Above is the giant Leshan Buddha built during the Tang Dynasty around the seventh century.  It is carved where the Minjiang, Dadu and Qingyi rivers in the southern part of the Sichuan province of China meet. The giant stone Buddha faces toward Mount Eimi and the rivers flow below his feet. It is the largest stone Buddha carving on the planet.

Related articles about China and Buddhism

• Tang returns to face justice in alleged fraud (thestar.com)
• Show of Peace Beijing Rock Concert a Sign of China Thaw? (time.com)
• Shaq at the Shaolin Temple (boingboing.net)
• Variations in the Buddhist Faith (Article)

Indigenous medicine, also known as folk medicine, is comprised of medical knowledge systems that developed before the era of modern science-based medicine. Just about every socity on earth have folk medicine ranging from your fathers cure for hangovers to a shamans herbal cures for diseases and folk medicine is usually passed down from generation to generation. Even today we can se modern variants of “folk medicine”, i.e. Read the rest of this entry

PBS has an interesting piece on the environmental movement that’s growing in Thailand and the role of the “tree monks,” a group of Thai monks who are championing ecological conservation in the country.

Watch the video here

Tibetan Buddhism is considered as the guardian of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, a paradise for diverse species, with its rigorous doctrines.

“The Tibetan Buddhism stresses the harmony between humans and the nature. Despite harsh natural conditions, however, Tibet has done a good job in environmental protection. This has much to do with the Tibetan Buddhist dogmas requiring quietness during self-cultivation in order to better merge oneself with the nature,” said Cao Ziqiang, 75, former vice president of the High-Level Tibetan Buddhism College of China.

The plateau has offered this religion an ideal environment for its expansion. There, all lamaseries have luxuriant woods, vast pastures and fertile land.

“To cherish the land has naturally become a mission for those Buddhist followers,” Cao said, adding: “Meanwhile, some Buddhist disciplines and taboos have helped protect the ecological environment as well. For example, the precept of no killing is actually regarded as a respect to life and conducive to the protection of both animals and plants.”

Tibetans have internalized these disciplines into self-awareness and have been pursuing them to the letter in their daily life. “Tibet’s weak ecosystem has been protected to the utmost this way,” he said.

According to China Meteorological Administration, the growth rate of temperatures in Tibet is four times the national average. Consequently, Tibet has become a big victim of climatic changes. Its Buddhism, closely tied up with the nature, has no choice but to accept this reality.

Related articles

• Stop Torture In Tibet (thepetitionsite.com)
• Dalai Lama visit to India border region too close for comfort for China (nationalpost.com)
• That’s The Spirit [Snap Judgment] (jezebel.com)

From the Times Online UK

China has sentenced a revered Tibetan living Buddha to eight-and-a-half years in jail on charges of illegally occupying government land and possession of weapons.

The court in the western town of Kangding handed down the conviction more than eight months after Phurbu Tsering Rinpoche’s trial. It marked the first time a Tibetan arrested following last year’s riots had been allowed to select his own defence lawyers.

He had faced a maximum of 15 years in prison on the two charges and it is possible that the presence of his lawyers persuaded the judges from imposing an even longer term. The judges may also have been wary of handing down a lengthier sentence for fear of renewed outbreaks of anti-Chinese unrest among supporters in the mainly ethnically Tibetan region that is his home. He commands thousands of disciples in Tibet as well as in other areas of China.

Read More

Related articles About Tibet’s Struggle

• Stop Forced Resettlement of Tibetan Nomads (thepetitionsite.com)
• Stop Torture In Tibet (thepetitionsite.com)
• China confirms Tibetan executions (news.bbc.co.uk)

Tibet’s industrial sector has made great headway in 2009 despite its weak foundation, a low standard for industrialization and unprecedented global financial crisis. Growing steadily The sector’s adde…

Related articles about China

• Industrial output rises more than expected in Nov. (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Foreign investment in China rises (news.bbc.co.uk)
• China Sees Factory Activity Strengthen (online.wsj.com)

Nepal’s Communist prime minister will visit the Tibetan capital of Lhasa during his upcoming trip to China, as China tries to forge closer ties with its southern neighbor to control a restive minority.

Related articles about China, Nepal and Tibet

• Nepalese leader to visit Tibet as China seeks closer ties (calgaryherald.com)
• China closes Tibet once again (gadling.com)
• Dalai Lama says China overpoliticizing his travels (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

An image gallery of historic, and beautiful, Buddhist temples of Japan. Temples represented include Sensoji, Kyoto; Zenkoji, Nagano; Kinakuji’s Golden Pavilion, Kyoto; Toji Pagoda, Kyoto; the Zen rock garden of Ryoanji, Kyoto; Enryakuji, Mount Hiei, Kyoto;… (source: About) – News widgets and RSS feeds on Feedzilla.com

Related articles about Japan

• Japan’s Mediums, A Conduit To The Dead, Dying Off [Life After Death] (jezebel.com)
• LEGO recreation of Buddhist temple in Kyoto (boingboing.net)