Source: The Dallas Morning News

On August 3, 2002 The Dallas Morning News reported on the summer camp for youth at the Vajradakini Buddhist Center in Irving, Texas. "During the week, the children studied an ancient Eastern religion through meditation, teachings, chanted prayers, art and drama... Most of the students have at least one Buddhist parent... The Vajradakini center holds meditation sessions daily but didn't offer a children's meditation camp until last summer... Leaders now plan to offer the camp annually. They would like to offer a similar but...

Source: The Daily News of Los Angeles

On July 29, 2002, The Daily News of Los Angeles featured an article on Obon at the San Fernando Valley Hongwanji Buddhist Temple in Pacoima, California. "The Obon Festival, or the Feast of Lanterns, is one of the major Buddhist observances in Japanese culture and is intended to be a time to honor the deceased with food and dancing, and to remember the importance of charitable giving... Held at the Japanese American Community Center in Pacoima, the festival is also one of the temple's largest fund-raising events of...

Source: The Bakersfield Californian

http://www.bakersfield.com/local/story/1505644p-1623213c.html

On July 29, 2002 The Bakersfield Californian reported that in Bakersfield, California "a ceremony in the council chambers will formally dedicate... 'In God We Trust'... the words that were mounted last week above the city seal behind the council dais... And representatives of the city's Islamic, Buddhist, Sikh, Hindu, Jewish, American Indian, Catholic and...

Source: Chicago Daily Herald

On July 29, 2002 the Chicago Daily Herald reported that Chicago area Lao Buddhists are looking to move from their current temple to a new plot of 20 acres in Elgin, Illinois, where they could build a new temple. "Temple leaders are planning several buildings in the complex, which will include a monastery, school, sports facility and nursing home... On July 13, more than 1,500 Buddhists from the Elgin-area and beyond gathered on those 20 acres to mark Boon Bang Fair and Boun Phra Vet, two festivals that honor in part, the...

Source: Albuquerque Journal

On July 26, 2002 the Albuquerque Journal reported that "the Thai ambassador to the United States, Sakthip Krairiksh... with his wife, Benchapa Krairiksh... a member of the royal family" visited Albuquerque, New Mexico to attend "a benefit dance performance... [to] raise money" for the local Thai Buddhist Temple.

Source: The Daily Record

On July 24, 2002 The Daily Record reported that "two active members of a Baltimore-area Buddhist temple have secured a restraining order against its resident monk, on allegations that he amended corporate documents to allow him to seize power and property for himself and other monks of his choosing... Sangha U. Kissayana, the resident monk... allegedly drafted and adopted new bylaws... [with] provisions that grant monks property ownership [which] could endanger the organization's tax-exempt status, according to the...

Source: The Deseret News

On July 20, 2002 The Deseret News reported  that "Wat Dhammagunaram, the Layton [Thai] Buddhist Temple and Monastery... will be providing women with a chance to experience life in a [Buddhist] monastery...    Starting Friday... and continuing through Sunday afternoon, women of all ages and religious backgrounds can wear white clothing, observe the Eight Precepts, practice meditation and learn more about the Buddhist tradition."

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

http://www.mvbuddhist.com

On July 19, 2002 The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the Mountain View Buddhist Temple celebrates its 50th annual Obon Festival and Bazaar this weekend... The midsummer celebration is one of the two most important events of the Buddhist faith... The Obon is time set aside to honor ancestors. Members of the faith visit cemeteries, conduct memorial services and spend time with family and friends during the celebration...

Source: The Salt Lake Tribune

On July 13, 2002 The Salt Lake Tribune reported on the "monk-in-waiting program,... an annual experience offered to young men at Wat Dhammagunaram, a Thai Buddhist Temple in Layton [Utah] where 135 largely southeast Asian families regularly worship...    Last week, the young men, aged 8 to 31 and of many different nationalities, followed a rigorous regimen dictated by centuries of Buddhist tradition... Sixteen anxious young males quieted their minds while their heads were shaved and their bodies draped with the saffron robes...

Source: The Times Union

On July 13, 2002 The Times Union reported that "Rigpa Fellowship, an international Buddhist organization that focuses on hospice, education and spiritual care for people of all faiths, plans to open its Center for Wisdom and Compassion on land" near Albany, New York. "If things go as planned, the group... will first open up a 50-bed center in an existing building at the site, offering training, retreats and sessions with visiting Buddhist masters. Construction on new structures and other improvements would begin as soon as possible...

Source: The Columbus Dispatch

On July 12, 2002 The Columbus Dispatch reported that "the Interfaith Association of Central Ohio... and the Religious Experience Advisory Council of the Ohio Bicentennial Commission are planning [a new] book, Religion in Ohio: Over 200 Years of Experiences... As the state approaches 200, Christian and Jewish bodies remain prominent, but now they have plenty of company. [The] book for Ohio's bicentennial in 2003 also will discuss the beliefs of American Indians, Baha'is, Buddhists, Hindus, Jains, Muslims, Sikhs and...

Source: The Denver Post

On July 7, 2002, The Denver Post reported that "when he was a child growing up in Los Angeles, Kanya Okamoto left out the words 'under God' when he recited the Pledge of Allegiance because the God referred to didn't fit with his Buddhist beliefs... Now, as minister of Tri State/Denver Buddhist Temple in downtown Denver, [Colorado] Okamoto still doesn't see the need for having that phrase in the pledge... 'But there are Buddhists who disagree with me,' he said. 'They have grown up with the phrase. That's OK...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On July 3, 2002, the Los Angeles Times reported that last week's two U.S. court rulings concerning religion in the public square demonstrate the strong "disagreements over the relationship between God and public life in America... First, a federal appeals court ruled that religion could not be part of a daily ritual of public school life... The next day, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that religious schools could receive public school dollars... The Rev. C. Welton Gaddy, executive director of the Washington-based Interfaith...

Source: Statesman Journal

http://news.statesmanjournal.com/article.cfm?i=44359.

On June 30, 2002, the Statesman Journal of Salem, Oregon featured an article on the recent Pledge of Allegiance ruling. "The decision created instant furor, in part because the pledge is an American icon. But it may have just as much to do with people’s relationship with God — or lack thereof... In America, God means different...

Source: Newsday

On June 29, 2002 Newsday reported on an interfaith conference in New York City designed to help religious leaders "sustain their post-9/11 ministry." The conference was attended by "approximately 800 priests, pastors, imams, rabbis and other spiritual leaders from the metropolitan area... 'Leaders of faith communities are the first line (of defense) in mental health,' said Rabbi Stephen Roberts, president of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains, who chaired the daylong conference sponsored by the American Red Cross last month...