Buddhist Year in Review

Wednesday December 31, 2008

The Buddhist Year in Review, as reported here on the Buddhism Blog (dates given are blog post dates) --

January 2. Imprisoned Burmese monk U Gambira becomes Burma Digest's Person of the Year.
March 10. The 49th anniversary of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's escape from Tibet.
March 14. Protests in Lhasa grow violent.
March 17. Following several days of protest in Lhasa, Chinese police conduct house-to-house searches.
March 27. Monks of Jokhang Temple disrupt a orchestrated reception for foreign journalists in Lhasa.
May 5. Cyclone Nargis has left parts of Burma in devastation.
May 6. Aung San Suu Kyi receives U.S. Congressional Gold Medal.

May 16. His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, begins a tour of America.
May 19. The monks of Burma take charge of distributing food and other aid to cyclone survivors.
June 1. Sharon Stone makes infamous "karma" remarks.
June 15. China announces that Tibet is re-opened for tourism, sort of.
June 23. Large numbers of monks appear to be missing from Lhasa.
June 28. Wildfire threatens Tassajara Zen Mountain Center.
July 10. Fire enters Tassajara Zen Mountain Center; five priests fight the fires and save most of the buildings.
September 11. A funeral is held for Thubten Jigme Norbu (1922-2008), older brother of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

September 20. English rugby star Jonny Wilkinson announces he has found happiness through quantum physics and Buddhism.
November 5. Two Buddhists -- Maizie Hirono (D-HI) and Hank Johnson (D-GA)-- have been re-elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
November 23. Nepal's "Buddha Boy" vanishes. We weep and we mourn.
November 25. Chinese archaeologists report they have a reliquary that may contain a piece of the historical Buddha's skull.