China spares Tibetan monk

BBC, Jan 26, 2005

China has commuted a death sentence for prominent Tibetan monk Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche to life imprisonment.

Beijing , China -- Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche's sentencing in 2002 sparked international concern, after rights groups said the case against him was seriously flawed.

Homage to the founder of Tibetan Buddhism in China

by Harry Bhaskara, Jakarta Post, Dec 26, 2004

Beijing, China -- Why are there so many monasteries in China? A very long history of Buddhism is one reason. Buddhism was founded in India in 500 B.C. and came to China around 65 A.D.

Diary of monk Kawaguchi, 1st Japanese visitor to Tibet, found

Kyodo, December 24, 2004

Tokyo, Japan -- A diary of Ekai Kawaguchi (1866-1945), a monk who in 1900 became the first Japanese visitor to Tibet and left a travelogue in English, has been found at the home of his niece Mie Miyata in Tokyo.

World should thank Buddhists for Christmas

AFP, Dec 22, 2004

Shanghai, China -- Father Christmas?s grotto is not an icy cave in Lapland but the economic heart of southern China, where almost two-thirds of the world?s Christmas trees and decorations are made.

China embraces traditional ways as it throws out communist ideologies

Channel News Asia, Dec 16, 2004

TIANJIN, China -- As a priest clad in a Qing Dynasty robe sounded the drum in Tianjin's 568-year-old Temple of Confucius, hundreds of worshippers bowed in unison to a shrine laden with offerings and billowing with incense.

Monks run off with $4m

Electric New Paper, Dec 3, 2004

Taipei, Taiwan -- THE money was meant to go towards making a film based on the legendary tale of a monk's 'Journey to the West'. But just as filming was about to begin, the war chests were discovered to be empty.

Shanghai's Buddhist monastery expanded

Xinhuanet, Nov 24, 2004

BEIJING, China -- The most popular Buddhist temple in the city is back in use after its largest expansion ever, China Daily reported Wednesday. The expansion cost 130 million yuan (US$15.7 million).

Shaolin temple overrun by tourists

The Straits Times, Nov 22, 2004

Luoyang, China -- EVERY morning as a new fleet of buses unloads tourists at the Shaolin temple, Mr Li Yaojin thinks wistfully about the peaceful days two decades ago when he first arrived as a Buddhist novice.

Greater respect for lives of animals urged

By Chiu Yu-Tzu, TAIPEI TIMES STAFF REPORTER, Nov 05, 2004

Taipei, Taiwan -- Animal conservationists and religious figures say more must be done to promote respect for the lives of animals. Shih Chuan-fa (釋傳法), who is secretary-general of the Life Conservationist Association (LCA) yesterday criticized the Council of Agricul-ture's decision to put down 28 protected parrots smuggled from Indonesia without waiting for the results of avian flu virus tests on the birds.

Freeing captured birds criticized

By Chiu Yu-Tzu, TAIPEI TIMES STAFF REPORTER, Nov 03, 2004

CRUEL PRACTICE: The custom of setting birds free to improve one's karma is well-intended. But it has led to the rise of a brutal and inhumane birdcatching business