Bogus monks are rightly scorned and loathed by the Hong Kong community

by Raymond Lam, Buddhistdoor International, Feb 25, 2013

Hong Kong, China -- It is a familiar story to any resident in Hong Kong – the peculiar sight of a monk wandering around begging for alms, regardless of the time of day.

Buddhist temples in Japan joining matchmaking boom

PTI, Mar 21 2013

Wakayama, Japan -- An increasing number of Buddhist temples have been joining the match making boom of recent years in Japan.

Another tragic self-immolation has occurred in Tibet

by HAROLD MANDE, The Examiner, March 16, 2013

Dharmsala, India -- The tensions in Tibet have continued on a daily basis with another self-immolation having occurred. On March 16, 2013, Phayul.com has reported, "Breaking: Kirti monk marks March 16 with self-immolation, Toll rises to 108". At the anniversary of five years since the 2008 peaceful protests in Tibet, a Tibetan monk in Ngaba region of eastern Tibet has become the 108th Tibetan living under China’s rule to self-immolate.

Japan to demand that South Korea return stolen Buddhist statues

Japan Times, Feb 28, 2013

Kyoto, Japan -- The government will demand that South Korea swiftly return two Buddhist statues that were stolen last year from a temple on the Nagasaki Prefecture island of Tsushima, which is situated about halfway between the two countries, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Wednesday.

China arrests 5 Tibetans, mostly Buddhist monks, whom it accuses of inciting self-immolations

Associated Press, February 27, 2013

BEIJING, China -- Chinese police arrested five Tibetans, mostly Buddhist monks, whom they allege worked at the behest of foreign forces to persuade three people to set themselves on fire in anti-Beijing protests.

Hong Kong: Call for visa crackdown on bogus Buddhist monks

South Morning China Post, 24 February, 2013

Police want immigration to crack down on bogus Buddhist monks working as beggars in the same way that they deal with prostitutes

Hong Kong, China -- Mainland beggars masquerading as Buddhist monks should be treated the same as prostitutes, and the immigration authorities should crack down on the practice, according to police.

Gigantic Buddha tangka unfolds at Labrang Monastery

Xinhua, Feb 24, 2013

Xiahe, China -- The Labrang Thangka Festival is an important festival at the old Labrang Monastery that was one of the six leading monasteries of the Geluk tradition of Tibet.

China shuts down temples on sacred Buddhist site Mount Wutai

AFP, February 17, 2013

Mt. Wutai, China -- CHINA has shut down two temples on a sacred Buddhist mountain and arrested six people after fake monks reportedly deceived tourists into donating money.

Mongolia: Preservation Challenges Confront Trove of Buddhist Texts

by Pearly Jacob, Eurasia News, February 13, 2013

^{Ulan Bator -- Scholars believe it to be the world’s largest treasury of ancient Buddhist texts. The sheer immensity of the collection held in the National Library of Mongolia has prevented a proper tally to date.}

Young monks pitch new ways to teach old values

By HIROSHI MATSUBARA, AJW, February 09, 2013

Tokyo, Japan -- Put it down to good karma. More than 100 curious citizens
applied over the Internet for the chance to feast on vegetarian fare at the
table of Kakuho Aoe, chief monk of the Ryokusenji temple in Tokyo’s
Asakusa district.