A beloved Buddha statue in the Los Angeles neighborhood, Palms, has been vandalized with a sledgehammer for the fourth time, the LA Times reports. Last month, the Buddha statue was decapitated when a man in a white sedan pulled over and began destroying the statue with a sledgehammer. The statue, which sits on a traffic island at Jasmine Avenue and National Boulevard in [...]
Tibetan women’s soccer team becomes first female Tibetan sports team to play in international match
The Tibet Women’s Soccer team became the first female Tibetan team in any sport to play in an international match at the Vancouver International Soccer Festival on July 7. The team was originally meant to reach this milestone at the Dallas Cup in April, but were denied tourist visas to the United States by the US Embassy in New Delhi, as Lion’s Roar previously reported. The [...]
Beware of donation-seeking Facebook pages impersonating Buddhist teachers
Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche’s office reports that in January, a number of followers of his official Facebook page began receiving messages asking for monetary donations from a page imitating the Buddhist teacher. Ponlop Rinpoche's office sent out a notice warning followers of the official page of the scam and pointing out how to identify the fake page. After being reported, [...]
Buddhism & Ancestral Remembrance Ceremony to be held in London
The Amitabha Buddhist Society will hold its 2017 Buddhism & Ancestral Remembrance Ceremony, in London, UK from June 9-11, with a focus on "how the ancient virtues of respect, sincerity and humility can resolve conflicts and encourage social harmony." The three-day event at ExCeL London is free to attend, and will feature ancient rituals and ceremonies from the Pure Land [...]
Mandala Kitchens Project blends Zen, social work, and the culinary arts
Zen priest and former social worker Rev. Daiken Nelson is combining his passions to offer free culinary training to Harlem's unemployed. Rev. Daiken Nelson, a Zen Buddhist priest and former social worker, began offering free culinary training in Harlem last September to those who've faced employment challenges. His program, the Mandala Kitchens Project, is open to anyone, [...]
On Death Row, Creating Art from Pain
Despite the 5,000 miles between them, death row inmate "Moyo" and pen pal Maria Jain have come together to showcase his series of Buddha portraits in the exhibition “Buddhas on Death Row.” American Buddhist artist, Moyo, studies the image of the Buddha using a multitude of mediums. Purposeful strokes of prison-issued watercolor paint, jewel-toned ink, colored pencil, and [...]
Barbet Schroeder’s “chilling” documentary on Myanmar’s anti-Islam monk screens at Cannes
Swiss film director Barbet Schroeder's latest documentary on Myanmar's anti-Islam monk, Wirathu, screened at the Cannes Film Festival Saturday, providing a "chilling portrait" of ethnic cleansing in Myanmar, AFP reports. The Venerable W is the third installment of Schroeder’s "Axis of Evil" documentary trilogy. The two previous films in the series depict Ugandan dictator [...]
Celebrating Vesak, or “Buddha Day”
What makes this day special? Vesak, also known as “Buddha Day" fell on May 10 this year. It marks the birth, enlightenment, and death of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, born 2,600 years ago. These three significant events in the Buddha’s life are all said to have happened on the same day many years apart. Vesak is observed on different days year-to-year, as [...]
Meet the Rock Star Buddhist Nun Who Sings for Spiritual Freedom
Ani Choying Drolma talks to Lilly Greenblatt about the journey that brought her to international fame, and the real meaning behind her music. Ani Choying Drolma is known as Nepal’s “rock star Buddhist nun,” but her music isn’t meant to simply entertain or get your head banging. “There are two kinds of music,” says Drolma, “one that makes your mind jump out of itself, fly [...]
The Dalai Lama meets with U.S. lawmakers in Dharamsala
A U.S. Congressional delegation traveled to Dharamsala, India to meet with His Holiness the Dalai Lama Tuesday in an effort to draw attention to the human rights situation in Tibet, Reuters reports. The delegation of eight is led by the leader of the Democratic Party in the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, who previously met with His Holiness during the U.S. [...]