The Buddha was carved from a massive high-quality jade boulder unearthed in Canada in 2000. After almost a decade-long journey around the world, a giant Buddha carved from a single piece of jade has arrived home at the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, near Bendigo, Australia. The Jade Buddha of Universal Peace was carved from an 18-tonne boulder discovered in Yukon, [...]
Trungram Gyalwa Rinpoche opens $17M wellbeing center in Upstate New York
The 22,000-square-foot center nests on ninety acres of hillside in the Hudson Valley. Dharmakaya, a non-profit Buddhist organization, recently opened the $17 million Dharmakaya Center for Wellbeing in rural Pine Bush, New York. Trungram Gyalwa Rinpoche — founder of Dharmakaya and head of the Trungram lineage in the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism — established the [...]
Tibetan Calligraphy Day to be celebrated On April 30
Latse Library will host the first celebration of Tibetan Calligraphy Day in New York on April 29. Latse Library, a research library for Tibetan studies, will celebrate “Tibetan Calligraphy Day in NYC” with an exhibition featuring more than 15 Tibetan calligraphy artworks from Tibet, India, North America, and Europe. “The purpose of the festival is to share with a wider [...]
Homeland Security prepares to expel 9,000 Nepali immigrants granted protection after 2015 earthquake
After June 2019, Nepali immigrants with temporary protection status may face deportation. The Department of Homeland Security will end special protections for Nepali immigrants, giving them a one-year grace period to leave the US before June 24 2019. The Nepalis were granted temporary protection status (TPS) after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake shook Nepal in April 2015, [...]
Google digitally preserves ancient Buddhist sites in virtual reality
The project was inspired by the destruction of the monumental Bamiyan Buddha statues by the Taliban in 2001. Google has collaborated with CyArk, a California-based nonprofit, to preserve heritage sites in online 3D libraries. The Open Heritage project has posted 3D models of 26 heritage locations in 18 countries, including ancient Buddhist temples at Bagan in Myanmar and three [...]
Irish Buddhist Union established to represent Buddhists in Irish society
The newly-formed union is the first organization speaking on behalf of Irish Buddhists. Seven sanghas have come together to establish the Irish Buddhist Union (IBU), a new organization that will represent Buddhist ideals and principles in Irish society. “The IBU intends to lobby government to ensure that the Buddhist point of view is included in areas such as religious [...]
Sam Hamill, poet, translator, and publisher, dies at 75
Sam Hamill, poet, translator, and co-founding editor of Copper Canyon Press, died on April 14 at his home in Washington at age 75. Born in 1943, Hamill was raised on a farm in Utah where he developed a growing interest in Beat poetry. Hamill’s early experiences with violence, theft, and jail led to a judge-ordered enlistment in the Marine Corps. While enlisted, he [...]
Farm animals find new life as Buddhists rescue them from slaughter
Inspired by the Buddhist practice of “life release,” Buddhist communities are coming up with innovative ways of saving animals from slaughter. Last year, Lingtrul Rinpoche fundraised $34,000 to save 318 goats from slaughter. This year, the main organizer for the campaign, Isis Hao, is once again fundraising to save as many goats as possible. Lingtrul Rinpoche uses the [...]
Refuge Recovery addresses sexual misconduct allegations against founder Noah Levine
On April 4, the board of directors of Refuge Recovery emailed an "international sangha bulletin" to its community to address the allegations of sexual misconduct against its founder, Buddhist teacher Noah Levine. The letter says that Levine has taken a leave of absence from his role as president of the Refuge Recovery board. It also states that the Los Angeles Police [...]
Against the Stream to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct by Noah Levine; results expected within a month
In the latest allegation of sexual misconduct against a prominent Buddhist teacher, the Los Angeles-based Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society (ATS) on March 29 released a statement addressing allegations of sexual misconduct by its founding teacher Noah Levine; Levine addressed the matter via an email message the next morning. Update, April 20, 2018: Against the [...]
