snakes and dangerous animals stalking the woods of West Virginia.

Charleston, West Virginia (USA) -- Over the telephone, Buddhist monk Bhante Yogavacara Rahula sounds a little like a stranger in a strange land. There's a faint accent that suggests he learned English later in life and, of course, there's his name.

Bhante means "venerable sir," and is the polite way to address a Theravedan Buddhist monk. Rahula is a common name in India and Nepal and refers to the historical Buddha's only son. He is not, however, a stranger in a strange land.

Bhante Rahula was born Scott Joseph Duprez in 1948. He grew up in California, attending a Methodist church with his parents. His first Buddha statue decorated the top of an old television set. He used to hang a hat on it.

He went to junior college, smoked marijuana, then joined the military. After his tour in Vietnam, he wore his hair long, grew a beard, chased girls and did just about any drug he could get his hands on. Read more

Mental Migration

By Saerom Yoo, TCU Daily Skiff, April 4 , 2008

<<Andy Fort, an East Asian religion professor, listens as junior broadcast journalism major Alyssa Dizon talks about the Schieffer Symposium in his 9:30 a.m. Buddhism class. Fort has been encouraging "mental migration," or seeing an alternate worldview, in his students for 26 years.

In what he calls one of the high points in his life, Andy Fort got arrested on charges of disturbing the peace in 1972 in front of Westover Air Force Base in Chicopee, Mass., when he joined the 400 people protesting the Vietnam War.

The base was a strategic location for protest because it was where the military trained and sent bombers to Vietnam. The base had deployed B-52 bombers and tankers to Southeast Asia two weeks prior to the protest.

As one of the 95 people arrested on charges of disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct and blocking the public's way, Fort said, he didn't plead innocence because he "went to be guilty."

Instead, he pleaded no contest and paid about a $50 fine. He says because the protests were costing the city a lot of money, he felt he had to pay it back.

The protest was mostly a symbol - a symbol that thousands of people considered the war immoral. And though their interfering with the road to the base two hours a day didn't stop the "Nixonian war machine," Fort said the protesters made a dent that they couldn't have without showing up to express their opposition. Read more

Colgate prepares for Dalai Lama

By JENNIFER FUSCO, Observer-Dispatch, April 3 , 2008

<<Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama addresses a press conference, in New Delhi, India, Saturday, March 29, 2008. The red mark on his forehead is vermicelli. The Dalai Lama will speak April 22 as part of Colgate University’s Global Leaders Lecture Series sponsored by the Colgate Parents Fund.Photo by Manish Swarup, The Associated Press, April 3, 2008

Utica, NY (USA) -- The Dalai Lama will speak April 22 as part of Colgate University’s Global Leaders Lecture Series sponsored by the Colgate Parents Fund. The Observer-Dispatch recently interviewed Colgate University President Rebecca Chopp about the lecture.

The Dalai Lama has spent the last half-century as an international political leader, advocating for freedom of the people of Tibet, opposing violence and calling for respect of human rights worldwide. Why is this visit important for students, faculty and staff at Colgate, as well as area residents? Read more

Silk Mountain, King Mountain

By Shim Hyun-chul, The Korea Times, April 3 , 2008

Sangju-myeon, South Korea -- The endless horizon stretches out before your eyes and the strange looking rocks surrounding the area come in various shapes and sizes. It almost looks like the little rocks will trickle down to the sea any time soon.

Mt. Geum, or Geumsan, stands 701 meters above sea level and is located in Sangju-myeon, Namhae County in South Gyeongsang Province. It is the only mountain range in the Hanlyeosudo National Park and is covered with peculiar looking rocks. Visitors can view the ocean and also many small islands from the top of Mt. Geum, which is connected to Mt. Jiri. The mountain was designated as monument No.18 of South Gyeongsang Province in December 1974.

Mt. Geum was once called Mt. Bogwang because on it the Buddhist monk Wonhyo built a temple called Bogwang in A.D. 686, in the third year of the reign of King Sinmun during the Silla Kingdom. Read more

Tibet Isn't a Buddhist Litmus Test

Deepak Chopra, The Huffington Post, April 2 , 2008

San Francisco, USA -- As the violence in Tibet has continued, the Dalai Lama issued a stern statement that he could not align himself with insurrection in his home country. Buddhism rests on several pillars, one of which is nonviolence. Tibet quickly became a kind of Buddhist litmus test.

How much pain and oppression can you stand and still exhibit loving kindness and compassion? I wonder if that's really fair. The Tibetans face a political crisis that should be met with political action. Whatever that action turns out to be, nobody should be seen as a good or bad Buddhist, anymore than defending your house from an intruder tests whether a Christian is living by the precepts of Jesus.

In India, where Gandhi preached nonviolence, or Ahimsa, he confronted a decaying British empire that was forced to give up its vast holdings. Historical luck was on his side, and as a result of Gandhi's pacifism, India gained its independence. The Dalai Lama, however, has had historical misfortune to contend with. The Chinese are an expanding empire, and their ingrained racism allows them to overrun the "inferior" native Tibetans without any moral qualms. Will pacifism work in this situation? A better question might be, Would anything work? It's not as though the Beijing regime can be defeated by force, either. One recalls that Gandhi combined pacifism with resistance, whereas the Tibetans up to now have sunk into an inert pacifism that could lead to their cultural extinction. Read more

Fight violence with nonviolence

By Rolf Carriere and Michael Nagler, CSMonitor.com, March 27, 2008

<<Buddhist sisters Dhamma Vijaya, left, and Dhamma Molini Rai will give a talk and film screening to raise awareness for their monastic school for Nepalese girls who are at risk of being sold into prostitution. The event will take place Sunday, April 5, at 3 p.m. at the Senior Center.

Yellow Springs, Ohio (USA) -- As a girl growing up in Nepal, Sister Dhamma Vijaya saw few opportunities. Most girls were not educated. She was expected to marry by 15, then leave her parents’ home for the home of her husband’s family, where she would have little power. Should her husband die, she would lose her status and support — in most ways, her life would end too.

But Dhamma Vijaya turned out to have a very different life than this. The turning point came when, as a young woman, she met a Buddhist nun.

“I was surprised,” she said in an interview last week. “She was a very, very strong woman.”

After the nun gave her books on Buddhism, Dhamma Vijaya began studying and meditating. It changed her life. Now, she is one of the few Buddhist nuns in her country, which is mainly Hindu, and one of the first to have received a Ph.D. Read more

Saffron revolutionaries

By Matthew Weiner, IHT, April 1 , 2008

<<The late His Holiness Samdech Maha Ghosananda, Supreme Patriarch of Cambodian Buddhism. This picture is one of many peace march that His Holiness led in Cambodia beginning in the early through the mid-1990. His Holiness Samdech Maha Ghosananda is one of the architects in the
peace negotiation to end the Cambodian conflicts.

NEW YORK, USA -- Westerners tend to think of Buddhism as a passive religion, focused on silent meditation and personal spiritual growth. The image of the Buddha seated with a smile sums it up.

So while the West is highly familiar with conflict and activism in other religions, the "saffron revolution" in Burma and the "high altitude revolt" in Tibet have come as a surprise to many.

In fact, there is a healthy tradition of Buddhist activism. Often called "engaged Buddhism," a term coined by Thich Nhant Hanh, a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, it encourages a Buddhist critique of governmental and economic structures and other efforts to alleviate social suffering. Read more

Buddha made unforgettable

By Jaya Madhavan, Newindpress, March 29, 2008

New Delhi, India -- Once in a while you come across a book that you know will remain in your mind, turning and curing well after you have finished reading it.

A book you would read slowly to make it last longer. Buddha, the eight-book masterpiece by Osamu Tezuka, the godfather of Japanese graphic art is one such. It is a book you would want to possess but not lend (also because it is rather expensive, tee hee!).

Tezuka, in his graphic novel, weaves an incredibly gripping story around imagined and real characters in the life of Buddha and keeps the reader spellbound with his racy storytelling and breathtaking sketches. The novel is a heady mix of fact, history, legend and fiction that brings ancient India to life. Tezuka’s spectacular narration and intricate sketches, done using cinematic camera angles, creates in the readers’ minds an illusion of watching a movie on Buddha.

Said to be Tezuka’s last epic, which he wrote for 10 years (!!) between 1974-84 (but translated and published in the US only in 2003-05 and brought to India by Harper Collins at Rs 295 per volume), the graphic novel has often been critiqued as being a “gritty and sexy” portrayal of the life of Buddha. True, Tezuka has taken liberties as a writer, but suffice to say the subplot created by him with characters such as Tatta, Migaila, Chapra, and Assaji serve to foreground Buddha’s character and message with extraordinary finesse and sensitivity. A rare portrayal indeed that makes Tezuka’s Buddha more memorable and moving than any other interpretation of Buddha’s life we might have seen or read. Read more

Fight violence with nonviolence

By Rolf Carriere and Michael Nagler, CSMonitor.com, March 27, 2008

Atlanta, Georgia (USA) -- Legends relate that Buddha stopped a war between two kings who were quarreling over rights to a river by asking them, "Which is more precious, blood or water?"

Could ordinary people use the same kind of wisdom – and courage – to check the impulse to fight wars today – over oil, water, or identity? Mahatma Gandhi thought so. He created teams of civilians called the Shanti Sena or "Army of Peace" and deployed them in various communities around India where they could avert communal riots and provide other peacekeeping services.

Over the past 25 years nonviolent peacekeepers have been going into zones of sometimes intense conflict with the aim of bringing a measure of peace, protection, and sanity to life there. Rather than use threat or force, unarmed peacekeepers deploy strategies of protective accompaniment, moral and/or witnessing "presence," monitoring election campaigns, creating neutral safe spaces, and in extreme cases putting themselves physically between hostile parties, as Buddha did with the angry kings in ancient India. Read more

Monks in tears cry out against lies while Beijing instructs foreign journalists

AsiaNews, March 27, 2008

Lhasa, Tibet (China) -- A group of Buddhist monks blocked a tour of 26 foreign journalists in Lhasa, led by the Chinese government, crying out that there is no freedom in Tibet and that the Dalai Lama is not responsible for the recent violence there. Some of them after having cried “Tibet is not free! Tibet is not free!”, broke down in tears.

The surprise encounter occurred this morning while the group of journalists visited the Jokhang Temple. The monks interrupted the temples’ chief administrators address. Government representatives tried to drag the journalists away. Some of them however, succeeded in exchanging a few words with the demonstrators.

The tour of the foreign press is the first since the revolt, organised and orchestrated to reinforce the official line on the clashes: that the Dalai Lama is responsible for the unrest that the victims were only Chinese, and that China is working to develop the region. Read more

Fitting home planned for Golden Buddha

By Greg Jorgensen, Toronto Star, March 25 , 2008

<<The Phra Buddha Maha Suwan Patimakorn — known as the Golden Buddha — is currently in a tiny Bangkok temple, right, but will be moved into a purpose-built complex, later this year. GREG JORGENSEN PHOTO>>

BANGKOK, Thailand -- It's a ho-hum temple in the midst of Chinatown, one of the most popular draws for tourists visiting Thailand's bustling capital city, and many visitors walk straight past it. Yet the temple contains one of the city's most beautiful attractions – a maginficent golden Buddha worth about $14 million.

The story goes like this: Sometime in the late 1700s, a large number of Buddha images were brought to Bangkok from the provinces of the newly united kingdom of Siam. One – a dirty plaster Buddha statue about three metres tall – ended up in a seldom-visited temple near the Chao Phraya River.

It was largely ignored until the temple was abandoned nearly 130 years later, and the statue moved to its current spot. Read more

Buddhist monk dies of starvation

DPA, March 27 , 2008

Beijing, China -- A 12-day blockade of food and water to major monasteries in Lhasa by Chinese forces has killed a Buddhist monk of starvation, reported Tibetans in exile yesterday.

Lama Thokmey died on Monday in the Ramoche monastery in Lhasa, according to the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD).

The Chinese military have not been allowing food and water into the monastery since March 14 and fires teargas into it frequently, the TCHRD said, citing reliable sources.

Many monasteries in Tibet are facing shortages of food, water, medicine as well as restrictions on movement.

The TCHRD said it is getting increasingly difficult to get details on specific incidences due to the restrictions placed by the Chinese authorities.

China’s ban on foreign journalists traveling to the protest areas has made it extremely difficult to verify information. Read more

Kushok Bakula Rinponche born again in Ladakh

By Jigment Angchuk Nubra, ANI News service, March 27, 2008

<<A 2 year old boy Thubstan Nawang, has been identified as the reincarnation of one of India's revered Buddhist monk, Kushok Bakula Rinpoche (picture)

Ladakh, India -- A two-year-old boy, Thubstan Nawang has been identified as the reincarnation of the Indian Buddhist saint, Kushok Bakula Rinpoche.

Nawang who has been identified as the reincarnation of Bakula hails from Kiager village in Nubra valley in Ladakh.

Dalai Lama and a team of scholars from Ladakh chose Nawang as the reincarnation of Bakula.

"Bakula's reincarnation was confirmed by his holiness the Dalai Lama. When the reincarnation has taken place in Nubra valley, monks of Spituk Monastery, particularly the older members and the masses are overwhelmed and expressed their desire to see the anointed one. But, the monastery has norms where they have to fulfill religious formalities after which they can see the blessed child," said Ven. Hupstan Paldan, a Buddhist scholar.

Nawang, was born to parents Dorje Tsering and Sonam Dolma. While the father is in the army, his mother attends to the family's agricultural holdings. Read more

Thai temples flooded with pets after viral outbreak

Reuters, March 26, 2008

<<Stray cats rest in a temple in Ayutthaya province, 80 km (50 miles) north of Bangkok, March 26, 2008. Buddhist temples in central Thailand have been flooded with abandoned cats and dogs after an outbreak of feline and canine distemper killed hundreds of pets in the past month, newspapers reported on Wednesday.

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Buddhist temples in central Thailand have been flooded with abandoned cats and dogs after an outbreak of feline and canine distemper killed hundreds of pets in the past month, newspapers reported on Wednesday.

One temple in the rice growing province of Phichit, 350 km (220 miles) north of Bangkok, had to put up a sign asking pet owners to stop "supplying" the monastery with cats and dogs.

"Wat Bung has enough of cats and dogs," said a sign at the monastery posted on newspaper Web site www.manager.co.th.

"We prefer bricks, stones, sand, cement or paint," for construction in the temple, it said.

Each of the 50 monks' living quarters is shared by two to five cats, the Bangkok Post newspaper quoted a monk at the temple, where chicken owners abandoned their birds when the province was hit by a deadly bird flu outbreak, as saying. Read more

Uttar Pradesh to boast of world's tallest Buddha statue

IANS, March 25 , 2008

Lucknow, India -- Decks are being cleared for the installation of the world's tallest Buddha statue in Kushinagar town of eastern Uttar Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati was understood to have directed officials to speed up the acquisition and transfer of 600 acres of land required for the Rs 10 billion project to be funded and undertaken by the global Maitryi Group. Provision of land is UP government's share in the project.

The project involves installation of a 152-metre-tall bronze statue of Lord Buddha along with a giant meditation centre, an international university, a state-of-art world-class hospital and a museum. The project also envisages an entertainment complex in the neighbourhood that would include an amusement park and a five-star hotel. Read more

130 killed in Chinese crackdown in Tibet: report

By AFP, March 24 , 2008

<<The Dalai Lama says he opposes violence and that he is not promoting independence but wants greater autonomy for Tibet>>

Around 130 people have been confirmed killed in a Chinese crackdown on protests and unrest in Tibet, the prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile told AFP on Monday.

"This figure is from our sources in Tibet. The verifiable number is about 130 in entire Tibet," Samdhong Rinpoche said in Dharamshala in northern India, the base of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

The figure is a jump from the figure of 99 confirmed dead given by the government-in-exile last week.

China has released different figures.

On Saturday the Chinese state news agency Xinhua said Tibetan rioters killed 18 "innocent" civilians and one police officer during protests against Chinese rule in the Himalayan region's capital Lhasa. Read more

China accuses Dalai Lama of taking Olympics "hostage"

By Chris Buckley, Reuters, March 23 , 2008

<<Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama greets the media as he arrives to attend a session on meditation at a hotel in New Delhi March 22, 2008. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi>>

BEIJING -- China accused the Dalai Lama on Sunday of using unrest in Tibet to back demands for Tibetan independence ahead of the August Olympic Games in Beijing.

The verbal attack on the exiled Tibetan leader, accused on Saturday of colluding with Muslim Uighur separatists in China's western Xinjiang region, was part of an intense propaganda and security drive to stifle anti-Chinese unrest before the Games.

Unrest in Tibet began when Buddhist monks demonstrated in the capital, Lhasa, on March 10, the 49th anniversary of a failed uprising against Chinese rule, and on subsequent days.

Five days later anti-Chinese rioting shook the city. Chinese authorities said one policeman and 18 civilians were killed. Read more

Tibetans expect little help from world

By Gavin Rabinowitz , Associated Press Writer, March 22, 2008

<<Exiled Tibetans hold a protest march in Dharmsala, India, Saturday, March 22, 2008. Hundreds of demonstrators carrying Tibetan and Indian flags marched Saturday through the streets of the northern Indian city of Dharmsala to pledge support for the Dalai Lama and voice their disapproval of China's crackdown in the region. (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia)

DHARMSALA, India—Nearly six decades of struggle against the might of China has taught the Tibetans one thing: Ask the world for little, expect less.

more stories like thisAs Tibetans rose up in recent weeks against China's harsh rule over the Himalayan region and China sent forces to quell the protests, Tibet's government-in exile-sent its envoys to far-flung capitals with appeals for help. Read more

China Issues "Most Wanted" List Of Rioters

On Visit With Dalai Lama, Pelosi Calls Crackdown Of Tibet Protests A "Challenge" To World

CBS, March 21 , 2008

(CBS/AP) China issued a "Most Wanted" list of 21 rioters Friday - shown in grainy photos waving knives and fighting during last week's violence over Chinese rule in Tibet. Thousands of troops continued to push into western China to contain unrest.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave support to the Tibetan cause on a visit to the Dalai Lama, calling China's crackdown "a challenge to the conscience of the world."

Her criticism added to a chorus of international concern over Beijing's harsh response to the anti-government protests, as China sought to blame supporters of the Tibetan spiritual leader for unrest that is posing the biggest challenge in two decades to Beijing's control of Tibet.

"If freedom-loving people throughout the world do not speak out against China's oppression in China and Tibet, we have lost all moral authority to speak on behalf of human rights anywhere in the world," Pelosi told a cheering crowd in Dharmsala, India, seat of the Dalai Lama's government-in-exile. Read more

Tibet Protests Persist

Photo Essay - CBS
To view slideshow click here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tibetans with their faces painted with the Tibet flag participate in a protest in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, March 19, 2008. (Photo: AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

The Dalai Lama at Home

Photo Essays - TIME
To view slideshow click here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TIME photographer James Nachtwey visit the Tibetan leader at his private residence in exile in Dharamsala, India

Dalai Lama Calls for End to Violence against Tibetans

Spiegel Online International , March 21 , 2008

Deaths are mounting in Tibet and neighboring provinces in China and there is no end to the bloodshed in sight. In a meeting with international journalists, including SPIEGEL reporters, the Dalai Lama calls on the world to pressure China to stop using violence against Tibeta