January 29 marked the 20th anniversary of the death of the 10th Panchen Lama, the second-highest lama of Tibetan Buddhism. According to the Voice of America, the government of China ... Read More

This week in Sri Lanka a congressional commission released a report that accused more than 400 NGOs (non-governmental agencies) operating in Sri Lanka of unethical conversions. In particular, the report ... Read More

The Associated Press reports that China has launched a "security sweep" in Tibet. For about the past ten days the Public Security Bureau of Lhasa has been raiding residential areas, ... Read More

Saturday I posted a story picked up from BeliefNet about a khata (Tibetan white silk ceremonial scarf) given to President Obama. Mick Brown of The Telegraph tried to corroborate the ... Read More

Dave Krasne in the New York Times and Andrew Leonard in Salon both write about Wall Street executives who continued to reward themselves lavishly while their firms were crumbling. Both ... Read More

Yes, vegetarian haggis (via). But ... why? I'm bookmarking this one -- Treeleaf Zendo has an interactive meditation timer, complete with virtual incense. I've been using a plain old timer that ... Read More

Although Chinese New Year is not a Buddhist festival, Chinese Buddhists often do go to temples during this time to pray for the coming year. (Photo by China Photos/Getty ... Read More

According to a post at BeliefNet, before his swearing-in ceremony, Barack Obama was given a khata -- a ceremonial white silk scarf -- that had once belonged to His Holiness ... Read More

A new film called "Chandni Chowk to China" was about to open in Kathmandu when enraged youths demonstrated in front of the theater and tore promotion posters off the wall. ... Read More

America begins a new chapter in its history. I hope that in the next few years my country's government will be more skillful. Suzanne Sataline writes in the Wall Street Journal's ... Read More

In today's New York Times, Thomas Fuller writes about the fate of dissidents in Burma (Myanmar). It is a wrenching account of cruelty and oppression, and it reminds us not ... Read More

Matt Campbell of the Kansas City Star reports that a visitor to the Kansas City Zoo complained about two statues of the laughing buddha at the entrance to the Tiger ... Read More

Since we're having Big Buddha Week here on About.com Buddhism, let me introduce you to this big boy. He is the reclining buddha of Wat Pho temple in Bangkok, and ... Read More

The Times of India reports that His Holiness the Dalai Lama said the current global economic meltdown comes from a lack of spirituality among people. "Lack of spirituality and culture is ... Read More

My colleague Kallie Szczepanski, Guide to Asian History, links to this 8th century Korean buddha and asks her readers if they have a favorite buddha. That's a good question. I've ... Read More

I don't know much about Shingon Buddhism, other than its history. If anyone reading this has some experience with Shingon, I would love to hear from you. My understanding is that ... Read More

Today is Duruthu Poya Day, which is the observance of the Buddha's first visit to Sri Lanka. The Buddha is said to have come between two opposing armies, and his ... Read More

BNet News reports that Google has opened a "School of Personal Growth" for employees. According to Paul Kaihla of the spirituality site Soul’s Code, the new school offers employees four areas ... Read More

The annual Kagyu Monlam Chenmo is underway in Bodhgaya, India, where the Buddha attained enlightenment. The Monlam Chenmo is an annual eight-day prayer festival of the Kagyu school of Tibetan ... Read More

Civil war has waged in Sri Lanka, on and off, since 1983, with Sri Lankan Buddhist monks often on the side of Sinhalese nationalism. Recently the Sri Lankan military has ... Read More

Ed Halliwell has a must-read essay at The Guardian on God and Buddhism. As he says, in the current debates between theists and atheists, we Buddhists find ourselves in an ... Read More

This sculpture at the Dazu Stone Carvings in Chongqing, China, is unmistakably a Wheel of Life. However, what I can make out of the details differs from the way the ... Read More

Khentrul Rinpoche, the abbot of a monastery in eastern Tibet, is touring the United States and offering advice to Americans about weathering the financial crisis. According to Paul Beebe of ... Read More

I stumbled on this essay by a gentleman who wants to challenge religion. He is, apparently, frustrated that people keep their religious beliefs to themselves and won't drag them out ... Read More

Cambodia's first rock opera has been forced off the air by the monastic establishment. Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports, "Cambodian monks have persuaded authorities to ban the country's first rock opera, ... Read More

In a purification ritual, a boy wafts smoke from an incense burner over himself at the Sensoji Temple, Tokyo, on December 31, 2008. Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar over a ... Read More