buddhism

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. 

The future of the Dalai Lama, who has received shelter in India since Beijing launched a crackdown on Tibetans nearly 60 years ago, reportedly surfaced as the predominant subject of discussion between China and India at a recent summit as both sides try to mend their tumultuous relationship, according to a report in Indian media this week.

China’s state-run Global Times newspaper argued in a column Tuesday that banning all religious garments in public is necessary to achieve “social unity” and contended the act does not portray “religious hatred.”

Pope Francis told a Buddhist delegation from Thailand Wednesday that his desire was for Buddhists and Catholics to grow ever closer to each other.

Contents: Bangladesh formally protests Burma’s (Myanmar’s) troop buildup near border; April monsoon rains will have disastrous impact on Rohingya camps in Bangladesh

We have the duty to “expose attempts to justify every form of hatred in the name of religion,” Pope Francis told a group of political and religious leaders Friday, insisting that all religions want peace.

Contents: Burma makes farcical agreement with Bangladesh to take back Rohingya refugees; China proposes farcical three-point solution to Rohingya crisis; India and China support Burma on Rohingya ethnic cleansing for business reasons

Contents: Burma’s ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims passes a major milestone; Burma has possible parallels to Pol Pot’s Cambodian Killing Fields

The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a fiery response to the U.S. State Department’s accusations of flagrant religious freedom violations in its latest report on Wednesday, insisting America “mind its own business” and “respect the facts.”

The government of Myanmar arrested a Buddhist monk on Tuesday for hiding over four million methamphetamine pills and a cache of “a grenade and ammunition” in his monastery. The incident highlights one of the world’s most sprawling drug epidemics in a nation former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has regaled as an Obama White House success story.

A top Sunni theologian has faced backlash on social media after he praised Buddhism and described its founder as “one of the most humane characters in history.”

Local Chinese governments on the border with Mongolia have imposed new fees on companies exporting minerals from Mongolia into China, a move that closely follows Mongolia’s warm welcome of Dalai Lama.

Chinese communist officials have admitted that diminishing the influence of the Dalai Lama, the highest authority in Buddhism, is their “highest priority” for governing Tibet, as Chinese state media attempts to elevate the profile of a rival, state-approved Buddhism authority.

China is taking steps to at least partially demolish Larung Gar, described as “the biggest Tibetan Buddhist institute in the world” by the BBC.

President Barack Obama met with the Dalai Lama in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, much to China’s disappointment.

China is continuing its push to promote further communist government meddling in Buddhism. An article in the state-run Global Times cites an “expert” warning that the religion’s living Buddhas could become “weapons of mass destruction” if not properly controlled by Beijing.

It seems like a decision that might be rather long overdue, but the UK Guardian reports that Japan has decided to stop using swastikas to mark the location of Buddhist temples on maps.

Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, 65, a Tibetan monk and prominent political prisoner, died in Chinese captivity on Sunday. In 2002, he was arrested and imprisoned on a bombing charge his supporters claim was wrongful. The United States, European Union, and international human rights organizations all pushed for his release.

The UK’s Glastonbury music fest featured a slew of big names over the weekend, and although rapper Kanye West was describing himself as “the greatest living rock star on the planet” Saturday, the Dalai Lama spent Sunday calling for world peace.