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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Buddhism

Buddhism stories: 20 news summaries
REMEMBER KABBALAH?

 A-Rod Finds Religion ... Again 

Alex Rodriguez tries Buddhism on for size, thanks to Kate Hudson

Oct 23, 09 9:23 AM CDT
(Newser) - It seems only yesterday Alex Rodriguez was dabbling in Kabbalah to please galpal Madonna. But those days are over, and the Yankees slugger has moved on to a new woman and a new religion. The “religious chameleon,” as one pal calls him, is now flirting with Buddhism... More »

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entertainment • New York Yankees • Alex Rodriguez • celebrity • Kate Hudson • Buddhism • Madonna • Kabbalah

OPINION

Honor the Dalai Lama: Replace Him With a Girl

Next reincarnation of the Buddha ought
to be a woman

Oct 9, 09 10:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Dalai Lama’s work for peace has been so widely praised that it’s almost obscured his wonderful work as a feminist. He has worked tirelessly for women, seeking to raise their position in Tibetan society, writes Amy Yee for Double X. He even suggested, scandalously, that his next... More »

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feminism • women • Dalai Lama • Buddhism • gender equality

 Turkish Game Show 
 Tries to Convert Atheists 

Imams, priests, rabbis, and monks given chance to convert unbelievers live on TV

Jul 3, 09 1:29 AM CDT
(Newser) - This was probably only a matter of time: A Turkish game show starting this fall will bring on 10 atheists per show and give holy men from four faiths the chance to convert them, the Guardian reports. A Muslim imam, a Greek Orthodox priest, a rabbi, and a Buddhist monk... More »

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Islam • Turkey • Christianity • religion • Judaism • game show • Buddhism • atheism

Boy Chosen by Dalai Lama Abandons Buddhism

Spanish-born Lama says order 'was like living a lie'

Jun 1, 09 7:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - When he was still a toddler, Osel Hita Torres was brought from Spain to an Indian monastery, where the Dalai Lama proclaimed him the reincarnation of one of Tibetan Buddhism's spiritual leaders. But Torres, now 24, has abandoned the order and returned to Spain, where he studies film and says... More »

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Spain • Tibet • Dalai Lama • Buddhism • Buddhist • Tibetan monks

(Newser) - A Taiwanese medical school is responding to the island nation’s shortage of cadavers for study by bringing the family of the deceased fully into the program, the Wall Street Journal reports. At Tzu Chi University, medical students meet with donors' families and even compose poems to their “... More »

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China • surgery • Taiwan • corpse • donation • Buddhism • medical schools • cadaver • Tzu Chi University

 No Time For Faith? 
 Try a Podcast 

Practitioners of all stripes distill religious teaching for on-the-go Americans

Jan 7, 09 2:45 PM CST
(Newser) - Overscheduled Americans are fueling a boom in devotional books and media that mete out bite-sized doses of faith, the Los Angeles Times reports. An editor at a Christian book house calls its One Minute Bible “a ready-made, quick little devotion they can do every day.” But it’s... More »

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radio • Christianity • religion • Judaism • publishing • podcast • Bible • Buddhism • devotional

Tibetans Push Lama Toward Harder Stance on China

Even leader sees that time's running out on non-confrontational 'middle way'

Nov 24, 08 1:07 PM CST
(Newser) - Tibetans still support the Dalai Lama’s “middle way” policy of negotiating for greater autonomy under Chinese rule, the Christian Science Monitor reports, but a conference of Tibetan exiles that ended today in India revealed many are growing impatient with Beijing’s endless foot-dragging. Members of the conference said... More »

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China • human rights • India • Tibet • Dalai Lama • Buddhism • dissidents • Dharamsala

Dalai Lama Breezes
Through Gall Stone Surgery

Operation follows latest trip back to hospital with abdominal pain

Oct 10, 08 2:13 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Dalai Lama underwent gall stone surgery today in India after he was rushed to a hospital again suffering from abdominal pain, reports the Times of London. The 73-year-old spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists spent four days in a hospital with similar pains in August. The operation went off "... More »

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China • Tibet • Dalai Lama • Buddhism • Nobel Peace Prize • New Delhi • Sir Ganga Ram

Young Burmese Monks
Ready to Take Up Arms

Buddhist movement gets bolder; some suggest stockpiling weapons

Sep 20, 08 6:41 AM CDT
(Newser) - After seeing nonviolent protesters killed or detained in last year’s protests against the ruling junta, younger segments of Burma’s Buddhist monks are becoming more radical, embracing armed resistance and overt dissent, the Christian Science Monitor reports. "We need weapons,” one young monk said. “That is... More »

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revolution • political activism • Myanmar • Burma • Buddhist monks • Buddhism • monks • junta • repression

50 Years On, Tibet's Secret War Simmers

Dalai Lama's brother was key to CIA-backed anti-China insurgency

Aug 30, 08 2:23 PM CDT
(Newser) - The little-known Tibetan resistance struggle after China's 1950 invasion still affects its politics today, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dalai Lama's brother played a vital role in the CIA-backed armed movement, largely made up of Buddhist monks, and Chinese suspicion still lingers over how much the spiritual leader himself... More »

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China • CIA • Tibet • Dalai Lama • Buddhist monks • Buddhism • Tibetan independence • Buddhists • Tibetan monks

Dalai Lama Cancels Trips
Due to 'Exhaustion'

Spiritual leader takes rest after months of traveling the globe

Aug 27, 08 1:53 PM CDT
(Newser) - Citing "exhaustion," the Dalai Lama has canceled plans to travel, the AP reports. A spokesman said the Tibetan spiritual leader would not go to Mexico and the Dominican Republic, and instead would rest and undergo medical tests for the next three weeks. The 73-year-old has had an intense... More »

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China • Mexico • Tibet • Dalai Lama • Mumbai • Dominican Republic • Buddhism • exhaustion

 Buddhism Faces
 Bleak Future 
 in Japan 

Temples going begging and Buddhism disappearing from funeral rites

Jul 14, 08 2:40 AM CDT
(Newser) - Buddhism, once a significant element of Japanese culture, is beginning to decline in both popularity and influence, reports the New York Times.  Buddhist rituals are even fading from funerals, where the religion once had a near-monopoly, as the Japanese increasingly rely on funeral homes, or skip funerals. If something... More »

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Japan • religion • Buddhism

 Dalai Lama's Advice
 Runs to Earthier Tones 

Exile's Indian headquarters draws seekers of celestial, and not-so-celestial, guidance

Jun 9, 08 3:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Driven by questions both spiritual and secular, more Westerners are heading to the Dalai Lama's headquarters-in-exile, the Wall Street Journal reports. Humble despite being proclaimed a “God-King,” Tibet's spiritual leader has sought “opportunities to be interactive” in the Indian town of Dharmsala—seeing a wide variety of... More »

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India • Dalai Lama • relationship • Buddhist monks • Buddhism • Tibetans in exile • Dharamsala • Tibetan monks

 World's Holy Days Converge 

Believers of almost all stripes have something to celebrate today

Mar 21, 08 8:51 AM CDT
(Newser) - This Good Friday is not simply the most solemn day in the Christian calendar but a convergence of movable feasts that doesn't occur more than once in a century. March 21 is also the first day of the Jewish festival of Purim and the celebration of the birth of the... More »

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Islam • Christianity • religion • Judaism • Buddhism • Holy Days • Good Friday • Purim • Eid • Narouz • Small Holi • Magha Puja • Persian New Year • Hindus

Nepali Goddess Retires at 11

Kumari briefly deposed last year after traveling abroad

Mar 3, 08 12:35 PM CST
(Newser) - Sajani Shakya, one of Nepal's living goddesses, is officially retiring at age 11, the AP reports. Religious leaders briefly stripped the Kumari of her divine status last year after she defied custom and traveled abroad, but her premature retirement isn't related to the controversy, officials say. She has "come... More »

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religion • Nepal • Hindu • Buddhism • goddess • Hinduism • kumari • Living Goddess • Sajani Shakya • Buddhist

 Sri Lanka Bus Bomb Kills 20

Bus was packed with Buddhist pilgrims; authorities blame Tamil Tigers

Feb 2, 08 9:53 AM CST
(Newser) - A bomb suspected to be the work of Tamil Tiger rebels detonated on a crowded bus in Sri Lanka today, killing at least 20 and leaving more than 60 seriously burned or otherwise injured. The parcel bomb ripped through a private bus carrying Buddhist pilgrims that had stopped at a... More »

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Sri Lanka • Tamil Tigers • bombing • Buddhism • religious pilgrims • bus bombing

Burma Protests a 'Success,' Says Buddhist Leader

Famed anti-Vietnam agitator supports
monks on US tour

Oct 14, 07 7:07 PM CDT
(Newser) - Revered Buddhist spokesman Thich Nhat Hanh, famed for enlisting Martin Luther King's help against the Vietnam War, is supporting his spiritual brethren in Burma on a US tour. The monks' struggle against Burma is "already a success," he told Time, "because if monks are imprisoned or have... More »

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Vietnam • Dalai Lama • Myanmar • Burma • Buddhism • monks • military junta • Thich Nhat Hanh • meditation • Zen • Theravada • Mahayana • Vajrayana

Dubya Will Meet With Dalai

Oct 12, 07 3:17 AM CDT
(Newser) - President Bush will meet with the Dalai Lama next  week before the monk is awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Not so delighted with the Washington love fest are Chinese government officials, and the meeting is bound to infuriate them further. Beijing has already blasted the US for “using... More »

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China • Dalai Lama • Buddhism • peace • Medal of Honor • George W. Bush

Junta Issues Curfew to Stem Protests

Monks vow to keep marching as government sends troops to rally sites

Sep 25, 07 6:02 PM CDT
(Newser) - Burma issued a dusk-to-dawn curfew and warned it will crack down on any large meetings, but protesters still marched by the tens of thousands today. The junta also sent out armed troops and declared it time to "take action," raising fears that it will repeat its 1988 crackdown,... More »

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democracy • Burma • Buddhist monks • Buddhism • Burma protest • Buddhist nuns • junta • Rangoon • Mandalay

Monks Hold Burmese Officials Hostage

Incident ends in release as protests of fuel price hikes rage

Sep 7, 07 2:18 PM CDT
(Newser) - Hundreds of angry monks have released Burmese government officials they held hostage for over 5 hours yesterday, the Guardian reports, in protest of the military regime’s fuel price hikes. Reading Buddhist scriptures, nearly 500 monks burned the officials’ cars, locked them inside a monastery, and surrendered the prisoners... More »

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Asia • Burma • Buddhist monks • Buddhism • monks • hostage

20 Stories


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