China: Buddhist monk master resigns after sexual misconduct allegations

One of China’s highest-ranking Buddhist monks quit as the head of the country’s Buddhist association on Wednesday after facing a government investigation over accusations of sexual misconduct. The abbot of Longquan Temple on the outskirts of Beijing, who is also a member of the Communist Party’s top political advisory body, has denied accusations of harassing […]

Sri Lanka: Buddhist monk jailed for inciting violence against Muslims

A Sri Lankan court on Wednesday handed a six-year jail term to a Buddhist monk accused of inciting violence against Muslims, holding him guilty of contempt just months after he was convicted of intimidating the wife of a missing journalist. The monk, Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara, leads the hardline Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) or “Buddhist Power […]

Thai cave boys adopt saffron robes of Buddhist novices to honour dead rescuer

Eleven boys from a football team rescued from a flooded Thai cave in a drama that gripped global audiences were ordained as Buddhist novices on Wednesday in memory of a volunteer diver who died during their rescue. Dressed in white robes, the boys and their 25-year-old coach, Ekapol Chanthawong, arrived at the Wat Phra That […]

Why was a Buddhist man attacked and accused of being an ISIS terrorist?

On a July evening in Plymouth, Jak Burgess, 20, boarded a bus heading towards the city centre with friends, and sat next to a Buddhist man of Sri Lankan origin. Within seconds, Burgess accused him being a member of ISIS who intended to bomb the bus. An accusation that turned to violence in a paroxysm of racist rage. Perturbed, the bus driver stopped the vehicle, and helped the Buddhist man downstairs. His attacker followed. And his tone grew more aggressive when the Buddhist man refused to shake his hand. A police appeal soon bore positive results. And Jak Burgess admitted the racially aggravated charge. He then failed to attend his sentencing hearing earlier this month. Now Plymouth Magistrates’ Court have issued a warrant for his arrest. The question remains: how do you account for this incident? One explanation concerns racialisation. It is in the assumption of Muslim identity based on ethnicity. Racialisation also impacts white converts to Islam. This owes in part to their expressions of religiosity. In a broader sense, religious conversion creates a fundamental shift in how a person views the world. A study of British converts to Islam published in 1996 found that it created an identity [...]

The post Why was a Buddhist man attacked and accused of being an ISIS terrorist? appeared first on Religious Reader.

Buddhist monks in Bangladesh feed hundreds of Muslims during Ramadan

Buddhist monks in Dhaka, Bangladesh are distributing food parcels to Muslims this Ramadan. Outside the Dhammarajika Monastery, in the Basabo neighbourhood, monks distribute hundreds of iftar parcels. Suddhananda Mahathero, the monastery’s head monk told the AFP: “Buddhism taught us that serving humanity is the ultimate religion. We are feeding the poor Muslims who cannot afford to buy proper meals to break their fast”. Some individuals travelled several kilometers on foot to cue for food. When the AFP observed, over 300 Muslims sought food parcels. A measured police presence ensures peaceful transactions. Muslims in Bangladesh colour the majority of the country’s religious makeup (86.6 per cent). The noted Buddhist minority mainly occupies the southern regions (near the border with Myanmar). In 2012, in the southeast of Bangladesh, Muslims protested a blasphemous image on Facebook. Rumour spread that the individual responsible was Buddhist. In response, protesters burnt at least four Buddhist temples and 15 homes of Buddhists. As some sought to ease community tensions, Amnesty International condemned the violence.

The post Buddhist monks in Bangladesh feed hundreds of Muslims during Ramadan appeared first on Religious Reader.

Buddhist actor mistaken for terrorist on Paris plane

A Buddhist was mistaken for a terrorist as he meditated to a sacred Tibetan text aboard a Paris plane. Alarmed passengers notified staff and Portuguese actor Heitor Lourenco, 47, found himself under arrest. Lourenco told SIC television, “Police told me that I had been denounced as a terrorism suspect aboard the plane because I was reciting the Koran aloud, that I was reading a text involving words ‘death’ and ‘bomb'”. In reality, the text contained Tibetan characters and a timer to calculate meditation time. Lourenco accessed it via his tablet device. Police detained Lourenco for six hours before uncovering his acting credentials. Officers confirmed his Buddhist beliefs via Wikipedia.

The post Buddhist actor mistaken for terrorist on Paris plane appeared first on Religious Reader.