Author: Norimitsu Onishi

Source: The New York Times

Author: Anto Akkara

Source: Ecumenical News International

[eni.ch/featured/article.php?id=2064]

A joint forum of Buddhist, Christian and Hindu minorities in Bangladesh is lobbying quietly for the restoration of a secular constitution that was abolished 20 years ago making Islam the state religion in the Muslim-majority nation.

"We are trying our best to make our voices heard," Nirmal Rozario, organizing secretary of the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, told Ecumenical News...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Associated Free Press

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hd_otaqnZQpWUHWdH-axlbbgvt6w

Seven people have been killed in four separate shooting incidents in Thailand's troubled southern states, police said Saturday.

In a drive-by shooting early Saturday, witnesses said at least five militants in a pick-up truck opened fire on a tea shop in Yala province's Raman district, killing four villagers and...

Author: Peggy Fletcher Stack

Source: The Salt Lake Tribune

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_9783618

The red-robed members of Salt Lake City's only Tibetan Buddhist temple walked two by two Thursday evening around its west-side Salt Lake City block, one carrying a large Buddha statue, another protecting it with an umbrella and the rest waving incense, while ringing bells. It was a ritual signifying the sacredness of their sanctuary, and it was the opening ceremony of the 2nd...

Author: Jackie Keogh

Source: The Southern Star

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=3,6735,0,0,1,0

When one of the project managers took the microphone and said, "Welcome to the new Spiritual Care Centre," three hundred people got to their feet and recorded the moment with loud and joyful applause.

It was an auspicious start for the §5 million project that will become operational next October as a place of respite — a...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The Hankyoreh

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/297004.html

Buddhist groups, which have complained that the government of President Lee Myung-bak is more partial to his Christian religion, have decided to take action.

In a meeting with some 20 groups held at Jogyesa, the main temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, in Seoul’s Gyeonji-dong on July 3, they...

Author: Dennis Taylor

Source: The Herald

http://www.montereyherald.com/ci_9785693?source=rss

About 20 priests, students and residents maintained battle lines Thursday in the Ventana Wilderness area of Los Padres National Forest to defend the oldest Buddhist monastery in the Western Hemisphere against flames that were about 1½ miles away. The Monterey County Sheriff's Department evacuated about 75 guests from the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center on June...

Author: Molly Rossiter

Source: The Gazette

http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080703/NEWS/359586786/1006/news

Eleven-year-old Brittany Gatewood helped her school raise money for victims of Hurricane Katrina and the tornado that leveled part of Parkersburg.

On Thursday, she said, volunteers at the Taiwan Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation told her that "what goes around comes around."...

Author: Ryan Kost

Source: The Boston Globe

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=61,6713,0,0,1,0

Outside the Drikung Meditation Center, strings of brightly colored prayer flags rode each breath of wind, while inside, voices were raised in prayer to Buddha.

For Lama Konchok Sonam and the more than 100 people gathered at the Tibetan Buddhist meditation center, yesterday was a day of celebration. After 2 1/2 years of fund-raising,...

Author: Troy Moon

Source: Pensacola News Journal

http://www.pnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080628/NEWS01/80627028/1006

The cars zip up and down Nine Mile Road, stopping at youth baseball fields, fast-food restaurants, big-box stores.

It’s suburban America, so much like Anytown, USA. But turn down a little side street east of U.S. 29 and you’ll find a hidden gem.

Dieu De Temple on Nims...

Author: Kalpit Parajuli

Source: Asia News

http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=12627&size=A

Confessional schools will be recognised by the state and receive public funds but must in return adapt to a national curriculum. This change does not pose any problem to Catholic schools, which are among the best in the country, but not so for all confessional schools which must implement major changes.

“Small amounts of money have been...

Author: Aryn Baker

Source: TIME Magazine

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1818299,00.html

Mirza Hussain, and other prisoners like him, had labored for hours to stack mines, bombs and dynamite beneath the feet of Afghanistan's most iconic public artwork — a 175-foot standing statue of the Buddha carved from the sandstone cliffs of the Bamiyan Valley sometime in the 7th century. Finally, the local Taliban commander blew his...

Author: Ron Seely

Source: The Buddhist Channel/Wisconsin State Journal

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=62,6688,0,0,1,0

Though they seem not much different from the other workers who are finishing the new temple at the Deer Park Buddhist Center, the three men working in the quiet of the temple’s basement have traveled from halfway around the world to lend their unique skills to the completion of this special place.

...

Author: Jim Harger

Source: The Grand Rapids Press

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=62,6691,0,0,1,0

When Buddhist monk Thomas Nguyen moved into a brick ranch house on a 5-acre lot outside this Allegan County village last year, it seemed an ideal place to host Buddhist meditations and celebrations.

Nguyen, known as "Thai Tue" to his followers, converted the two-stall garage into a meditation room and invited followers to his...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Reuters

http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-34187620080623

Security forces killed six suspected Muslim rebels in southern Thailand on Monday, where all rail services have been halted after a brutal weekend attack on a train, police said.

About 200 police and soldiers raided a jungle hideout used by Muslim separatist guerrillas in Yala, one of the four southernmost provinces where more...