Source: The Straits Times

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/asia/story/0,4386,239725,00.html

On March 12, 2004 The Straits Times reported, "Fierce politicking ahead of next week's hotly contested presidential vote is riling some of Taiwan's usually serene and neutral Buddhist leaders - and triggering a debate on religion in politics. One of the island's top Buddhist masters, Wei Chueh, this week endorsed the challenger, former vice-president Lien Chan of...

Source: Pacific News Service

http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=00b3049f18fee6bfe9709afbfa8bdc71

On March 11, 2004 Pacific News Service published an article on the ways that different cultures and societies define marriage. "The American Anthropological Association, the national professional organization of teachers and scholars who study human organization across the world, denounced the proposed...

Source: The Mercury News

...

Source: Times of Tibet

http://www.timesoftibet.com/artman/publish/article_1126.shtml

On March 10, 2004 the Times of Tibet reported, "Today, the 3,000 members of the Tibetan community in Switzerland make it the largest in Europe, and the third largest in the world, after those in India and the US...the monastery [of Rikon] is...on the hill overlooking the village...The monastery was founded almost 40 years ago, with support from the Dalai Lama himself, to...

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44824-2004Mar9.html

On March 10, 2004 The Washington Post reported, "The Rev. Kenryu T. Tsuji, 84, the first U.S. citizen to serve as bishop of the 105-year-old Buddhist Churches of America, the largest Buddhist group in the Japanese American community, died of pneumonia Feb. 26 in San Mateo, Calif. He had Alzheimer's disease. The first Shin Buddhist bishop to speak fluent...

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44597-2004Mar9.html?referrer=email

On March 10, 2004 The Washington Post ran a feature article on the "struggle for spiritual freedom" in China, particularly in the Tibetan region. The article reported, "The Chinese government allows people to worship only in party-run churches, mosques and temples, considers any autonomous religious organization a potential threat...

Source: U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

http://www.nccbuscc.org/comm/archives/2004/04-047.htm

On March 10, 2004 U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops reported, "Catholic and Buddhist priests, monastics, teachers and community leaders have participated in the second of an anticipated four annual dialogues. The series is sponsored by the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association, the San Francisco Zen Center, and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The...

Source: The San Mateo Times

http://www.sanmateocountytimes.com/Stories/0,1413,87~11268~2003596,00.html

On March 8, 2004 The San Mateo Times reported, "Small, porcelain-like faces and elaborate costumes were plentiful Sunday at the San Mateo Buddhist Temple -- in displays of handcrafted dolls, and on children performing traditional Japanese dances. It can only mean that Hina Matsuri -- commonly known as the Doll Festival or Girls' Day -- has...

Source: Sunday Herald

http://www.sundayherald.com/40422

On March 7, 2004 the Sunday Herald reported, "Experts believe the number of Buddhists in the country has risen past the 10,000 mark and is growing. The Glasgow Buddhist Centre has had to set up waiting lists for its meditation classes, informal Buddhist meditation and teaching groups have sprung up across the land and the Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery, in Dumfries, is expanding to accommodate the increase in visitor numbers. The Dalai...

Source: Daily Times

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_5-3-2004_pg9_18

On March 7, 2004 the Daily Times ran an Agence France Presse that reported, "With young lamas increasingly seen sipping fizzy drinks and queueing up for movies, Buddhist scholars in India’s remote frontier state of Sikkim are worried that their faith is being eroded by Western-style consumerism. 'Many old Buddhist traditions and rituals are being lost...

Source: Voice of America

Source: WPXI

http://www.wpxi.com/news/2888754/detail.html

On March 2, 2004 WPXI ran an Associated Press article that reported, "A meeting to promote religious tolerance in Russia isn't off to a very good start. It seems Catholics aren't invited. More than 300 religious leaders from the Commonwealth of Independent States, a loose grouping of most of the former Soviet republics, are to participate in the conference beginning Tuesday. But the conference will only include...

Source: The Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2004/02/29/awakenings/

On February 29, 2004 The Boston Globe published a review of Jeffrey Paine's new book "Re-enchantment: Tibetan Buddhism Comes to the West." The article notes that "Paine, formerly editor of the Smithsonian Institution's Wilson Quarterly, offers several reasons for Tibetan Buddhism's many recent successes. First, uprooted from its country of origin, it has been encouraged by...

Source: The Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2004/02/29/buddhist_temple_hopes_to_draw_more_tibetans/

On February 29, 2004 The Boston Globe reported, "On a recent February morning, a celebration of the Tibetan New Year began in a bright yellow house on Magoun Avenue. Red-robed Tibetan Buddhist monks tended to last-minute tasks, as other people arrived and sat on cushions near the sight of three golden...

Source: Market Wire

http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=63725

On February 26, 2004 Market Wire reported, "The Interfaith Sacred Space International Design Competition today announced four winning entries in the first competition in the history of religion designed specifically to identify concepts for truly interfaith sacred space. The competition's goal is to encourage creation of spaces designed for use by peoples of all faiths, as a...