The FPMT’s (Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition) Liberation Prison Project (LPP) celebrated the end of 2014 with a film night at the Vajrayana Institute in Sydney on 14 December. Attended by more than 50 enthusiastic Buddhist practitioners, the night was a resounding success. The main attraction was the screening of the movie Milarepa: Magician, Murderer, Saint, an appropriate choice in view of the LPP’s extraordinary work in helping prison inmates transform their lives. The LPP regularly holds film nights to bring awareness to its programs and the successes of its students.

Over the last two months, America has struggled with its identity concerning racial and religious prejudice, highlighted by a national dialogue over the killings of several unarmed ethnic minorities by police officers. Currently, in relation to the Charlie Hebdo shootings, the world is looking at how society and the individuals within it bring prejudices into their relationships. Much light has been shed in the last decade on the benefits of Buddhist-derived mindfulness meditation and its application in a wide range of mental and physical health conditions. In a timely fashion, on 24 November 2014 researchers at Central Michigan University released the findings of a study on the effects of mindfulness meditation on preconceived out-group bias.

The Centre of Buddhist Studies (CBS) at The University of Hong Kong is inviting enrolments from prospective students for its Master of Buddhist Studies program.

The first week of January 2015 marked a significant archeological discovery in India. A number of ancient Buddhist artifacts were found at Phanigiri, an old Buddhist site of learning, in the district of Nalgonda, Telangana State, in southern India.

Kolkata, W. Bengal, India, 12 January 2015 - It was a cold, overcast morning today as His Holiness the Dalai Lama drove to the airport in Delhi to fly to Kolkata. He was warmly received on arrival at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport and driven into the city.

From 3–6 January, the Tibetan Buddhist Rimé Institute (TBRI) held its second annual Six Bardos Summer Retreat at the beautiful Maitripa Centre, located 90 minutes east of Melbourne.

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche is a well-known teacher in the Vajrayana tradition of Buddhism. Born in Bhutan and now based in Bir in Himachal Pradesh, India, he gives teachings all over the world. His projects include Siddhartha’s Intent, which organizes, distributes, and archives his teachings; Khyentse Foundation, which provides the financial support necessary to fulfill his aspirations; 84000, which oversees the translation of the Word of the Buddha into modern languages; Lotus Outreach, which directs a wide range of projects to help refugees; and most recently The Lhomon Society, which promotes sustainable development in Bhutan through education. Frances McDonald recently caught up with him in Bali.

His Eminence Luding Khen Rinpoche, of the Sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, is currently in Australia on a seven-week teaching tour. Having arrived on 25 December 2014, he will stay in Australia until 15 February 2015.

“I want to enjoy this—let’s just see where the conversation takes us,” were Ratnadevi’s words as we sat down to begin this interview. And that sums up why I want to give you a glimpse into my yoga teacher's wisdom, which is a combination of acceptance, curiosity, and joy. “Changing the qualities of our days is the highest of the arts,” Ratnadevi says, quoting the 19th-century poet and philosopher Thoreau. She speaks of changing the qualities of our own days from being self-obsessed and worried to becoming more playful, spacious, and curious. She approaches both her own life and her yoga practice in this way.

It is already more than a year since Saddhaloka Bhikkhu passed away. He is still greatly missed by all his students, past and present, and by all his friends. His loss is felt particularly keenly by Hong Kong’s Vietnamese community, whom he dedicated many years of his life to serving. On 23 November 2014, the Vietnamese Buddhist community held a memorial ceremony for him at the eponymous Saddhaloka Temple on Hong Kong’s Tsing Yi Island. They have also compiled a bilingual (Vietnamese and English) book in memory of him, full of photographs and moving recollections.