Source: The Times-Picayune

On January 28, 2001, The Times-Picayune reported on a workshop on Buddhist studies in the Covington-Mandeville area of Louisiana, which was led by meditator and Buddhist practitioner Ngawang Chotak, a former monk. "The focus was 'Eight Verses on Transforming the Mind,' which is one of the most important texts from a genre of Tibetan Buddhist spiritual writings...Chotak discussed ways to be equipped emotionally to deal with the ups and downs of life...Buddhist thought teaches that trials and tribulations are not what life's about,...

Source: The Times-Picayune

On January 28, 2001, The Times-Picayune reported on the first women at the Chua Bo De Vietnamese Buddhist Fellowship temple in Algiers, Louisiana, "to perform the elaborate dragon dance, an ancient tradition that whisks away bad spirits and brings good luck to all in the new year...The dragons are usually played by young men from the Gia Dinh Phat Tu youth association." This year three young women in the association asked to participate in the dance. "Many of the elders of the temple...were opposed at first to the idea of women...

Source: The Seattle Times

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

On January 12, 2001, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that "The Dalai Lama, Tibet's charismatic spiritual and political leader, is reaching out to the world over the Internet from a remote site in the Indian Himalayas with help from a native Milwaukeean. The Dalai Lama's government-in-exile has launched an official Web site --www.tibet.net -- from Dharamsala, India, where he fled after a 1959 uprising against Chinese rule failed." Dan Haig, 37, is the webmaster for the project...

Source: Chicago Sun-Times

On December 8, 2000, the Chicago Sun-Times reported on "Dial-the-Dharma, a Buddhist hotline run by Skokie's Kubose Dharma Legacy in Skokie." The phone line was started to offer an alternative to Christian dial-a-prayer services. "About 15 callers a day dial (847) 677-8053 to hear messages that range from the esoteric to the humorous."

Source: The Washington Post

On December 8, 2000, The Washington Post reported that "D'Estree, a Harvard Divinity School graduate who was recognized in 1981 as a lopon (master teacher) by the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, sits on the floor at the front of the room. He gently rings a ritual bell, and the evening's meditation session begins." D'Estree stresses that one does not necessarily need to be Buddhist in order to appreciate meditation as a stress-relieving technique, or as a form of prayer for theistic traditions. "'Meditation can be a stress reduction...

Source: The New York Times

On December 2, 2000, The New York Times reported that "among Buddhist teachers well known in the West, the Zen monk Thich Nhat Hanh holds a special prominence. Living in France as an exile from his native Vietnam, he is the author of many books and a regular visitor to the United States, where he lectures and holds retreats. His central mission is to encourage people to work toward 'mindfulness' -- that is, a process of personal and social transformation through the development of self-understanding and compassion. As he teaches...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On November 19, 2000, the Los Angeles Times "In a 1,300-year-old ceremony of chants, incense and clanging cymbals, a rare and sacred Tibetan Buddhist sculpture was formally consecrated in Glendale on Saturday and offered as a blessing for universal peace...Tibetan Buddhists believe that the bejeweled icon of intricate art and intense spirituality can transform negative emotions into compassion and altruism. It is the first three-dimensional mandala--a circular design representing a map to enlightenment--ever built in the United...

Source: St. Petersburg Times

On November 19, 2000, the St. Petersburg Times reported that "organizers of the Florida Buddhist Vihara Meditation Center, planned for a 0.68-acre tract...want to alter their buffer requirements and substitute a 6-foot wooden fence along the north, south and west property boundaries. Manjuka Gunaratne, an engineering professor at the University of South Florida, filed a petition on behalf of the center, asking for a variance to the county's 20-foot setbacks and to allow 26 parking spaces. According to the petition, the center...

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On November 11, 2000, The Houston Chronicle reported that the largest of the True Buddha temples in North America, located in Sharpstown, TX, has approximately 500 members. When the bell of Mee Yee True Buddha Temple rings, followers believe, deities hasten to its sanctuary. Among them is Amitaba Buddha, the temple's special deity who is honored by a wall of 1,080 small statues of his likeness. He is considered the king of all Buddhas, and the devotees who follow his 'dharma,' or teachings, eventually become Buddhas....

Source: The New York Times

On November 4, 2000, The New York Times reported that the Unitarian Church of All Souls is the site for the first Agon Shu Buddhist goma, or fire ritual conducted in the United States. The Rev. Seiyu Kiriyama, who founded this Japanese Buddhist association in 1978, said the ceremony is intended to "elevate the mind and the heart of the people in the audience." The Agon Shu Buddhist Association is linked to the agama sutras, four major texts which stress the acquisition of wisdom. Mr. Kiriyama said that the ritual "is a method of...

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On November 4, 2000, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that of approximately 350 million Buddhists in the world, about 3 million are in America. In Atlanta, GA, there are more than 15 sanghas, or worship communities. One such community is based at Atlanta's Loseling Institute. In addition to private prayer and meditation, the Loseling Institute in Atlanta offers weekly lectures and group meditation. The institute also hosts important Buddhist holidays. Members of this and other sanghas range from...

Source: The Times-Picayune

On November 2, 2000, The Times-Picayune reported that "on the 15th day of the Eighth Moon of the lunar calendar, local Chinese and Vietnamese Americans joined with compatriots around the world in celebrating the Moon Festival. Sponsored, respectively, by the Chinese Association of Greater New Orleans and the Bo De Vietnamese Buddhist Youth Association, both communities marked the occasion on Sept. 10 with traditional cuisine, music, dances and martial arts. Cakes in the shape of a full moon, a symbol of family unity, were served...

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Mien-Refugees-Start-Center-in-Oakland-Displaced-3238485.php

On October 24, 2000, The San Francisco Chronicle...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On October 14, 2000, the Los Angeles Times reported that "more than 10,000 Buddhists are expected to gather at the Los Angeles Convention Center today to sign a pledge of personal responsibility to stop the violence that is claiming the lives of young people regionwide. The pledges will be assembled into a giant peace quilt at the event, sponsored by the lay Buddhist association, Soka Gakkai International-United States. The peace campaign, Victory Over Violence, has featured festivals, school outreach programs and meetings...