Once I allow myself to get into this kind of state, it takes me a while to “come down” again. After some time sitting at my desk and feeling agitated, I decided to go out into the garden. I walked slowly up the path, noticing the bang of my heart. I looked at the baby pink roses, the inner-most petals still holding onto drops of dew. I heard the clear song of a blackbird. I took a deep breath. And another. These are the things that help me when I get panicky.

In Buddhism, marriage is regarded as entirely a personal, individual concern and not as a religious duty.

Prepare for this meditation by doing a few minutes of breathing meditation (focus your attention on your breath) to calm your mind. Then bring your attention to the suffering that all sentient beings undergo: the sufferings of heat and cold, hunger and thirst. Just as you experience many sufferings, remember that all mother sentient beings experience suffering at least equal to--if not greater than--your own. Determine to undertake this practice in order to awaken your own buddha-nature, quickly attain enlightenment and lead all other sentient beings to that same state of permanent, lasting happiness.

Kyoto, Japan -- Reverend Takafumi Kawakami is a very modern priest. When I arrive at Shunkoin Zen Buddhist temple, hidden deep in Kyoto’s serene Myoshinji temple complex, we don’t discuss Buddhism; we talk about Twitter, specifically his recent tweet about the first signs of spring.

Cambridge, England, 19 April 2013 - His Holiness the Dalai Lama is a guest of the Global Scholars Symposium which allows current world leaders to interact with young academics who are striving to meet the great challenges of global society. He is staying in the Master’s Lodge of St John’s College, Cambridge and this morning walked through the College to the Divinity school to his first engagements of the day.

New Delhi, India -- The Government of India has recently removed Pali - an ancient classical language - as a subject from the main examination of the Civil Services (popularly known as Indian Administrative Services i.e. IAS) of India, 2013, which were  under the purview of the UPSC (Union Public service Commission).

Bern, Switzerland, 16 April 2013 - After several days in the predominantly French speaking part of Switzerland, today’s invitation to the University of Bern brought His Holiness the Dalai Lama to the country’s German speaking capital city. Prof Dr Martin Täuber, Rector of the University, received him as he arrived and introduced him to several colleagues before escorting him directly into the hall where he was to speak on the theme ‘Towards a Sustainable Future.’

Fribourg, Switzerland, 13 April 2013 - The Swiss countryside presented a bright countenance, green fields and woods rolling up to distant snow peaks, as His Holiness the Dalai Lama drove from his hotel on the banks of Lake Morat, to the Fribourg Forum. He was escorted by representatives of the organizers of the event to the stage in the hall before which upwards of 8000 people waited eagerly to hear him teach Atisha’s ‘Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment’. Although there was an ornate formal throne on the platform, His Holiness preferred to sit in an armchair, which he had brought closer to the stage’s edge, the better to see the faces of the audience. 

Rome, Italy - While much of the international focus was on Pope Francis delivering his first Urbi et Orbi Easter Sunday address in Piazza S. Pietro, another significant religious event was taking place in the suburbs to the east of the capital.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised 100-percent support for Russia’s Buddhists - representatives of one of the country’s four traditional religions that have seen a period of renaissance over the past decades.