Buddhist

16 Stories

Zen Master Preached Compassion, a 'Return to the Breath'

Revered Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh has died at the age of 95

(Newser) - Thich Nhat Hanh, the revered Zen Buddhist monk who helped spread the practice of mindfulness in the West and socially engaged Buddhism in the East, has died. He was 95. The death was confirmed by a monk at Tu Hieu Pagoda in Hue, Vietnam, who said that Nhat Hanh, known...

Priest Says Federal Execution Gives Him 'Impossible Decision'

Buddhist says he fears federal execution could be COVID 'super-spreader' event

(Newser) - A Zen Buddhist priest, who is a spiritual adviser to one of three federal death row inmates scheduled to be executed this month, filed a lawsuit Thursday arguing the Bureau of Prisons is putting him at risk for the coronavirus by moving forward with executions during a nationwide pandemic. Dale...

Buddhist Poker Player Makes Enlightened Move

He's giving $671K in winnings to charity

(Newser) - Buddha wasn't talking about high-stakes poker when he said "Develop the mind of equilibrium," but it's advice that seems to be working out pretty well for Scott Wellenbach. The 67-year-old Canadian, who converted to Buddhism as a young man, won $671,240 at a poker tournament...

2 Days Before the Massacre, Soldiers Bought Vats of Acid

The AP reports on what it says was an Aug. 27 massacre of Rohingya, mass graves

(Newser) - The faces of the men half-buried in the mass graves had been burned away by acid or blasted by bullets. Noor Kadir finally recognized his friends only by the colors of their shorts. Kadir and 14 others, all Rohingya Muslims in the Myanmar village of Gu Dar Pyin, had been...

Shandling Will Be Made Buddhist Monk Posthumously

Sources give TMZ details of comedian's funeral

(Newser) - Garry Shandling didn't speak much about it publicly, but he was Buddhist, and he had planned what TMZ calls an "elaborate" Buddhist funeral before his death. Sources tell the gossip site Shandling's head will be shaved by a monk, a symbolic gesture that ordains Shandling as a...

Monk Embezzled $200K From Temple to Fuel Gambling Habit

Khang Nguyen Le pleaded guilty

(Newser) - A Buddhist monk accused of embezzling more than $200,000 from his Louisiana temple to feed a casino gambling habit has pleaded guilty to fraud, the AP reports. The Advocate reports that 38-year-old Khang Nguyen Le will be sentenced June 27 after his guilty plea Thursday to one count of...

Bombs Strike Top Buddhist Holy Site in India

2 injured in series of blasts

(Newser) - Two people were injured as a number of small bombs hit a major Buddhist temple yesterday in eastern India. The Mahabodhi temple complex, home to a tree where Buddha is said to have reached enlightenment, was struck by at least four blasts, but the temple wasn't damaged, CNN reports—...

Argument Triggers Deadly Religious Riots in Burma

With 20 dead, president declares state of emergency

(Newser) - Religious riots between Buddhists and Muslims have rocked a central Burmese town for two days, leaving at least 20 dead and prompting President Thein Sein to declare a state of emergency, the AP reports. A local reporter estimated the number of dead at closer to 40, the New York Times...

Death Toll in Burma Ethnic Strife Hits 112

Clashes between Buddhist and Muslim communities continue

(Newser) - The death toll from recent ethnic violence in Burma's western state of Rakhine has surpassed 100, an official said today, as the government warned that the strife risks harming the country's reputation as it seeks to install democratic rule. Rakhine state spokesman Win Myaing said 112 people had...

Burma Boosts Security as Sectarian Violence Kills 50

Curfew imposed after 1K houses set on fire

(Newser) - Burmese authorities are sending extra security forces to a volatile region where at least 50 people have been killed and more than 1,000 homes burned in recent days in a fresh outbreak of violent clashes between Buddhists and Muslims, CNN reports. They've also lengthened curfews in several towns,...

340 Fetuses Found in Thailand Temple

Police say they're from illegal abortions

(Newser) - More than 340 fetuses were discovered in a Buddhist temple in Bangkok, the result of an illegal abortion operation, CNN reports. Abortion is illegal in Thailand except in certain cases, so illegal clinics must dispose of fetuses clandestinely. Buddhist temples commonly have morticians that prepare bodies for cremation, so the...

Surprising Celebrity Buddhists
 Surprising Celebrity Buddhists 
plus keanu, orlando

Surprising Celebrity Buddhists

Tiger isn't the only big-shot who practices Buddhism

(Newser) - Tiger Woods shocked many by mentioning Buddhism in his televised mea culpa. "People probably don't realize it, but I was raised a Buddhist,” he said. "I drifted away from it in recent years." He's not the only big-shot Buddhist around, the Daily Beast notes. Here are...

Dalai Lama: Faith Can Help You Find Self-Discipline, Tiger Woods...

... Whoever you are

(Newser) - A day after Tiger Woods said he had strayed from his Buddhist faith, the Dalai Lama had some advice for the golfer: self-discipline is among Buddhism's highest values. Tibet's exiled spiritual leader said that he had not heard of Woods, but when the circumstances were explained to him he said...

Boy Chosen by Dalai Lama Abandons Buddhism

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

(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...

Greenies Fight Religious Custom in Taiwan

Concern about global warming prompts attempt to change money-burning ritual

(Newser) - Taiwanese environmentalists are working to douse the flames of "Ghost Month," during which Taoists and Buddhists burn ritual paper money to honor ancestors. Setting one ton of money ablaze releases at least an equal amount carbon dioxide, the AFP reports; temples and households can now turn over their...

Nepali Goddess Retires at 11
Nepali Goddess Retires at 11

Nepali Goddess Retires at 11

Kumari briefly deposed last year after traveling abroad

(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...

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