The fourth Geshema examination began on Sunday at Gaden Choeling Nunnery in Dharamsala, in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, representing a new milestone in the longstanding aspiration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and His Holiness the Karmapa for female monastics in the Buddhist traditions of the Himalayas to have access to the same opportunities for formal Buddhist education as their male counterparts.

The new and critically acclaimed cinematic drama Spotlight tells the story of the team of investigative journalists that exposed the Catholic Church’s cover-up of more than 70 child-abusing priests in Boston, Massachusetts, in 2002. It is one of the few movies in recent memory in which we see the press portrayed in a positive light. Even in the most acclaimed of films that show journalists at their most charismatic, they are still cast as acutely imperfect people (which is not an inaccurate charge!). Take the celebrated La Dolce Vita (1960), in which celebrity gossip columnist Marcello Rubini embodies self-indulgence, excess, and emotional rootlessness. In 2046, the 2004 sequel to the Hong Kong cinema classic In the Mood for Love (2000), news writer Chow Wo-man changes from a gentleman refusing to cheat on his unfaithful wife into a promiscuous and emotionally abusive hack.

Psychologists and neuroscientists from Oxford University and University College London (UCL) are planning an unprecedented trial of the influence of mindfulness meditation on mental health, The Guardian newspaper has reported.

It is not always easy to imagine the intentions of those who write hagiography, which is formally defined as the biography of a saint or religious leader. However, in the case of Chinese treatments of Indian masters, hagiography was not merely a means to inspire Chinese Buddhists with the miracle-making and moral power of their Indian spiritual forebears. It was, at its core, a way to redefine models of Buddhist sanctity and legitimize China as an ideal land for the flourishing of Buddhism.

When I first came across Buddhism, I heard that the First Noble Truth was “Life is suffering.” I quickly dismissed Buddhism as a pessimistic philosophy. Fortunately, I was later introduced to teachers who taught the Buddha’s path as one of wisdom and of joy, and now I’ve even become a nun! I come back to the Four Noble Truths often, and see that while a lot has been written about them, their daily application is not often discussed. Titled as “Truths,” it’s easy to assume that they are something to believe—but the Buddha’s path is one of experience, not blind faith. With this in mind, I’d like to begin a four-part series exploring the Four Noble Truths in daily life.

Master Shandao (613–81) introduced an important concept about faith in Amitabha’s deliverance and the correlation with the practice of Amitabha-recitation in Pure Land Buddhism. Name-recitation itself implies, contains, and nurtures faith. Faith in Amitabha’s deliverance alone, without any recitation practice, is insufficient for rebirth in the Land of Bliss. Faith is inherently reflected in our practice, and Amitabha-recitation must be taken as an active, exclusive, and sustained practice to assure rebirth.

I was born into a middle-class family in North London in 1955. I have mild dyslexia, so even though I got into grammar school I only did well in math and carpentry, and left just before my 15th birthday. I served as an apprentice mechanic for 18 months and then joined the Royal Navy, working in the engine room during war exercises on the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal. My parents divorced when I was 17, after which I lived on a series of canal boats, initially with my mother. I got married on my 21st birthday, had a son, and traveled the canals of England and Wales selling specialized rope work. The boat was pulled by my big horse, Jim. Three years later the marriage failed. I left with two new horses and a wooden Bow Top Gypsy caravan I had built myself. I then went to live and travel with the some of the last of the Gypsies, or Romany people, living in horse-drawn wagons in the UK. We traveled to horse fairs and beautiful rural locations, earning a living mainly by making wooden clothes pegs.

The 1,500-year-old Shaolin Temple, located in China’s Henan Province, is to host a martial arts contest. While details are yet to be confirmed, on 18 August the news agency Xinhua quoted Venerable Shi Yongxin, the temple’s abbot, as announcing at the end of a Zen forum that the event would include individual and group performances in karate, taekwondo, and kung fu. According to Ven. Shi Yongxin, the competition is intended to promote global awareness of the temple: “Shaolin Temple expects to form ties with the world through various events, expand [the] impact of Buddhism and make Shaolin culture better known,” the abbot explained. This is the first event of its kind to be organized in the history of the temple, which is credited with the birth and preservation of kung fu.

The Diamond Sūtra is a Mahāyāna sūtra from the Prajñāpāramitā, or "Perfection of Wisdom" genre, and emphasizes the practice of non-abiding and non-attachment. The full Sanskrit title of this text is the Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra.

Kyoto, Japan, 12 April 2014 - The second day of the Mapping the Mind meeting began in a quiet business like way. Presentations began as soon as His Holiness had quietly taken his seat on the stage. Shinobu Kitayama, born in Japan, but now Professor of Psychology in Michigan, began, speaking about Cultural Neuroscience, with the observation that cultural context is important for understanding the human mind.