Each year in October, throngs of Dalits, members of India’s “untouchable” Scheduled Castes, across the subcontinent undergo a deeksha (initiation ceremony) to formally convert to Buddhism. These
His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa has voiced concern over the growing impact on water rights—particularly in Himalayan communities—stemming from climate change, observing that aberrant weather
It is commonly held that converting to a religion for reasons other than personal spiritual conviction or awakening is unethical and unseemly. Reading about Christian
Mutual amazement at what the other does not find extraordinary is a situation I regularly encounter when speaking with monk dancers. They usually cannot believe
Fifty years ago, an English woman, Freda Bedi, became one of the first Westerners to be ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun some time after
This article is published to coincide with the birthday of Trulshik Rinpoche’s yangsi on 25 July. Kyabje Trulshik Rinpoche, Ngawang Chökyi Lodro (1924–2011), was the incarnation of
Researching endangered dance traditions as I do, it is usual to chronicle the problems, challenges of discovery, along with the qualities of vanishing practices. So
There are many exciting aspects to Chinese president Xi Jinping’s ambitious development framework known as “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR).* A Eurasian economic resurgence could
Preceding the 2560th Buddha Jayanti celebration held on 21 May in Lumbini, Nepal, which was attended by more than 1,200 delegates from Nepal and overseas,
The walls have been covered in yellow silk, hiding the shrine. Six large, round tables stand where the monks usually sit to do pujas. The
The fourth Geshema examination began on Sunday at Gaden Choeling Nunnery in Dharamsala, in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.
The story of early Chinese Buddhism is often considered as beginning with the arrival of the monk Kumarajiva (334–413), whose translation of Buddhist scriptures from
