From 13–14 March the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi paid an official visit to Sri Lanka, during which he visited several sacred Buddhist sites. The visit was the final leg of a three-nation tour, and the first by an Indian prime minister in 28 years.

An historic conclave that addressed the Vinaya (monastic discipline) was held in India’s capital, New Delhi, earlier this month. The two-day conference concluded on 19 March and was attended by HH the Dalai Lama, the former prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile Samdhong Rinpoche, Sri Lankan Buddhist leaders, and monks from both Tibet and Sri Lanka, including members of the Asgiri Chapter (a division of the Sri Lankan monastic order Siam Nikaya) and the president of the Mahabodhi Society.

Bangkok, Thailand -- Thai Buddhism is in crisis. Public faith is constantly eroded by wayward monks, their blatant abuse of the saffron robes, widespread laxity in monks' discipline, fierce competition for monastic ranks, and distortions of Buddhist teachings. 

Bangkok, Thailand -- AS THE world marks International Women's Day today, fair-minded people from around the globe will be celebrating the achievements of women and joining voices to call for greater equality in what is still, in many countries, a male-dominated society.

Upper Bhattu, Himachal Pradesh, India, 12 March 2015 - On his way to the Lungrik Jamphel Ling Institute at Palpung Sherabling this morning, His Holiness the Dalai Lama visited first the nuns’ retreat centre and then the Naro Meditation Centre, where monks are in retreat. In both places he recited brief consecration prayers. On reaching the newly constructed Lungrik Jamphel Ling Institute, with Tai Situ Rinpoche beside him, His Holiness cut the ribbon at the door and proceeded directly to the back of the hall where he recited consecrating verses before the statues of Marpa Lotsawa, Manjushri, Buddha Shakyamuni, Guru Rinpoche and Situ Panchen, Chökyi Jungney.

On 16 January and 13 February this year, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) in the USA conducted two mindfulness meditation retreats under the heading “The Practice of Mindfulness: A Retreat to Promote Self-Care for the Professional Nurse, Educator, and Leader, to Understand the Role of Mindfulness Meditation to Enhance the Delivery of Nursing Care.” Both sessions, which were held at the University Club and included mindful sitting, walking, and movement along with yoga and deep relaxation, were conducted by Pittsburgh-based psychologist Katie Hammond Holtz.

The founder of the Fo Guang Shan (Buddha’s Light Mountain) Buddhist order, Grand Master Hsing Yun, has just completed a one-week visit to Australia to officially launch the Nan Tien (Southern Paradise) Institute’s Wollongong campus.

Starting on 16 April, the University of Hamburg’s Numata Center for Buddhist Studies, in cooperation with the Women in Buddhism Study Initiative, is offering an online course on “Women in Indian Buddhism.” The course will explore the situation of women during different periods in the history of Indian Buddhism and compare it with other Indian religions. It consists of a series of 13 lectures by a group of international scholars, who will present their latest research.

Archaeologists in Jaipur District in the Indian state of Odisha have unearthed a number of ancient Buddhist sculptures. According to the Odisha Sun Times, the renowned Buddhist researcher and historian and the principal of Sahaspur College, Dr. Harish Chandra Prusty, discovered the sculptures on the premises of Baujang Naga mutt in Bikramtiran panchayat under Badachana block in Jaipur. The local daily reported that Dr. Prusty began his excavation and research of the premises after a 40-meter-square structure made of baked brick and stone was found. Following the discovery, Dr. Prusty told the Odisha Sun Times that the brick sculptures unearthed there bear a resemblance to others discovered in Udayagiri, Lalitgiri, Ratnagiri, Nalanda, Bodhgaya, Sarnath, and Nagarjunkonda, and can therefore be dated to the same period.

Ruth Denison, one of the first female vipassana teachers in America and the first Buddhist teacher in the United States to lead an all-female meditation retreat, passed away on the morning of 26 February at the age of 92. Denison suffered a stroke earlier this month, and spent her last days cared for by a small group of dedicated students at her Dhamma Dena vipassana center in California. In keeping with her end-of-life instructions, she received no medical intervention, including intravenous fluids.