Buddhism in the news: July 2012

The following is part of my monthly "Buddhism in the News" series, where I provide links to articles about Buddhism, along with news of prominent Buddhists and everyday laypeople. I am certain that I have not included everything, but have tried to provide a good sampling of current Buddhist happenings around the world. I welcome you to browse the linked articles below and read what interests you. Enjoy!

1. The Dalai Lama celebrates his 77th birthday This is a link to a post I have written about the 14th Dalai Lama's birthday celebration. Post includes links to various articles and a slideshow featuring the festivities.

2. 'Meaningful autonomy is the only realistic solution' Interview with the Dalai Lama in the Indian newspaper The Hindu. The interview focuses on the Dalai Lama's new role, China, and the issue of choosing the next Dalai Lama in the face of Chinese restrictions on the concept of 'reincarnation'.

3. Thailand tourists, Disney asked to show Buddha some respect A series of articles written about the commercialization of Buddhism and the Buddha in Thailand tourism and in movies. Articles are from CNN Global Experiences.

4. New Buddha site discovered Researchers have discovered Buddhavana, described by the Chinese scholar Xuanzang in the 7th century AD. It is an important site associated with the Buddhacarika, or sublime wandering of the Buddha. The Buddha is said to have stayed one night in a cave of the Buddhavana, near the present day Indian village of Ayer. As with many places in the Gaya district of Bihar, India, the Buddhavana and Ayer village are filled with Buddhist antiquities, many of which have
yet to be excavated and categorized. In addition, this second article also provides quite a few pictures of the ancient artifacts researchers and locals have gathered. Articles are from Times of India and the blog Nalanda- insatiable in offering.

5. Meditating Buddhist monk saddles up for London The story of a Japanese Buddhist monk's plans to participate in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. He and his family have a long tradition of both spiritual and equestrian pursuits! Article is from Agence France-Presse (AFP).

6. Taiwan to stage 1st same-sex Buddhist wedding First same-sex Buddhist wedding in Asia will be held August 11th at a Buddhist monastery in north Taiwan. The article features the experience of one of the two women to be married, and discusses the reaction from different segments of Taiwanese society. Article is from AFP.

7. Gateway to Myanmar's past, and its future A detailed article of the great wealth of Buddhist archeological treasures that now await foreign visitors and scholars as Myanmar opens it's doors to the outside world. Article is from New York Times.

8. A rare Buddhist ceremony in Queens, paid for with a life's savings Sherpa woman uses her life savings to sponsor Tibetan Buddhist monks in reading the Kangyur, or Tibetan-language version of Buddhist canons, in their entirety. The ceremony took over 40 days to complete. Article is from the New York Times.

and for just a little bit of crazy . . .

9. Alleged crossbow road-rager: I'm a Buddhist Bizarre story of how a road rage incident escalated when one man wielded a crossbow. It was later found on his facebook page that he described himself as "a Buddhist who holds tolerance in great importance". The moral of the story? Watch out for all those crazy Buddhists out there- They probably have crossbows, and they will mess you up! :) Story is from NBC Philadelphia.

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As always, please share your thoughts about whatever captured your interest in the comments. Also please let me know if I missed something important this month by providing the title of the article. I will google it and include it here, with credit to you! :) Finally, if you are reading this at a later date, please inform me of any dead links, since some newspapers post articles for a short time before archiving them. Thank you so much!

May all beings be happy!