Buddhists across the globe have gathered to mark the Lunar New Year in recent days, from Hong Kong to Houston, and Sydney to Singapore, festivities and Buddhist rituals were observed and shared across Chinese, Korean, Tibetan, and Vietnamese communities, and more.

HONG KONG—The Civil Affairs Bureau of Taichung City in western Taiwan has launched a “Card of a Fulfilled Life” as part of an initiative to promote environmentally friendly funerals and to encourage funeral autonomy—enabling people to express funerary preferences that may differ from traditional expectations.

Gorgeous glazed shiitake mushrooms and tender green bok choy sparked with ginger, sesame and hot pepper work beautifully against more staid flavors, so consider serving them next to a traditional roast chicken or turkey. They also are delicious draped over a pile of rice.

On 1 November, Buddhistdoor Global caught up with Dilgo Khyentse Yangsi Rinpoche for a conversation about the authentic practice of Buddhism in today’s ever more complex world. Born on 30 June 1993 in Nepal, Rinpoche is the incarnation of the late Vajrayana master and Nyingma head Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (1910–91). Educated in Bhutan and having all the empowerments that Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche received, he is intimately aware of the challenges facing Buddhism in today’s times. He is a deeply compassionate and perceptive teacher committed to the future of Buddhism.

For most outsiders, especially those in the West, Vietnamese Buddhism is typically synonymous with Thich Nhat Hanh (who incidentally resides not in Vietnam but in France). Or, going back a few decades, the now-iconic image of Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc, who set himself on fire at a busy Saigon intersection in 1963 to protest the persecution of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese regime led by Ngo Dinh Diem.

From as early as the Frankfurt School, dialectic philosopher Herbert Marcuse (1898–1979) pondered what role technology would play in human emancipation. Conversely, because it was developed within a certain ideological structure and culture, technology itself could be an oppressive form of ideology that contributes to domination more than freedom. Marcuse specifically identified the American culture of his age as one of domination, violence, and consumption as people’s compensation for alienation as cogs in the capitalist machine.

In March 2017, Buddhistdoor Global interviewed Professor Luo Wenhua, a research fellow at the Palace Museum in Beijing and director of the Research Center for Tibetan Buddhist Heritage.* In the interview, Prof. Luo introduced their project of digitizing artifacts and wall paintings in Tibetan Buddhist regions of China, which started in 2013. In August 2017, just a few months after the interview, Prof. Luo and his team made an important discovery at Badha Monastery (嘛达寺) (32°52.256N, 097°23.462E) in Serxu County, Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, in China’s Sichuan Province. In a small hall attached to the tulku’s residence (gungbar labrang), which had been closed off and forgotten after the Cultural Revolution, Prof. Luo and his team uncovered various wall paintings and clay sculptures. Owing to their relatively good condition and unique artistic style, these artifacts are considered rare examples of Tibetan Buddhist art. This article is intended as the first English-language report on the discovery.

Bhutan, a remote Vajrayana Buddhist kingdom perched in the rarified air of the eastern Himalayas, is regularly ranked among the happiest countries in the world. With a population of fewer than 800,000 people, it is also one of the world’s smallest and least industrialized countries, yet it has significant experience in maintaining the delicate balance of managing economic growth in a sustainable manner, famously encapsulated in its conservative “Gross National Happiness” (GNH) approach to economic development.

The first challenge I encountered during the first year of my monastic training as a postulant was overcoming the discomfort from the clothes we wore. We had a special uniform—a long-sleeved, loose grey midi robe with long pants. In the winter, we could put on more layers inside and a black coat while outside. But in the hot summer, even when it was over 35ºC (about 95ºF, but it felt like 100ºF due to the humidity), we still needed to wear our uniform day and night without air conditioning. This was really too much for me, especially after I had become so used to the comfortable weather in the Westwood/Santa Monica area of California. We were sweating all the time—it felt like our bodies were soaking in salty water. It was even worse during morning/evening services and chanting ceremonies because we were required to wear another black maxi robe with long sleeves. I could not imagine how I would tolerate the habit after ordination, which has the additional layer of a long-sleeved maxi robe and long grey tube socks. Because of this, I also felt sympathy for Roman Catholic nuns!

In our monastery, there is a practice for those who are really upset with someone else. They’re told to give the other person a gift. It’s usually the last thing that anyone in this situation wants to do, yet it can bring about great transformation. I haven’t had to do this—I don't know if it’s that I’m able to keep good relationships for the most part, or if I’m simply conflict-avoidant—but there are plenty of times that I’ve felt irritation, anger, or ill will mount up in great piles until I feel lost in it. The version of gift giving that I've taken on in these circumstances is to offer the gift of loving-kindness, called metta in the earliest recorded discourses of the Buddha. It may take me a while, but once I notice that I’m stuck in ill will I make a point, during either our sitting or walking meditation periods, to send that person the energy of loving-kindness.