HA NOI (VNS)— The Viet Nam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) held a grand ceremony at the Ha Noi-based Quan Su Pagoda yesterday to celebrate Lord Buddha's 2557th birthday.

A decision by senior clergy at one of England’s most venerable cathedrals to quietly introduce classes in Zen meditation has unexpectedly ruffled the feathers of some of the Church of England’s more conservative members, who have demanded that the fortnightly silent meditation sessions be canceled on the grounds of religious incompatibility.

Excavations of the ruins of the ancient city of Bazira in Pakistan’s Swat Valley have recently revealed a shrine and courtyard, where archaeologists have unearthed sculptures and carvings that date back more than 1,700 years and depict stories from Buddhism and other ancient religions.

The Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam on Sunday inaugurated the Vietnam Buddhist Institute’s second campus in Ho Chi Minh City, marking the completion of the first phase of construction for the project in Minh Xuan Ward of the city’s Binh Chanh District.

In his unceasing bid to encourage greater self-awareness and compassion among the people of the world, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has commissioned American psychologist Paul Ekman, who is perhaps best known for his work as a consultant on the hit Pixar Animations Studios film Inside Out (2015), to produce what His Holiness refers to as an online “map of the mind.”

Researchers at Korea’s Seoul National University (SNU) say they have confirmed the existence of meridians—a network of nodes and channels throughout the body that forms an integral part of traditional systems of medicine such as acupuncture and which is also integral to Buddhist practice. Scientists at SNU who have been studying traditional medicine announced that they have observed a new circulatory system that they believe corresponds with the traditional understanding of meridians.

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.

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova last week visited Lumbini in southern Nepal, where she commended the work being carried out by an international initiative to conserve and develop the birthplace of the historical Buddha, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.

What happened to the plastic utensils that were left over after your last takeout meal? If you’re like most of us, they ended up being thrown out with the rest of the garbage, another by-product of our unsustainable, “disposable” society.

Yangon, Myanmar -- Sayadaw U Pandita, the well known Vipasanna meditation teacher and founder of Panditarama Centers, has passed away on the morning of April 16, 2016. He was 95.