Ordinands chant and reverentially salute on the grounds of the Golden Pagoda on the outskirts of Bangkok during the mass lay-ordination at Dhammakaya Temple, Pathumthani province, central Thailand on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009. More than 7,000 men from the provinces throughout the country temporarily ordained as Buddhist monks in a ceremony on Saturday. The newly ordained Buddhist monks will practice Buddhist teachings at rural monasteries until the end of Buddhist "lent" (the Rains Retreat known as Vassa), which this year ends on October 4 (AP/Apichart Weerawong)
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, center, walks with Russian Buddhist monks outside the biggest Russian Buddhist Monastery in the village of Verkhnaya Ivolga, Siberia, Monday, Aug. 24, 2009 (AP/RIA Novosti, Dmitry Astakhov, Presidential Press Service). MORE PHOTOS
To give the teachings of the Buddha is the most precious gift a Buddhist can offer (Otago Daily Times, 8/28/09).
Two sisters who run a suburban nail shop were convicted Wednesday of aggravated battery after a judge found that they threatened their landlord with a $1 novelty lighter shaped like a gun. The sisters claimed they were using it to light candles for a Buddhist prayer ceremony (Chicago Tribune, 8/27/09).
A group of Buddhist monks from Laos strolled the beach at the Salem Willows on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009. They were taking a day trip from Wat Lao Mixayaram Temple in Lowell (The Salem Gazette, 8/27/09).
Completion of 2,500 years of the Buddhist era (Buddha Jayanti) fell on Vesak in 1956. To commemorate this unique event, Buddhists all over the world drew up programs to celebrate the occasion in a fitting manner (Daily News, 8/27/09).
A Buddhist nun and Kung fu master in China has towed eight cars using just her plait (BigPond News, 8/26/09).
Hawaii's largest Buddhist denomination will take its anniversary celebration out of the temple and into the community next week (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 8/29/09).
Japan Prepares for a Change in Election
Polls show that the main opposition Democratic Party is likely to win over 300 of the 480 seats being contested on Sunday, giving it the majority needed to choose the next prime minister (International Herald Tribune, 8/29/09).
TAIPEI, Taiwan - China experts in Taiwan on Saturday downplayed the risks to China-Taiwan relations from the upcoming visit to Taiwan by Tibetan Buddhist leader the Dalai Lama. According to Lin Chung-pin, a China expert at Tamkang University, the four-day... (EARTHtimes.org, 8/29/09).
Museum of Chinese in America gets a new home
In cramped tenement-like quarters in Chinatown, staff at the Museum of Chinese in America had to be careful not to step on any schoolchildren as they taught a class about the role Chinese immigrants played in building the Transcontinental Railroad (AP via Yahoo! News, 8/29/09).
