His Holiness the 103rd Gaden Tripa, Head of the Gelug School, Passes Away

By Craig Lewis Buddhistdoor Global 2017-04-24 

His Holiness the 103rd Gaden Tripa. From tibet.net

The 103rd Gaden Tripa, His Holiness Jetsun Lobsang Tenzin, the spiritual head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, has passed away at the age of 80, the Central Tibetan Administration announced. Rinpoche had recently been admitted to the intensive care unit of Max Hospital in New Delhi after several months of illness. 

Tibet and India: Buddhist Traditions and Transformations

Posted on 17 February 2017 by Buddhism Now

As Buddhism spread out from north India, the place of its origin in the sixth century BC, the core ideas of this great religious tradition were often expressed through images. This Bulletin and the exhibition it accompanies, “Tibet and India: Buddhist Traditions and Transformations,” focus on Indian and Tibetan Buddhist art of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, a period that witnessed both the end of the rich north Indian Buddhist tradition and the beginning of popular Buddhist practice in Tibet. At this critical juncture in Buddhist history, a number of Tibetan monks traveled down out of the Himalayas to study at the famed monasteries of north India, where many also set about translating the vast corpus of Buddhist texts.

Life in Red – the Long Journey to really being Daughters of the Buddha

Posted on July 12, 2016 by ayyayeshe

I ordained as a nun in the Tibetan tradition with a heart filled with inspiration. I wanted to become a Buddha and benefit all beings. Tibetan monastics were the happiest people I had seen, or at least it looked that way to me when I traveled through the Himalayas aged 17. Liberating oneself from mental confusion, egotism, and negative emotions, and trying to be a clear mirror for other confused beings too, seemed the best use of my life.

Dances of the Luminous Bardo

By Joseph Houseal Buddhistdoor Global  2017-01-06 

Dungtse Lhakhang, Paro, Bhutan, 14th century. File photo, 2016. Department of Transportation, Government of Bhutan

A most amazing mural is painted on a six-meter-high cylinder on the second floor of Dungtse Lhakhang in Paro, Bhutan. The temple was designed by the Tibetan yogic adept Thangtong Gyalpo, (1385–1481?) better known in legend and lore as The Iron Bridge Builder, a great engineer who erected iron-chain bridges across raging rivers throughout Bhutan. Dungtse Lhakhang has an unusual three-story structure, with a square ground floor, a circular second floor with a towering cylinder inside, and a third floor consisting of a square platform within a circle. The mural was commissioned in the 19th century by the 25th Je Khenpo, head abbot of all monks in Bhutan. It depicts a yogic vision of the after-death state centered on a wrathful form of Guru Padmasambhava known as Gong Due. 

Gathering of Intentions: A History of a Tibetan Tantra

Posted on 4 January 2017 by Buddhism Now

The Gathering of Intentions reads a single Tibetan Buddhist ritual system through the movements of Tibetan history, revealing the social and material dimensions of an ostensibly timeless tradition. By subjecting tantric practice to historical analysis, the book offers new insight into the origins of Tibetan Buddhism, the formation of its canons, the emergence of new lineages and ceremonies, and modern efforts to revitalize the religion by returning to its mythic origins.

Seda Larung Wuming Tibetan Buddhist Institute

The dormitories around the Seda Larung Wuming Tibetan Buddhist Institute—the world’s largest Buddhist academy—houses up to 40,000 nuns and monks. 

Tsoknyi Gechak School: A Transformative and Holistic Learning Experience for Young Nuns

By Raymond Lam   Buddhistdoor Global 2016-12-16 

Grade 1–5 registration and Rato Bangala Foundation graduation celebration. Image courtesy of Tsoknyi Gechak School

It is impossible to overstate the profound difference that Tsoknyi Rinpoche has made in the lives of the young nuns of Tsoknyi Gechak Ling, a nunnery on a hilltop outside Kathmandu. Many of them are attending or have graduated from the primary and lower secondary school of Tsoknyi Gechak School, which combines all the elements of a modern international curriculum to enrich the traditional Himalayan monastic studies. Before they enter the school, the girls (who are from poor subsistence farming households) are overwhelmingly shy and quiet. Tsoknyi Rinpoche feels extremely proud that after only a few years of nurture, they become unafraid of rising to challenges and are able to communicate confidently with outsiders.

Bridging Buddhism & Science, Emory Tibet Symposium, Day One

EIN News, Dec 18, 2016 Mundgod, Karnataka (India) -- Today, His Holiness the Dalai Lama elected to walk the relatively short distance between Drepung Lachi and Drepung Loseling. He greeted well-wishers along the way, as well as offering comfort to beggars who also vied for his attention. In the spacious Loseling assembly hall approximately 3000 monks, 260 nuns - including the 20 new Geshe-mas - local Tibetan school-children, and people from abroad were gathered to attend the first international Emory Tibet Symposium.

The country's first copper-domed Buddhist temple is being built in West Cork

by Seán Ó Riordan, Irish Examiner, November 13, 2016 West Cork, Ireland -- Building has started on the country’s first copper-domed Buddhist temple that’s expected to be completed by next October. Artist impression of the new Buddhist temple at Dzogchen Beara, Co Cork. The spectacular Tibetan-style temple, which will cost nearly €2m to complete, is being built overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in West Cork. The design is authentic, but bows to an Irish angle to accommodate views of the ocean rather than the Himalayan plateau.

Deepening Our Enduring Connections

October 2016.

Autumn leaves are turning red and gold here in New England, the High Holy Days are here and the Day of Death (Halloween) is approaching-- and my spiritual mind turns towards the poignancy of ageing and death. Perhaps it's because my Dad died in late august and my Mom in September. Or is my own later season approaching as well? Who knows? Life is tenuous. Lama says: Handle with prayer.

Hundreds of Tibetans Gather For Buddhist Teachings in China's Qinghai

Radio Free Asia, Sept 13, 2016

Qinghai, China -- Hundreds of Tibetan monks and laypeople coming from across northwestern China’s Qinghai have gathered this week at a Buddhist monastery in the province for a traditional eight-day period of religious teachings and debates, according to a Tibetan source living in the region.

This year’s Jang Gunchoe, or Winter Teaching, is being held at Tsigorthang (in Chinese, Xian) county’s Drakkar monastery, and began on Sept. 10, RFA’s source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“Hundreds of monks from four different schools of Tibetan Buddhism, and representing 48 different monasteries, are participating in the assembly,” the source said, naming the Buddhist schools represented at Drakkar as Geluk, Nyingma, Kagyu, and Jonang.

‘Kung Fu’ nuns bike Himalayas to oppose human trafficking

Reuters| September 16, 2016

This is the fourth such journey they have made, meeting local 
people, government officials and religious leaders to spread 
messages of gender equality, peaceful co-existence and respect 
for the environment.

NEW DELHI: Clad in black sweatpants, red jackets and white helmets, 
the hundreds of cyclists pedaling the treacherously steep, narrow 
mountain passes to India from Nepal could be mistaken for a Himalayan 
version of the Tour de France.

Exclusive Interview: The 17th Karmapa and the Buddhist Nuns of the Tibetan tradition

By Dominique Butet; images, Olivier Adam Buddhistdoor Global  2016-08-19 

His Holiness the Karmapa in Paris, 2016

Our initial motive for documenting the lives of Tibetan Buddhist nuns through our photography stemmed from the fact that for many years, the Western world has largely ignored their very existence. Other aspects have since emerged that have enriched this documentary approach as the question of gender equality was being played out before our very eyes with regard to the gradual emancipation of nuns through improved access to education and progressive changes to their status in society.

Buddha Maitreya

Doncaster’s Buddhist centre offers an island of calm in the storm

Doncaster Free Press, Aug 18, 2016

Doncaster, UK -- As the sun rises each morning a group of Buddhists gather to clear their minds and meditate at a unique place of worship on a remote island.

<< Lama Oser, reisdent teacher, pictured. Picture: Marie Caley NDFP Gomde MC 

You could be forgiven for thinking this serene scene is in some far off exotic land in the Far East.

But far from it - we are actually in a former farmhouse on the outskirts of Doncaster.

Meet The Fourth-Grader Recognized As A Reincarnation Of A Buddhist Lama

by Carol Kuruvilla, The Huffington Post, Aug 17, 2016

Jalue Dorje likes soccer, Pokemon cards, and praying for people.

Minneapolis, Minnesota (USA) -- Jalue Dorje is a 9-year-old from the suburbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota. His life is filled with the typical past times of a soon-to-be fourth-grader: collecting Pokemon cards, playing soccer, watching shows on his laptop.

But Dorje also has responsibilities of a more spiritual nature. Along with perfecting his swimming strokes in the pool, the young boy spends his summer vacations learning Tibetan Buddhist mantras, practicing religious calligraphy, and attending ceremonies. 

First batch of Geshema aspirants sit for final exams

By Tenzin Monlam [Monday, May 02, 2016 10:28]

Gaden Choeling nunnery, May 1, 2016 Phayu  Photo: Kunsang Gashon DHARAMSHALA, May 1: The fourth and final examination for the first ever batch of 20 nuns aspiring for Geshema degree began on Sunday at the Gaden Choeling Nunnery here in McLeod Ganj.

Minnesota's first 'little lama' studies Buddhist faith (and loves Pokemon)

By Allie Shah, Star Tribune, April 30, 2016

A Minnesota boy believed by many to be a reincarnated lama takes a key step along his predestined path.

St. Paul, MN (USA) -- The little lama was on the cusp of a very big moment.

Jalue Dorjee,9, presided over a religious ceremony at the Tibetan American Foundation in St. Paul where he was the guest of honor.

All week, the 9-year-old monk — believed by many Tibetan Buddhists to be a reincarnated guru — had been preparing to deliver his first public speech. Finally, on a rainy night in St. Paul, Jalue Dorjee faced a slew of cameras and hundreds of hopeful faces.

Decoding Buddhist prayer flags

Garvita Sharma, TNN, Dec 11, 2015

Dharmsala, India -- If you are a mountain person and the Himalayas fascinate you, there's no way you haven't been intrigued by the Buddhist prayer flags.

Tibetan Buddhist prayer flags
Bright coloured blocks of cloth strung along your way with inscriptions have become a common sight of late and an inclusion to your homes and vehicles to bring in positivity. Here's decoding the Buddhist Prayer Flags that lend a vibrant dash of hue to the snow-clad mountains.

Tibet after the Dalai Lama

An exiled Tibetan government official paying his respects to the Dalai Lama, as Tibetans gathered to celebrate his 80th birthday in Dharmsala, India, yesterday. 

BY BRAHMA CHELLANEY
PUBLISHED: 4:16 AM, JULY 7, 2015

On the 80th birthday of the 14th Dalai Lama, who has been in exile in India since 1959, Tibet’s future looks more uncertain than ever. During his reign, the current Dalai Lama has seen his homeland — the world’s largest and highest plateau —lose its independence to China. Once he dies, China is likely to install a puppet as his successor, potentially eroding the institution.

China already appointed its pawn to the second-highest position in Tibetan Buddhism, the Panchen Lama, in 1995, after abducting the Tibetans’ six-year-old appointee, who had just been confirmed by the Dalai Lama. Twenty years later, the rightful Panchen Lama now ranks among the world’s longest-serving political prisoners. China also appointed the Tibetans’ third-highest religious figure, the Karmapa; but in 1999, at age 14, he fled to India.

This year marks one more meaningful anniversary for Tibet: The 50th anniversary of the founding of what China calls the Tibet Autonomous Region. The name is highly misleading.