Seoul, South Korea -- With the increasing popularity of Buddhism and Zen culture across the globe, especially in the West, there had been a surge of interest in Buddhist iconographies and statues.With this trend, many fashion and contemporary items, and various businesses tried to profit by implementing images of the Buddha within their merchandise and branding. The Buddhist community across the globe have been continuously insulted and outraged by the mistreatment and casual use of Buddhist iconographies as trendy and fashionable items by these businesses.

Although legally not yet recognized in Thailand, a small but determined group of Buddhist nuns who were ordained in Sri Lanka are blowing a strong wind of change across both social and spiritual aspects of the sangha as they struggle to establish a bhikkhuni order in Thailand. Venerable Dhammananda Bhikkhuni, who ordained in Sri Lanka in 2003 and was Thailand’s first fully ordained Theravada nun, observes that 2,500 years ago the Buddha established a fourfold order—monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen—through which to disseminate his teachings, but “we are now sitting on just three legs.” (Associated Press)

A new Buddhism-inspired work by alternative classical composer Phillip Bimstein, “The Brahma Viharas, A Meditation for English Horn and Orchestra,” which aims to express the “Four Immeasurables” or Buddhist practices of loving kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity, will have its worldwide premiere on Saturday by the Salt Lake Symphony.

The Buddhist understanding of the illusory nature of a constant, unchanging sense of self, first posited thousands of years ago, has been validated by recent neuro-scientific research. And while neuroscience cannot yet offer a definitive answer as to exactly how consciousness relates to the brain, some cognitive scientists have begun to reference Buddhist thought in their research.  

His Holiness the Dalai Lama kicked off a nine-day trip to the United Kingdom on Monday with a visit to Magdalen College in Oxford. He addressed a number of groups during the day, stressing throughout the overriding need for fundamental change in the world and the obligation each of us bears to effect it. “Too much exploitation, too much corruption, lying, cheating. All these, you see, are our own creation,” he said.

Having achieved its original goal of preserving an enormous body of the most important textual sources of Tibetan Buddhism, the Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center (TBRC) is now looking to expand the scope of its work to ensure that Buddhist texts from all traditions are digitally secure, searchable, and accessible.

A senior Chinese official said at a press conference on Sunday that Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the now-26-year-old man who vanished 20 years ago after being recognized by His Holiness the Dalai Lama as the 11th Panchen Lama, is well and living a normal life. The official did not say where the man was living.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama began four days of Buddhist teachings in Dharamsala on Monday at the request of devotees from Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The teachings are being held in the Tsuglagkhang Complex, the Dalai Lama’s official residence, and will run until 10 September. More than 6,000 people from 70 countries are attending, including more than 800 people from Southeast Asia.

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has been making waves among commentators, analysts, and Buddhism watchers for his unusually active incorporation of Buddhism into his cultural diplomacy. In May, he embarked on a closely observed trip to China, posing with Chinese president Xi Jinping at Giant Wild Goose Pagoda and Daxingshan Temple, symbolic and spiritual epicenters of the Buddhist Silk Road. He was also the chief guest at the recent conference “Samvad—A Global Hindu-Buddhist Initiative on Conflict Avoidance and Environment Consciousness,” held in New Delhi and Bodh Gaya from 3–4 September. This conference, organized by the Vivekananda International Foundation in association with the Tokyo Foundation and International Buddhist Confederation, is only one component of a purported “Hindu-Buddhist thrust” that Modi is balancing delicately with his preoccupation with China (some Chinese delegates were invited but did not attend).

Clatskanie, Ore (USA) -- When parents lose a child, there are rituals to mark their grief - holding funerals, sitting shiva, bringing casseroles. But when that loss happens before birth, it often isn't marked. Sometimes, it's barely even mentioned. It's different in Japan, which has a traditional Buddhist ceremony that some Americans are adopting as their own.