Source: The Japan Times

On May 31, 2005 The Japan Times reported, "A Buddhist priest considered to be one of the world's best Zen garden designers will receive an award from the Canadian government this week. Shunmyo Masuno, head priest at Yokohama's Kenkoji Temple, will receive the Meritorious Service Award on Friday in Ottawa, the first Japanese to receive such a distinction. He will also get an honorary doctorate Tuesday from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. They are just the latest awards the 52-year-old Zen...

Original Source: Kuensel Online. Karma Choden

https://www.hinduismtoday.com/blogs-news/hindu-press-international/...

Source: News-Record

http://www.news-record.com/news/local/gso/buddha053005.htm

On May 30, 2005 the News-Record reported, "the ceremony at the Buddhist temple off Holden Road drew about 300 people Sunday. Although the average weekly attendance is about 75 people, this event drew Vietnamese from throughout North Carolina and Virginia. Buddha’s birthday is the Buddhist equivalent of Christmas. In addition to New Year’s Day and Parent’s Day, Buddha...

Source: Wichita Eagle

http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/local/11750696.htm

On May 27, 2005 the Wichita Eagle reported, "She came to the United States from Sri Lanka two years ago with two bags in hand and her parents' words --'Do your studies first, then you can do what you like' -- in her heart. Like the majority of Sri Lankans in Wichita, Asanka Fernando, now 24, is part of Wichita State University's international student body. Fernando has a zest for...

Source: The International News

http://jang.com.pk/thenews/may2005-daily/24-05-2005/metro/i10.htm

On May 24, 2005 The International News reported, "The Buddhist community celebrated ‘Vesak,’ festival of the full moon, known as the ‘Asian Festival of Lights,’ at the Buddhist Cultural Centre in Islamabad. The celebration was attended by the president of the All Pakistan Buddhist Association, Raja Tridev Roy; the high commissioners...

Source: Mankato Free Press

On May 24, 2005 the Mankato Free Press reported, "Whichever beloved feathered or furry “Sesame Street” character Bhante Sathi will be appearing with on two episodes of the PBS children’s program, he’s not talking. It’ll have to be a surprise next season for the millions of children who tune into the 35-year-old show every day. Being asked to be on the show in the first place was a pretty big surprise to Sathi, a Chanhassen-based Buddhist monk who lives in Mankato part time to teach meditation at...

Source: MSNBC/Newsweek

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7857269/site/newsweek/

On May 23, 2005 Newsweek reported, "The amateur video looked like something that would appear on Al-Jazeera: a group of men with long, gray beards and white Muslim robes sitting in a spartan room at a hidden location, discussing Islam. But instead of denouncing the West and plotting terrorist attacks, the group was engaged in an emotional discussion about how to halt spiraling religious violence in...

Source: Ann Arbor News

http://www.mlive.com/news/aanews/index.ssf?/base/news-13/111686283989110.xml

On May 23, 2005 the Ann Arbor News reported, "They chanted Buddha's name, then they did the hokey pokey. It was serious fun at the Zen Buddhist Temple in Ann Arbor Saturday morning as about 80 children and their parents kicked off a weekend celebration of Buddha's birthday with a Peace and Happiness parade. Leading the parade, which included a...

Source: The Associated Press

http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/politics/11719504.

On May 23, 2005 The Associated Press reported, "the first 100 students to complete undergraduate study at the Buddhist Soka University of America have received their diplomas. In a commencement ceremony Sunday, 100 of the school's first 120 students wore caps, gowns and stoles identifying them as the 'first graduating class of 2005.' The school is...

Source: The New Straits Times

On May 22, 2005 The New Straits Times reported, "Thousands of Buddhists went to temples throughout the country today to celebrate Wesak Day. Addressing devotees at the Kwan Inn Teng Vihara in Petaling Jaya this morning, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting said it was important for Malaysians to hold to their own beliefs and yet be accommodating to others by showing that 'we care.' 'It is through moderation in our belief and the generosity of our actions that we will be able to...

Source: Macleans

http://www.macleans.ca/culture/news/shownews.jsp?content=e051821A

On May 18, 2005 Macleans reported, "Photos of bikini-clad Miss Universe contestants posing in front of a revered Buddhist temple have been removed from the pagaent's website after the Thai government complained that the pictures were offensive. The controversial images will also be edited out of a film to be shown during the globally televised final of the competition on...

Source: China Economic Net

https://en.ce.cn/Life/arts&heritage/200505/18/t20050518_3863152.shtml

On May 18, 2005 China Economic Net reported, "A group of Tibetan Buddhist scriptures has been discovered at Dunhuang Database, in northwest China's Gansu Province. The...

Source: Yahoo! News

Wire Service: AP

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050517/ap_on_re_as/sri_lanka_monk_abuse

On May 17, 2005 the Associated Press reported, "A monk drank poison and later died after becoming the first Buddhist clergyman to be convicted of the sexual abuse of a child in Sri Lanka, court officials and police said.

Monk Bellana Panniyaloka was found guilty of grave sexual abuse of a 16-year-...

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4551425.stm

On May 16, 2005 BBC News reported, "A decade ago, a six-year-old boy was named by the Dalai Lama as a spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was nominated as the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama - the second-most important figure in Tibetan religion, culture and politics after the Dalai Lama himself. But China disagreed with the choice and arrested the boy a few days later....

Source: MSNBC

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7857555/

On May 14, 2005 MSNBC reported, "In celebration of Buddha's birthday, the Bathing of the Buddha ceremony took place at Guam's Fo Guan Shan Temple in Barrigada. Many turned out to witness the practices of humanistic Buddhism. The ceremony is the most important of Buddhist festivals and is celebrated on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month calendar, which this year is May 15. Buddha's birthday is a time to remember the story of how...