Chinese Buddhist Master Sheng Yen has hardly led a charmed life. As he recounts in his new memoir Footprints in the Snow, he grew up poor in rural China, was conscripted to fight communists in the nationalist army and lived homeless on the streets of the Bronx, N.Y.
Nonetheless, Sheng Yen, a master of Chan Buddhism (more commonly known in the West by its Japanese name "Zen") has become one of the most influential contemporary Buddhist masters, with such luminaries as the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh singing his praises.

via www2.journalnow.com

Thailand's prime minister says he wants to avoid a confrontation with protesters trying to topple his government, and today's he's gone to a Buddhist temple to pray for the health of the Thai king. Meanwhile, the protesters remain entrenched at the country's two main airports. The occupation has stranded about 300,000 foreigners while Thailand's economy loses millions of dollars. One economic analyst says "the absence of effective and credible leadership" is slowing the nation's economic growth.

via whbf.com

Shi Yongxin, the abbot of Shaolin, said he had signed a 20-year contract to manage the Tuwang, Fading, Miaozhan and Guangyin temples in Kunming. Ten monks have already been dispatched from Shaolin, in Zhengzhou near Beijing, to the temples, which are near China's borders with Burma, Laos and Vietnam. "The move will help to increase the influence of Shaolin," said a spokesman for the temple, which is famed for the kung-fu skills of its warrior monks and the "integration of Zen and martial arts".

via telegraph.co.uk

Ashin Gambira, the imprisoned Buddhist monk who led tens of thousands in an anti-junta uprising during September 2007, has been transferred to a remote prison far from Rangoon. On Monday Gambira, who was recently sentenced to a 68-year prison term for leading the Saffron Revolution, was transferred from Insein Prison in Rangoon to Hkamti Prison in the distant Sagaing Division in northwestern Burma.

via scoop.co.nz

In this windswept desert city, just north of Adelanto Airport, a 25-foot statue of a Buddhist bodhisattva said to have miraculous healing powers looms over Highway 395. Every week, hundreds of Buddhists from all over Southern California congregate here, at the 15-acre Buddhist Meditation Center. At this remote temple still under construction, people come to pray at the outdoor altar of Quan Yin, a bodhisattva, or "enlightened one," who is identified with compassion and mercy.

via sbsun.com

A federal court of appeals on Thursday overturned the conviction of a West Valley man found guilty of killing nine people at a Buddhist temple west of Phoenix in 1991. Jonathan Doody was one of two youths convicted of the infamous temple murders, and he has been serving nine life sentences in state prison since his conviction in 1994. But, on Thursday, a panel of three judges from the 9th U.S.

via azcentral.com

Give the magnetic personality and hunky good looks of a rock star to a Tibetan Buddhist monk, and the result might be Gyalwang Karmapa, the third-highest lama in the Tibetan religious firmament. The Karmapa, as he is known, is getting more than his share of attention these days. He's being talked about as a possible transition figure for when the Dalai Lama, who's the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, dies. The Dalai Lama, 73, was hospitalized last month to have gallstones removed.

via chron.com

Members of the Longmont Buddhist Temple will repaint the building’s exterior in the spring to undo the damage caused by vandals over the weekend. Jackie Tono, president of the Longmont Buddhist Temple, said she is also saddened that the temple will likely have to spend money to add security lights to the building at 606 Pike Road. She noted that vandals did not hit the wall facing U.S. Highway 287 because motorists can see the wall.

via timescall.com

Nine people - six Buddhist monks, a nun and two acolytes - were found shot to death execution-style Saturday morning in a Buddhist temple west of Phoenix in one of the largest mass killings in Maricopa County history.
The nun, Foy Sripanpiaserf, was the 71-year-old grandmother of the youngest victim, Matthew Miller, a novice monk. Miller was a 16-year-old sophomore at Trevor Browne High School in Phoenix.

via azcentral.com

RENOWNED spiritual master of Tibetan Buddhism, Venerable Dagpo Lama Rinpoche will be in Malaysia to give two “exceptional” teachings, organised by Persatuan Kadam Tashi Choe Ling Malaysia (KTCL), as well as an evening talk at the Buddhist Gem Fellowship (BGF). Dagpo Rinpoche will explain how to “Practise the Six Perfections in our daily life” in his first teaching to be held on Dec 13 and 14 at KTCL in Petaling Jaya.

via thestar.com.my

AFTER many years and two failed attempts, Dr Kyuse Enshinjoh, founder priest of Japan’s Nenbutsushu Buddhist sect, found the perfect site for the temple of his dreams, and devotees and members put in every effort to realise their spiritual leader’s vision. Located in the heart of Japan and within Seto Inland Sea National Park, the 148ha site is surrounded by eight mountains, which form the shape of a lotus flower with eight petals.

via thestar.com.my

Latest records of the Education Ministry of Sri Lanka point to the fact that 82% of the school teachers teaching Buddhism from Grade 1 to 11 as a subject are unqualified to do so. The total number of Buddhism teachers country wide are 8,455 and 6,955 of them are not qualified in teaching that subject. Only around 1,500 teachers have achieved qualifications for teaching Buddhism in the country, the Ministry says.

via colombopage.com

The temple will be more than a place of worship and meditation – it will also be a resource centre and a cultural link to Sri Lanka, said Nirmala Eidsgaard, chairperson of the Tisarana Sri Lanka Buddhist Association in Norway. “For young people, especially those born and raised in Norway, the temple will help to reinforce their cultural identity,” she said.

via sundaytimes.lk

The Lord Buddha University (LBU) was established three years ago, but it has not been able to conduct classes. Reason: The executive council of the internationally-recognised university is yet to take full shape. "I waited for three years, hoping that the government will appoint council members. The then prime minister and chancellor of the university, Girija Prasad Koirala, never had the time to approve the council members' names," said Prof Dr Tulasi Ram Baidya, vice chancellor, Lord Buddha University.

via kantipuronline.com

Thousands of Buddhists from across the world congregated at Bodh Gaya for Krodhi-Kali ceremony for world peace on Thursday. Nuns and monks attired in the traditional Buddhist costumes played instruments made out of human bones to the accompaniment of special prayers. Devotees said attending the ceremony gave them a lot of satisfaction. "This is our second annual Krodhi-Kali ceremony. Last year also we had a similar event which went very successfully, and everybody of us satisfied and we went back to our country with full satisfaction.

via story.malaysiasun.com