buddhism

Chinese dictator Xi Jinping told his Politburo on Monday that tougher law enforcement in religious affairs was needed to complete the project of “Sinicizing” all faiths, which means making them all subordinate to the authority of the Chinese Communist Party.

A Chinese citizen with permanent residency in Australia was charged on Monday with covertly gathering information on an Australian Buddhist group and passing it along to the Public Security Bureau of China.

Chinese authorities over the weekend launched a probe against Shi Yongxin, abbot of the Shaolin Temple, on allegations of embezzlement, misappropriation of temple funds, sexual misconduct, and violation of Buddhist precepts.

A 35-year-old Thai woman named Wilawan Emsawat has been charged with extortion for allegedly recording herself while having sex with Buddhist monks, then threatening to make the photos and videos public unless she was paid off.

The Shaolin Temple in Henan province, China, confirmed on Tuesday that San Antonio Spurs player Victor Wembanyama was staying at the site for a ten-day retreat after photos of the NBA star wearing dressed as a monk and sporting a shaved head began circulating on Chinese social media.

Chinese officials have evicted over a thousand Tibetan monks and nuns from a 45-year-old Buddhist academy, ostensibly because they lacked the necessary residency documentation. 

Chinese dictator Xi Jinping met with Communist officials in Tibet after a bipartisan U.S. congressional group met the Dalai Lama.

The Vatican congratulated Buddhists this week for the feast of Vesak, insisting that the two faiths have a “shared responsibility” to promote peace, reconciliation, and resilience.

The Chinese Communist Party’s quest to dominate Tibetan Buddhism continued this week with a press conference on Thursday to assert that the communist regime will control the death of the Dalai Lama and not allow him to reincarnate outside of China.

Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, apologized on Monday after a viral video of him inviting a young boy to “suck my tongue” caused surprise and anger across the world. The Dalai Lama’s office insisted the incident was “innocent and playful.”

Hollywood superstar Richard Gere testified before Congress this week, and made the rounds with lawmakers, to condemn what he called China’s “genocide,” “crimes against humanity” and “longstanding brutality” in Tibet.

China’s state-run Global Times newspaper marked the Tibetan New Year, known as Losar, on Wednesday with a forceful declaration that the officially atheist Chinese Communist Party must have full control over the selection of the next Dalai Lama, the highest authority in Tibetan Buddhism.

Pope Francis urged a delegation of Cambodian Buddhists to conversion this week not to Christianity, but to environmental responsibility.

Police in India’s eastern Bihar state on Thursday detained a Chinese woman accused of spying and threatening the safety of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism.

The Chinese Communist government on Monday attempted to hijack the prestige of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) by holding a sideshow webinar at which hand-picked experts in “Living Buddha Reincarnation” agreed the next Dalai Lama should be selected by Beijing, rather than actual Tibetan Buddhists.

Pope Francis told a Buddhist delegation from Mongolia Saturday that Jesus and Buddha shared a common commitment to peace and nonviolence.

Chinese streaming services banned movies and videos featuring actor Keanu Reeves after he appeared in a virtual event hosted by Tibet House U.S., a nonprofit organization funded by the leader of Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama. Reeves’ name has also been censored from Chinese social media platforms.

Hollywood star Keanu Reeves is reportedly facing social media backlash in China after it was announced he will participate in a benefit concert for Tibet House U.S., the New York cultural center dedicated to Tibetan heritage.

A video published by Afghan media on Monday appears to show Taliban jihadists shooting at the remains of the Bamiyan Buddha statues, once the world’s tallest but bombed into oblivion by the Taliban during its previous rule in 2001.

Municipal workers in the Japanese city of Aizuwakamatsu hoisted a 77-pound mask onto the face of a giant Buddhist goddess statue on Tuesday as part of a prayer by the local Buddhist temple asking for an end to the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported on Thursday.

The Vatican’s office for interreligious dialogue called for greater collaboration between Christians and Buddhists this week, urging a “universal solidarity” among followers of different religions.

The government of Sri Lanka announced this weekend it would implement a nationwide ban on burqas, Islamic coverings for women that shield the entire face, arguing the garment presents “national security” risks.

Buddhist monks in Thailand have recently been spotted wearing custom sanitary masks and shields while collecting alms, in their attempt to protect themselves from the Chinese coronavirus, Thai media reports revealed Tuesday.

Religious freedom watchdog groups are accusing the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of using the Wuhan coronavirus epidemic as an opportunity to intensify their crackdown on religion, bulldozing some churches and placing others under heavy surveillance.

The United Nations Office in Geneva has allowed a Chinese government propaganda exhibit claiming ethnic Uyghurs in Xinjiang live in “religious harmony” under the Communist Party, a denial of overwhelming evidence China is undertaking a genocide campaign against the mostly Muslim minority.

A 400-year-old temple in Kyoto, Japan has installed a human-like robot to deliver the teachings of Buddha to worshipers. Foreigners are reportedly appalled, but the temple’s chief steward says that he hopes the robot will be the first of many found in Buddhist temples and that unlike Westerners, “Japanese people don’t possess any prejudices against robots.”

The Dalai Lama said Wednesday that if he is succeeded in his role as Buddhist leader by a woman she must be “attractive,” despite receiving pushback for similar comments he made in 2015.

China is paying Buddhists in Tibet to hang photos of Communist Party chief Xi Jinping as a means of subverting the grip the religion has among natives in the repressed province, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on Monday.

China’s campaign to “Sinicize” religion – that is, either make religions completely subordinate to the Communist Party (CCP) or wipe them out altogether – includes a campaign to “exterminate Buddha.”

Authorities continued imposing curfews Wednesday night in Sri Lanka after a wave of largely Sinhalese Buddhist led vandalism on Muslim businesses and mosques prompted a nationwide law enforcement effort to protect the nation’s Muslim minority.

“Both Buddhism and Christianity have taught that women and men are equal in dignity, and both have played an important role in the advancement of women,” said the Vatican’s department of interreligious dialogue in a letter released Saturday.

The Vatican’s office for Interreligious Dialogue announced the first-ever dialogue event between Buddhist and Christian Nuns this week.

The Dalai Lama played down recent allegations of historic sexual abuse at the hands of Buddhist teachers this weekend, saying that such claims are “nothing new.”

Compare and contrast two religious leaders. Which of these do you think most possesses the wisdom, courage, and conviction you’d hope for from the head of your faith?

China’s state-run Global Times newspaper announced a series of “grass-roots” measures to diminish the influence of religion in the lives of individuals, particularly designed to weaken “overseas influence” and manage “illegal” religious practices that do not promote communism.

School children in the traditionally Buddhist Chinese region of Tibet are prohibited from practising religious activities during the summer holidays, Chinese state media reported on Monday.